Die Hanse is a family game for 3-6 players from 10 years. Game time approx. 1-2 hours.
The players, as merchants in the time of the Hanseatic League try to carry salt from Lubeck to commercial ports and exchange them for needed products. The exchanged goods must be brought back for domestic storage (on the players storage card) or to trade offices in other harbors, in exchange for other needed products. On the storage cards each Hansa merchant finds the products which he must in the course of the game, put in storage. Once a merchant fills his storage card, the game ends and the winner is determined. To reduce the risk of such a dangerous and uncertain journey, merchants formed partnerships and distributed valuable loads on several ships. In this game each player divides a ship with the player on his left. Each share in the risks of navigation, the feared pirates, storms, harbor blockades, and other things that complicate the life of an honorable merchant.
The product stones are sorted and placed in their corresponding harbors. (Fish in Bergen, beer in Bremen, wheat in Danzig, cloth in London, salt in Lubeck, fur in Nowgorod and ore in Stockholm.) Cards are separated (remove the 2 blank cards) into piles:
| 6 | Kaperbrief (option cards) | each player receives one, remainder are set aside |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Privilegienkarten (privilege cards) | each player receives one, remainder are set aside |
| 20 | Wind cards | each player receives one, one is placed on board to begin game |
| 12 | Neue Warren cards (new products) | each player receives one |
| 18 | Remaining harbor cards | shuffle and deal one to each player |
Each player receives 1 Kaperbrief (option card) and 1 Privilegienkarten (privilege card), a wind card, a Neue Waren (new product) card, and one other harbor card. A wind card is selected and placed on the game board. All harbor cards are shuffled and placed face down on the board as a draw pile. Each player also receives a unique storage card, a colored ship figure and the corresponding two piece ship cards with cargo space. Players extend the bow of their cargo ship to the player on their left.
All ships start in Lubeck with 6 salt (3 per cargo space half).
Once a player fills his storage card he is finished and all other players have one more turn before adding totals.
Add values of product stones on storage card. Merchant who filled his storage first gets a bonus of 5 points, his partner gets a bonus of 3 points. Add bonus for unused Privilegienkarte of 1 point and add bonus for unused Kaperbrief of 2 points.
Board. The board shows the trade route of the Hansa. All ships move on the hexagonal fields. Some particular features of the board, are listed below: North Sea and Baltic Sea. The board is divided into the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. At the north tip of Denmark the boundary is marked through a strengthened line between the seas. This distinction is important, since certain events affect only a certain sea half. The starting point of each ship is important. Whether a ship begins their turn in the North Sea or in the Baltic Sea determines the movement count used on the current wind card.
The canal. Between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea there is a waterway with the Hanseatic cities Hamburg and Wismar at the ends. The canal is four fields long.
The strait. This strait at the Danish islands can be blocked during the course of the game. The place for the blockade stone is marked with a circle, which cuts three hexagons. When blocked the sea route is interrupted between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea completely. When the strait is blocked, ships can only cross between the seas through the canal.
Helgoland Bay and Lubecks Bay. During the game, a ship can encounter a storm and be sent to these bays.
Gotland, Helgoland and Rugen. The starting points for the pirate ship are these three islands.
Card depot fields. On the large peninsula at the upper end of the game board (Norway and Sweden) there are three fields, which serve to hold cards. The left upper field holds the harbor cards (placed face down). Directly beside that serves as a discard pile. The lower field holds the current wind card.
Exchange tree. In the left upper corner of the board is an exchange tree showing how products are exchanged. This diagram shows which products one needs to exchange for others. (Salt may be exchanged for fish or wheat, fish may be exchanged for fur or ore, wheat may be exchanged for cloth or beer)
The exchange harbors. Each harbor in which one can exchange products is marked with a coat of arms. There are 7 exchange harbors imprinted with the product that may be obtained there (Bergen-fish, Bremen- beer, Danzig-wheat, London-cloth, Lubeck-salt, Nowgorod-fur and Stockholm-ore).
