6 nimmt!

Goal of the game

Try not to get any cards! Every card you have to take will cost you a penaly point for each bull-head. The winner is the player with the least bullheads at the end of the game!

Getting ready to play

Shuffle the cards and deal 10 cards to each player. All players hold their cards in their hand. You'll need a paper and pencil for keeping score.

Make four rows

Take the top four cards from the leftover cards and place them face up in the middle of the table. Each of these cards is the first card in a row. Each row can only hold 5 cards, including this card. Put the rest of the leftover cards aside - you won't need them until the next round.

Playing the game

1. Playing cards

Each player takes one card from their hand and puts it face down on the table in front of them. The cards are turned over after all players have made their choice.

The player who played the card with the lower value adds their card to the end of one of the four rows, followed by te player with the second-lowest card, etc., until all the cards played have beed added to rows. Players repeat this process 9 times, until all 10 cards in every player's hand have been played.

How are the cards arranged

Each card only fits into one row. The following rules apply:

Rule 1: "Ascending Order"

The values of the cards in each row must always increase from left to right.

Rule 2: "Least Difference"

A card must always be played in the row that ends with the card that has the closed lower value.

Example, Fig 1

The last cards in rows 1 to 4 have the following values: 12, 37, 43, and 58. The four players put down the following cards: 14, 15, 44, and 61. The lowest card has a value of "14". According to Rule 1, this card must be played in the 1st row, next to the "12". The card with value "15" then goes next to the "14" in the same row.

According to Rule 1, the "44" card could be played in rows 1, 2, or 3, so we look at Rule 2. The "least difference" means that the card must be played in the third row, since "44" is closer to "43" than "37".

The "61" card must be played in the fourth row, according to Rule 2.

2. Taking cards

Everything is fine as long as you can play your card in one of the four rows. The problem starts when a row is full or when a played card does not fit into any of the four rows. In both of these cases, the player who tries to play one of these cards must take cards from the table and add them to their "Bull Pile".

Rule 3: "Full Row"

A row is full when it has 5 cards. If Rule 2 says that a sixth card must be played on a row, the player who played this card must first pick up all five cards in that row, then play their card as the first card in a new row.

Example, Fig 3

Our four player put down the following cards: 21, 26, 30, and 36. The "21" and the "26" are put in the first row, which now has five cards and is therefore full. Now the player holding the "30" must also put his card in the first row. Since this is the sixth card, he must first pick up the original five cards in that row before playing his "30" as the first card in a new row. The "36" must also be put in the new row, next to the "30".

Rule 4: "Lowest Card"

If a player plays a card with a value that is so low that it does not fit into any of the rows according to Rule 1, they must take all of the cards in the row of their choice and play their card as the first card of a new row.

Example 4, Fig. 4

The following cards are played: 3, 9, 68, and 83. The "3" is the lowest card and must be played first, but it does not fit into any of the rows. That player must take all of the cards in any one of the rows. She chooses row 2 since it has the fewest bullheads, and takes the "37". She the starts a new row by playing her "3". The player with the "9" was lucky, because he may now play his card next to the "3".

Hint: If you have to take a row because the value of the card you played is too low, it's often best to choose the row that will give you the least number of bullheads!

Bullheads = minus points

Each card shows a number of bullheads between the numbers. Each bullhead is worth one penalty point!

All cards with values containing:

• Fives (5, 15, 25, etc.) have 2 bullheads
• multiples of ten (10, 20, 30, etc.) have 3 bullheads
• doublets (11, 22, 33, etc.) have 5 bullheads.

The number "55" is a doublet that also contains a five, so it has 7 bullheads!

Bull pile

When a player has to take cards, the put them in their own "Bull Pile" in front of them on the table.

End of the round

The round is over when all players have played their 10 cards. Each player then picks up their Bull Pile and counts the number of bullheads. Each player's penalty score is written down, and a new round can begin.

Keep playing rounds until one player has collected more than 66 bullheads. The winner is the player who has collected the lowest number of bullheads.

Of course, you can pick a different goal before the game begins, or play a fixed number or rounds!

Tips and hints

The examples may give an idea of the possible pitfalls of this game: In the 1st Example, Fig 5:, a player wants to play the "45" because he thinks he can put it next to the "41" in the third row. He is mistaken. He must put the card next to the "42" in the fourth row because this is the "least difference" as defined by Rule 2. This is the sixth card, which means that he must pick up the other five cards!

In the 2nd Example, Fig. 6:, a player decides to play the "62", thinking that she is making a good move, intending to put it down next to the "61" in the first row. She proves to be wrong however, as a player plaing the "29" empties the first row (worth the lowest number of points). The player with the "62" must now put her card in the fourth row, and has to pick up all five cards!

Advanced version for 2-6 players

We recommend this version of the game for anybody who enjoys working out tactics. All of the basic rules apply, plus the following two:

1. All cards in the game are known

The number of cards used in the game depends on the number of players. The rule for this: the number of players times 10, plus 4.

Example:

• 3 players -> 34 cards from 1 - 34;
• 4 playesr -> 44 cards from 1 - 44; etc.

All cards with higher values are removed from the game.

2. Each player chooses their own 10 cards

The cards are placed on the table face up. Going around the table, each player takes 1 card at a time until everybody has 10 cards in their hands. The remaining 4 cards are then placed on the table to start the rows.

The game is played like the basic version.