X Pasch Deluxe

By Valentin Herman for
3-6 Infiltrators
Translation by Jeff Goldsmith

Includes:

Idea of the game:

The playing cards represent companies. The player who has the most directors (VM) on a company gets the income (Euros) printed on the card. VMs and cards are placed into play by rolling certain die combinations. As soon as a player reaches 120 Euros, the game ends. The player with the most money wins.

Prepare for Play:

Each player takes a set of markers. The red deck is shuffled and each player is dealt three cards face down. The rest of the deck is placed in the center of the table. The green cards and the black die are not used in the basic game. Paper and pencil are needed.

To Begin the Game:

High roll goes first. Play continues clockwise until the game is over. Note the first player on the score pad.

What is a Pasch?

A Pasch is a pair rolled on the dice. An X Pasch is any pair you want. A triplet is three dice the same. For example, if two dice show twos, then you have a 2er Pasch. Two sixes is a 6er Pasch, etc. The roller decides if a pair is used as (for example) a 5er Pasch or an X Pasch.

Player Turns

The phasing player gets income from all the companies on which he has a plurality of markers. The income he receives is that printed on the card, e.g. (9 Euros). After he takes his income, he rolls three dice.

He may use one or more dice to bring cards from his hand into the game. He may use one or more dice to bring VMs onto companies already in the game. He may do both. He may also draw cards, up to a maximum of five. For each card drawn, he must use a die. Dice spent for any action cannot be used for any other action.

How to Bring the Cards into the Game:

To bring a card into play one must spend dice that sum exactly to the big number at the top of the card. Some cards may say either an X Pasch (any pair) or a specific pair to bring the card into play. A card so played is placed in front of the player face up. For each card so played, he gets the "Founder's Bonus" (Grundung) printed on the card. Place that many VMs on the card.

The Founder's bonus is only given when the card is put into play from hand. If a card is already in play, the number of VMs placed on it is the number of dice used to make the play. (See below.)

Placing VMs on Face Up Cards:

If a player rolls a combination that equals the number on a face up card, either his or an opponent's, he may place VMs on that card by spending the dice used to make that combination. The number of VMs is the number of dice used to make the combination.
Example 1:
If a player rolls a 3 and a 5, then he may place two VMs on any firm with an 8 on it. He may use the third die for something else. If he rolls a 1, a 3, and a 4, he may place three VMs on an 8er firm. This uses up all his dice.
Example 2:
If a player rolls two sixes, then he may place two VMs on a 6 card or a 12 card, or he may use the two sixes for a 6er Pasch or an X Pasch.

Triplets:

A player may use triplets to either: (1) place 5 VMs on any face up cards or (2) play any card from his hand and bring it into play normally or (3) he may break up the triplets and use them as a pair and a single or three singles.

Unused dice:

For each die that a player doesn't use in any other way, he may move one VM from one face up card to another face up card, provided:
  1. He already has a VM on the receiving card,
  2. The receiving card must have an equal or smaller income (Euros) than the source card.
Any combination of these actions is permitted. It's allowed to bring a card into play with one die, place VMs with another, and move VMs with the third...all providing, of course, that the right numbers are rolled. Each die, however, may only be used once per turn. Cards drawn or exchanged for may not be played on the turn they are drawn.

Nor is it allowed to move VMs just placed onto a card.

It is also not allowed to exchange a card drawn this turn.

Exchanging Cards:

If a player has five cards at the end of his turn, he may exchange one for a new card from the deck. That costs a die. The exchanged card is placed at the bottom of the deck face down.

The Last Player:

Before the "first player's" turn, it is determined who is in last place. That player, on his turn, is allowed to reroll one die. He must accept the second roll. If there is a tie for last, no one gets this bonus.

End of the Game:

As soon as a player reaches 120 Euros, no more dice are rolled. Everyone who has not played that turn receives his income. The highest score wins.