Product stones. The game contains 144 round product stones. On one side is a colored symbol, which determines the product kind. There are seven different product kinds. On the reverse side is a number which indicates the value of this product. Only salt has no numerical value, merchants obtain salt in Lubeck for free. (salt-36 with value of 0, grains-26 with values 1-3, fish-14 with values 1-3, beer-14 with values 2-4, cloths-14 with values 2-4, ores-14 with values 2-4, furs-14 with values 2-4)
Products should be sorted out by like kinds and placed at the harbor on the board with its corresponding symbol (fish in Bergen, beer in Bremen, wheat in Danzig, cloth in London, salt in Lubeck, fur in Nowgorod and ore in Stockholm). Products stones are laid face down so that the numbers of the product stones are concealed. We recommend the products not be laid on the water fields but put on the adjacent country plain where they do not disturb play!
Playing cards. All 64 cards must be sorted at the start of the game. Remove the 2 blank cards from the deck. Sort out 6 Kaperbrief (option cards) and 6 Privilegienkarten (privilege cards). Each player receives 1 Kaperbrief (option card) and 1 Privilegienkarten (privilege card). Any remaining Kaperbriefe and Privilegienkaren cards are set aside. The remaining cards are called harbor cards. At the start of the game these harbor cards are sorted into 3 piles: Wind cards (20), Neue Warren cards (new product cards- 12), and 18 Remaining harbor cards (3 pirate cards, 9 blockade cards, 4 storm cards, 2 return to Lubeck cards all shuffled together) These 3 piles should be shuffled individually and one card from each pile is dealt to each player (each player should have 5 cards: 1 Kaperbrief, 1 Privilegienkarten and 3 harbor cards). A wind card is drawn and placed on the board. Finally all harbor cards are joined together, shuffled and put face down in the upper left spot of the game board.
Storage cards. The ten storage cards present the task which each Hansa merchant needs to fulfill. Each card differs in the product symbols. Each merchant must procure his six products through trades at the exchange harbors. Once a product is put in the storage card, it can no longer be exchanged. The storage houses of each player is in Lubeck. Each merchant must drive therefore with his exchanged products to Lubeck to load them on his card or to take in new salt. The ten storage cards are mixed and each player draws one of these cards which he lies down visible for all teammates before himself.
Game figures. The six ship figures and the black pirate ship are clamped in the wood feet. The black pirate ship and the round blockade stone should be set to the side, they come later in the game. Each player selects a colored ship figure and starts the game in Lubeck.
Ship loading. Players take the two-piece divided ship cards that match the color of their ship. Each ship card half can fit up to three product stones. Players start their ships in Lubeck. As the last step of the preparation each player gives the person to their left the bow of their ship (the right half of the divided ship card). Thus each player is involved now in exactly 2 ships. A player has for example a red stern and a blue bow cargo space before himself. That is to say, he may on his turn move both the red as well as the blue ship. Then each player loads the cargo spaces lying before him with altogether 6 salt (3 per half).
All ships start from Lubeck and are loaded with salt. Each merchant has a storage card, which must be filled with specific products. Through favorable planning of the ship routes and meaningful product exchange the players try to fill their own storage as quickly as possible and to achieve the most points.
Start. Each player fills both cargo halves before him with three salt product stones. All ships begin their journey in Lubeck. Determine a starting player and play continues clockwise .
Movement. Each merchant on his turn moves both ships which he is involved with (the two colored ships that correspond to each ship card half). The sequence in which he moves the ships as well as the direction he moves the ships remains entirely up to him! The merchant can sail therefore in a circle or remain in place. The ships may be moved only on the hexagon fields.
On the sea a ship sails at most the number of spaces indicated by the current wind card. The current wind card is displayed on the board, and their values count for all teammates. The wind card has two values one for the North Sea (nordsee) and one for the Baltic Sea (ostsee). The maximum movement of a ship is determined by where a ship begins his turn. If a ship begins movement from the North Sea follow the movement value on the wind card for the North Sea. If a ship begins movement from the Baltic Sea follow the movement value on the wind card for the Baltic Sea.
