Elefentenparade - Elephant Parade

The strategic game for 2-4 players age 12+.

Contents

Object

To collect as many treetrunks as possible, from the tree-fields (the brown squares) and from the elephant-house.

Preparation

Each player has 2 elephants of the same colour, hence with 2 players there are only 4 elephants in the game, with 3 players there are 6 and with 4 players there are 8. The players take it in turns to place their elephants in the squares immediately following the Start building (in a corner of the board).

Two treetrunks are placed on each brown square (tree-fields), 3 treetrunks go in the biggest elephant house in the middle of the board, 2 go in the medium house and 1 in the small house.

The Game

The youngest player starts. On each turn a player can choose to have...

A) Normal turn - The player moves 3 elephants (mostly 2 of his own and another) One elephant is moved 3 spaces, another is moved 2 spaces and the third is moved 1 space. However, a 'space' is to the next vacant square along the track. See illustrations of a typical turn. The elephants can be moved in any order.

B) Elefantenparade - Instead of a normal turn, a player may call out "Elephant Parade" and all elephants move forward one square (see illustration).

The Water Squares (the blue ones!)

Blue squares can only be crossed if an elephant is already in the water. Once an elephant has been moved into a blue square it cannot be moved out until all the other elephants have gone past, when he can just move out normally. The unlucky elephant in the water can be released by someone calling an Elephant Parade on his turn and moving the elephant one square and out of the water. An elephant who is sent in to the water by an elephant parade is stuck as one moved in normally.

The Tree Fields (the brown ones)

If an elephant lands exactly on a brown Square, the player gets both treetrunks and they are removed from the board. Subsequent arrivals at the square get nothing and must plough on to the next braunen Baum-Felder.

The first elephant to reach the middle gets 3 tree trunks and is put into the big elephant house, the second elephant gets 2 tree trunks and goes into the medium house and the third elephant gets a single tree trunk and goes to the small house. No exact move to the middle is required and any 'surplus' movement points are just lost.

End of the Game

The game ends when the third elephant reaches the middle even if not all the brown square treetrunks have been collected (rare, but possible). The winner is the one who holds the most treetrunks. All non-winners have to trumpet loudly (ein grossen Trompeten-Stoss) and then you start another game.

Publication History

Revised August 1994

The Game Cabinet - [email protected] - Ken Tidwell