Sequence of Play:

  1. Income is noted
  2. Announce your throw (backruptcy or regular) (Optional rule 2)
  3. Roll three dice
  4. Bring companies into play
  5. Place VMs for Founder's bonus
  6. Place VMs on other cards
  7. Bonus VMs are earned for hostile takeovers (Optional rule 1)
  8. VMs may be slid
  9. Bonus VMS are placed
  10. Draw cards
  11. Exchange cards
  12. Next player

Optional Rule 1:

Bonus VM: (Hostile takeover)

If a player takes over a company from another player, he gets a bonus VM. That VM may be placed on any company owned by another player, on which he has no VMs. If he has VMs on every company, the Bonus VM is forfeited. One may not take over a company with a bonus VM. If a player has two bonus VMs coming, they must be placed on different companies.

Optional Rule 2: (Bankruptcy Roll)

Instead of his normal throw, a player, before the dice are rolled, may announce a Bankruptcy roll. He throws the dice as usual, but can use one or more dice that match the numbers (perhaps in combination) on a company to eliminate that company from play. The company so eliminated is placed face down under the talon (draw pile). Only one company may be so eliminated, even if the dice provide multiple options. The only other action a player may perform is to exhange a card if he has five in his hand. He may not use the same dice as he did for the bankruptcy.

Optional Rule 3: (Color fields)

Some cards have one or two colored squares. If a player matches those exactly on the dice used to place VMs on that company, then he places two VMs per die on the card. When bringing cards into play, the colored squares are not in effect.
Example 1:
A 6 company is in play with a green square on it. If a player places a VM on the card with a green 6, he may place an additional VM on the card.
Example 2:
A 9 company is in play with a red and a blue square. If 9 is rolled on two dice, one red and one blue, two extra VMs (for a total of four) are placed.
Example 3:
A 6er Pasch or 14 company is in play with a red and a blue square. The 14 is out of the question for extra VMs, since 14 cannot be rolled on two dice. If a red and blue 6 were rolled, then two extra VMs would be placed.

Homebrewed optional rules:

These are by Kris Gould, Jeff Goldsmith, and others.

When first taught this game, we had many rules wrong. It's not clear to me that our old set of rules is not superior to the printed ones.

  1. Exchange rule: A player with five cards may exchange one for free anytime during the turn. This may only be done once per turn. Exchanged cards are discarded face up.
  2. Flexible turn order: One may do any of the actions that cost dice (and exchanges if free) in any order desired. Cards drawn may be played that turn. Using this rule, bonus VMs for hostile takeovers are awarded immediately.
  3. Harder sliding: Sliding VMs may not be done among equal-valued cards, but only to cards with strictly lower incomes.
  4. Better bankruptcy: If you can kill two companies with your roll, you may. Bankrupted cards are discarded face up.

X-Pasch Deluxe

In General:

Remove the Manager Academy card. Shuffle the red and green decks separately. Start each player with 3 red and 1 green card. Place the Manager Academy face up between the decks. When drawing cards, one may draw either a red or a green card. The maximum hand size is 8: five red cards and three green cards. If have 8 cards, you may exchange at the end of the turn as normal, either a red or a green card. Winning score is 150. The black die is used only for Risiko Geschaft.

Triumvirat:

It costs 1 die to place a Triumvirat card onto a firm. Starting the following turn, one may place a single counter onto a number on the card if one spends the appropriate single die. Once all three numbers are covered, the firm has its income tripled for three turns. After the third turn, discard the Triumvirat card. If someone takes the company, he gets the higher profit; if the card is not full at the time, he may continue filling it. A bankruptcy roll that matches all three numbers on the Triumvirat card can be used to destroy the card.

Manager Academy:

If a player rolls one of these combinations (straights), he may place the indicated number of VMs on the Manager Academy. One may place 5 VMs on the Academy for a triple. Whoever has the most VMs on the Academy may cancel a bankruptcy roll against him. That costs him all the VMs on the Academy. If two players are tied, no one may use the Academy. This also works to prevent destruction of companies with colored circles. If a player rolls a straight for a bankruptcy roll, he may remove the appropriate number of VMs from the Academy (other players' VMs, of course).