On the sea field only one ship may occupy a hexagon at a time. Only in the harbors and in the canal distance may several ship linger at the same time. In the Helgolander Bay and Lubecks Bay more than one ship may occupy a hex if driven there by a storm (see harbor cards). Ships may move through hexes occupied by another ship.
When a ship comes into a harbor he stops and any remaining movement is lost. It is however allowed to exit a harbor and in the same turn enter another harbor. (The Hanseatic cities Hamburg and Wismar are not harbors, they represent the entrance and exit to the canal.) On the canal distance all ships move only one hex per turn, the values on the wind card have no validity here. As soon as one pulls in the canal movement ends automatically on the first canal field. During the entire canal passage the ship may not change direction. A player must, if he is placed at the entrance to the canal continue on through the canal one hex per turn.
Harbors. As soon as a ship reaches a harbor both partners (each player with the divided ship card that corresponds to the color of the ship reaching harbor) can transact trades. It begins always with the main player who moved the ship into the harbor, followed by his partner who holds the matching divided ship card.
Trading. Each seaport offers normally only one product, but through the use of Neue Waren (new products) cards, other products may be available at a harbor.
To be able to trade for products offered in the harbor one must have the right products to trade in their ships cargo. (Salt may be exchanged for fish or wheat, fish may be exchanged for fur or ore, wheat may be exchanged for cloth or beer) Trades are always exchanged 1:1. A product may also be exchanged for like kinds (grains for grains, ore for ore... ).
Once in an exchange harbor, a player removes the products from his ship that he is trading and returns these products to their original harbor (fish in Bergen, beer in Bremen, wheat in Danzig, cloth in London, salt in Lubeck, fur in Nowgorod and ore in Stockholm). For each trade being made a player may pick up three product stones and secretly look at their product value, and choose one. This one product is then placed in his ships cargo. This process is repeated until a player has made all his trades. After the main player (who moved ship into the harbor) has made his trades, the partner (who has the other half of the boat card) may then make his trades.
Attention! The transfer of products between the ships or by merchant to merchant is not allowed! One may exchange more of a product sort than one really needs in his storage, this can reduce the danger of looting. Such surplus products may be unloaded in Lubeck and are distributed at the poor, i.e. these product stones are put again at their origin harbor on the board. All trades are voluntary. One may start enter a harbor without exchanging products.
Playing a harbor card. After conclusion of trades by both partners the main player must finish his turn by playing one of his three harbor cards which he holds in his hand. After the orders are followed the card is discarded and the player draws a new harbor card from the draw pile (players will always hold 5 cards: a Kaperbrief, a Privilegienkarten and 3 harbor cards). If the draw stack is consumed the discard pile is mixed and turned over once more. All harbor cards influence the whole game and can have consequences on all players. Listed below are the individual harbor cards with their consequences.
Wind card. A new wind card placed on the board, the old wind card is discarded. Starting immediately the new movement ranges count for all players. On each wind card there are two numbers: one counts for ships which begin their turn in the North Sea (Nordsee) and the other is for ships which begin their turn in the Baltic Sea (Ostsee). Movement is based on where a ship begins his turn.
Blockade von: (harbor or strait is blocked). Once played, the blockade stone is placed on the board to mark the block. Since there is only one blockade stone there can only be one blockade at a time. No ship may enter a blocked harbor. If the strait is blocked no ships may travel through it, but instead must travel through the canal. If a ship occupies the blocked hex, the merchant playing the blockade card moves the ship to an adjacent hex of his choice.
Neue Waren in: (New products). Additional product stones may be offered at a seaport which does not give it there normally. Products listed on the new product card are taken without looking at their product value and placed in the respective harbor. These products are then available at this harbor for merchants to trade for (normal trade rules apply).
