Objective of the Game
The objective of Nichts als Ärger is to move all your playing pieces from your starting area, around the board, to your home area, before your opponents can do the same.
Setup
- Game Board: Typically, the board has 40 spaces marked with each of the four player colors.
- Playing Pieces: Each player chooses a color and receives four playing pieces, placed on their respective starting positions.
- Die: A six-sided die is used in this game.
Gameplay
- Players roll the die to determine who starts. The highest roll goes first.
- Turns proceed clockwise.
- On each turn, the player rolls the die once.
- Moving a Piece onto the Board:
- To move a piece from the starting area onto the board, a player must roll a six.
- Rolling a six also grants the player an additional roll.
- Movement:
- Move the piece according to the die roll.
- If landing on a space occupied by an opponent's piece, that piece is captured and sent back to its starting area.
- Safety: There are no 'safe' spaces apart from the starting and home areas.
Entering the Home Area
- Once a piece has circled the board, it enters the "home" area, which only the player's pieces may occupy.
- These are in sequence and must be entered with an exact dice roll. For example, if a piece is three spaces from its home's entry, the player must roll a three to enter.
- Rolling a non-exact number means the piece doesn't move to the home area that turn.
Special Strategies and Tips
- Blocking: Try to block other players by placing pieces on commonly used spaces.
- Risk-taking: Engage in risky moves when an opponent is close to winning.
- Sacrifice Moves: Sacrifice less important pieces to disrupt other players or enable more rolls.
Winning the Game
- The first player to move all four pieces into their home area wins the game.
Enjoy playing Nichts als Ärger!
