Bohnanza: Das Würfelspiel is a dice game in the Bohnanza family. Instead of cards, dice give you the beans that you must use to satisfy orders and (eventually) collect "Bohnentalers" (i.e., dollars, bucks, dinero...). The first player to collect ten Bohnentalers wins.
At the start of the game, each player receives two order cards, each of which shows five orders; the player tries to complete orders on one card while using the other to cover completed orders. The easiest orders to complete — say, three beans in any combination of two types – are at the bottom of the card, and the hardest ones — requiring, say, a three-of-a-kind plus a rare bean – are at the top. Orders must be completed from bottom to top.
On a turn, the active player starts by rolling the five bean dice, three of which have one combination of beans and two of which have another combination. This player must set aside at least one bean, then they reroll any remaining dice, setting at least one aside, etc. After at most seven rolls, they complete as many orders as they can, reusing the dice as needed to complete orders. Once a player completes three orders, they can "harvest" the card for one coin. Each additional completed order is worth a coin, up to a maximum of three. When a player harvests the order card, they draw a new card and use that to record completed orders (possibly on the same turn) on the order card they already had.
In the Bohnanza card game, players trade cards to improve the standing of both parties involved in the trade. In Würfel Bohnanza, the active player doesn't trade dice, but opponents do get to benefit from that player's rolls. After each roll by the active player, all other players can use the dice just rolled — and not dice already set aside — to complete orders on their own cards. Thus, the active player has some incentive not to dawdle too much as their opponents might benefit from their turn more than they do.
The game ends as soon as one or more players have collected ten Bohnentalers. The player with the most Bohnentalers wins!
Bohnanza: Das Würfelspiel features the same gameplay as Würfel Bohnanza, but uses fewer dice, has only five orders on a card instead of six, lowers the victory threshold, and has a few other changes.
Join Meeple Mountain as we look at our most anticipated games of Essen Spiel 2022, the world’s largest board game convention.