Vitalienbruder (pirates). The feared pirates in North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Pirates may start from Gotland, Helgoland, or Rugen. The merchant playing a pirate card (main player) places the pirate ship on the hex listed on the card. The player then moves the pirate ship 3, 4, or 5 spaces as listed on the card trying to catch an opponents ship. If pirates meets a ship they plunder them automatically and two product stones are removed from the ships cargo. The main player chooses which two products are plundered (without looking at their values) and returns them to their original harbors on the game board. Two products may be plundered from one player, or one product may be plundered from each partner. If a merchant should play a pirate card and not reach an opponents ship, he must pass the pirate card to his left and now this player moves the pirate ship 3, 4, or 5 spaces as listed on the card and tries to catch an opponents ship. This continues until the pirates successfully plunder a ship! The pirate ship may travel on all sea fields ignoring blockades and even enter harbors, but may not travel the canal or into Lubeck. If pirates move on a hex with more than one ship, the player moving the pirate ship determines which ship is plundered. Pirates attack only one ship and must be moved until they successfully plunder a ship. The pirate ship is removed from the board and play continues from where it was interrupted.
Hansetag in Lubeck (Hansa day in Lubeck). Once played, all players have two turns to return one of their boats to Lubeck. The round begins at once and each round ends with the player of this card (each player will have two turns to reach Lubeck). If a player does not reach the Hansa day in Lubeck by the second round he is fined. Anyone not reaching Lubeck has his left neighbor randomly removes a product stone from his storage card. (If no products are in storage, there is no fine.)
Sturm auf der ... (Storm). A storm may be in the North Sea (Nordsee) or the Baltic Sea (Ostsee) and may send ships to the nearest harbor or to Lubecker Bay or Helgolander Bay. Once played, storm cards effect all ships in either the North Sea or the Baltic sea. Ships are immediately sent to the location on the card (nearest harbor, Lubecker Bay or Helgolander Bay). Ships can not enter a blocked harbor.
Returning to Lubeck. As soon as a ship returns to Lubeck both partners may unload their products completely or partially into their own storage cards. Surplus products (products not needed on storage cards) are returned to their original harbor. Free cargo space may now be filled with salt. Once products are removed from cargo and placed on a storage card they may be exchanged no more. Only as penance in the case of a missed Hansa day can a product can be removed from the storage card.
Privilegienkarte and Kaperbrief (Privilege cards and Option cards). At the beginning of the game each player receives one Privilegienkarte (privilege card) and one Kaperbrief (option card). These cards may be played after the playing of a harbor card at the end of any turn by any player. If more than one player plays a privilege or option card the cards are transacted successively clockwise beginning with the main player. Each card offers different possibilities, and each card is worth points if not used.
Privilegienkarte (privilege card): bonus 1 point (credited at end of game if unused).
Kaperbrief (option card): bonus 2 points (credited at end of game if unused).
End of Play. As soon as the storage card of a player is filled correctly, all other teammates have one turn left before adding up points and determining the winner. Points are added for each merchant, and the player with the supreme score wins.
Add values of product stones on storage card. Merchant who filled his storage first gets a bonus of 5 points, his partner gets a bonus of 3 points. Add bonus for unused Privilegienkarte of 1 point and add bonus for unused Kaperbrief of 2 points.