Manager:

For one die, a manager card can be assigned to a firm. Only one manager may be assigned to a company. The placing player must have at least one VM on the company. The firm's income must match the Euros on the manager card. A manager does:
  1. It immediately removes 1 VM of the playing player's choice.
  2. It increases the company income by one.
Manager cards with two circles remove 2 VMs and increase profits by 2 Euros. Every time a company with a manager changes hands, the VM removal is done. If the company goes bankrupt, the Manager is discarded. There is no VM bonus for taking over a company via a manager.

X2 cards:

It costs one die to add this card to an appropriate company. Income is doubled. Managers' bonuses are not doubled.

+/- Cards:

Play after a normal (not bankruptcy) die roll. Increase or decrease the die indicated by the colored square on the card by one. Sixes cannot be affected.

Hunter:

Hunter cards cost one die to play. They will steal one manager, moving it to another company. The company must match the Manager's income. The manager may be used immediately (removing VMs, etc.). The Hunter card is then discarded.

Takeover:

To play, match the number on the card. Place the Takeover card on an appropriate company, controlled by another player. Place one VM on the Takeover card. On every subsequent turn, place one more VM on the Takeover card. This continues until you have a plurality, not counting real VMs. Taking over a company in this way provides the Bonus VM for hostile takeovers. Upon the takeover, all the VMs on the Takeover card and the company are removed. The new owner places as many VMs on the company as he would for founding the company. This all occurs before the roll of the dice, but after income is produced. If the company is bankrupted, the takeover card is discarded. Until the takeover is accomplished, the owner of the company can do anything as normal, including putting more VMs on the company in order to make the takeover more difficult. The player who owns the takeover card can, if he rolls the appropriate number, place his VMs on the takeover card instead of the original company. Any other cards attached to the company stay with it upon takeover.

Update: a newer edition of the rules suggests that it only takes one die to play a takeover card.

Marketing:

The marketing card must be played before the dice are rolled. It allows the die roll to be used twice, but for different actions. That is, first he must use the entire first roll, then he may use the second roll. On the second roll, the combination of dice must be different; for example, if you roll a 1, 5, 6, the first roll could be a 7 and a 5 and the second two 6s, but you couldn't do six one-die actions. If you draw a card during the first roll, you may not use it during the second roll. (Using the variants rules, you may.) A Marketing card cannot be used for a Bankruptcy roll. If a triple is rolled, it cannot be used as two triples, but it can be used as one triple and a pair. A triple could also be used as two pairs, just using separate dice (red and green for the first and blue and green for the second, for example).

Fusion:

With this card, two firms with the same income, both owned by the phasing player, may be combined into one firm. In order to play the fusion, he must roll the numbers on BOTH the firms. For example, a 3,5,6 will allow him to fuse a 6er and an 8er firm. He discards the Fusion card and places the two firms touching each other. Combine all the opponents' VMs on the two firms, divide by two, rounded up. The owner keeps all his VMs. New VMs can be placed by matching either company's number; a bankruptcy roll is successful only if both numbers are rolled.

Companies with colored circles:

They are normal companies, except that they are easier to bankrupt. They can be bankrupted with a normal roll that matches the roll indicated by the circle. The player rolling the die must spend it if he wants to destroy the company. During a bankruptcy roll, these companies can also be destroyed by either the number on the top of the card, or the appropriately colored numbers in the circle.

Risikogeschaft: (Risky Business)

This card must be played before rolling the dice. It costs no dice to play. To play it, you must instead spend VMs worth 6 Euros. 2X and managers do not affect this. For example, 3 VMs on a 2 Euro firm may be sacrificed to play this card. In exchange you get to roll the black die in addition to the normal three. It can be used as any color die. Moreover, it may be added to any die. For example, if you roll a blue five and a black 1, you may treat them as a blue 6.

It cannot be used for a bankruptcy roll. It may only be used once.

18er Karten:

No VMs may slide into or out of this company. VMs may be removed for a Risikogeschaft.

Jeff Goldsmith, jeff@tintin.jpl.nasa.gov, Oct. 2, 1998