| Hansetag in Lubeck (Hansa day in Lubeck) | Jeder Kauffahrer mus in der ubernachsten Runde in Lubeck vertreten sein, sonst verliert er eine Ware aus seinem Speicher. | Each merchant must be represented in the next round (2 turns each) in Lubeck otherwise he loses a product from his storage. |
|---|---|---|
| Sturm auf der Nordsee (Storm of the North Sea) | Alle Koggen, die sich auf der Nodsee befinden, ziehen sofort in den nachsten offenen Hafen und setzen dort 1 x aus. | All ships which are found on the North Sea pull immediately in the next open harbor and wait there one turn. |
| Sturm auf der Nordsee (Storm of the North Sea) | treibt alle Koggen, die sich auf der Nordsee befinden, in die helgolander bucht. Hier furfen jetzt mehrere Koggen stehen. | All ships which are found on the North Sea go to Helgolander Bay. Here now several ship may stand. |
| Sturm auf der Ostsee (Storm of the Baltic Sea) | Alle Koggen, die sich auf der Ostee befinden, ziehen sofort in den nachsten offenen Hafen und setzen dort 1 x aus. | All ships which are found on the Baltic Sea pull immediately in the next open harbor and wait there one turn. |
| Sturm auf der Ostsee (Storm of the Baltic Sea) | treibt alle Koggen, die sich auf der ostsee befinden, in die Lubecker Bucht. Hier durfen jetzt mehrere Koggen stehen. | All ships which are found on the Baltic Sea go to Lubeck Bay. Here now several ship may stand. |
| Blockade vom Sund (Blockade in Strait) | Konigin Margarethe von Danemark last den Sund fur alle Hanseschiffe sperren. | Queen Margaret of Denmark has the strait blocked for all Hansa ships. |
| Blockade von Stockholm (Blockade in Stockholm) | wird von den feindlichen Danen belagert. Alle Erze werden daher fÅr den Bau von neuem Kreigsgerat gebraucht. | Stockhold is besieged by hostile Danes. All ores are needed for the building of new war instruments. |
| Blockade von Bergen (Blockade in Bergen) | Konig Hakon erhebt drastische Steuern und Zolle, daher meidet die Hanse diesen Hafen. | King Hakon raises drastic taxes and duties, thus the Hansa avoids this harbor. |
| Blockade von Danzig (Blockade in Danzig) | Der Deutsche Orden ist gerade damit beschaftigt, einen Aufstand niederzuschlagen. Keine gute Gegend fur friedliche Handler. | The German soldiers is busy to put down a riot. Not a good area for peaceful dealers. |
| Blockade von London (Blockade in London) | Farber, Weber und Kuper arbeiten nicht mehr, weil die karge Bezahlung nicht ausreicht. Es gibt zur Zeit keine Tuche mehr. | Dyers, weavers and cloth makers work no more, because the meager payment does not suffice. There is no cloth here to trade. |
| Blockade von Nowgorod (Blockade in Nowgorod) | wurde von Piraten erobert und geplundert. Wegen der rechtlosen Zustande ist dies kein Hafen mehr fur ehrliche Handler. | Nowgorod was conquered and plundered by pirates. Because of the unlawful conditions this is not a harbor for fair dealers. |
| Blockade von Bremen (Blockade in Bremen) | Die Hinrichtung Stortebekers zog viele Menschen an. Daher wurde alles Bier nach Hamburg verkauft und dort ausgetrunken. | The execution attracted many persons. Thus everything was sold, all the beer is gone up there. |
| Blockade von Lubeck (Blockade in Lubeck) | Wegen der grosen Pestepedemie darf Lubeck nicht angefahren werden. | Because of the large plauge, no ships may enter. |
| VitalienbrÅder auf Kaperfahrt (pirates) | Das Piratenshiff startet mit 5 Zugpunkten von Helgoland. | The pirate ship starts with 5 movement points in Helgoland. |
| Vitalienbruder auf Kaperfahrt (pirates) | Das Piratenshiff startet mit 4 Zugpunkten von Gotland. | The pirate ship starts with 4 movement points in Gotland. |
| VitalienbrÅder auf Kaperfahrt (pirates) | Das Piratenshiff startet mit 3 Zugpunkten von Rugen. | The pirate ship starts with 3 movement points in Rugen. |
| Neue Waren in: (new products in) | Place the appropriate number of new products in the harbor listed on the card. Fish (Stockfisch), Beer (Bier), Wheat (Getreide), Cloth (Tuche), Fur (Pelze), Ore (Erze) |