Once dust the gameplay, please ...

Mau Mau reminds me now more like rainy tent vacations childhood. In recent years, I have it - almost no longer played as - among other things due to other alternatives in the games area. Now it is in the "vampire version" that offers some variations on well-known rules. First of all, to the optics. All cards are designed very presentable. Instead of the usual "colors" there are actually colors: red, purple, blue and green. From each Frabe there are eleven cards with these motives, replacing the numbers: Blood Bag, Spider, wooden stake, grave, mirror, coffin, skull, ax, cross, bat and cylinder. In the center of the card is a beautiful motif from the cuddly horror sector respectively. In addition, there are eight different character cards, each with a day and night side and watch and werewolf cards. What put this? More on that later.

What's new in the rules? The basic principle is, of course, remained the same: Each player tries to get rid of all his cards in hand, by operating either the right color or the right icon of the card on the discard pile. But otherwise, the following points, which make the familiar game but to a considerable degree on the head:

Each player receives at the beginning of an eight character cards (Who knows the most vampire movies of recent decades, will recognize some of the characters in the slightly caricatured cartoon representations, for example. Blade). Each character has an individual skill that can be used at the end of your turn, and a skill that he as a vampire - so if it's night - uses; the vampire actions but, apart from colors and symbols, identical between all character cards. Using the example of a randomly gripped character card: Here the symbols stored blood and bat are displayed. For this, the Info »Wish you a color. You are now again in the train. "(Most skills but falter hand cards of the other players on again.) Does the player who has this character, at the end of his turn, a card with a blood bag or a bat out, so he must his Apply character ability. The actions at night as a vampire are - but everyone has a different icon and a different color - the following: "Your left neighbor draws two cards," and "Give 1 hand card 1 player of your choice." One should to cast their own maps so always have an eye on what symbols the next player in turn needs to start his actions.

And what about the day and night all about? There are in this game, no launch and drawing cards in the traditional sense. Instead, there are watches and werewolves, which can be placed always in the own train - and where you can also always want to get a paint (à la Jack). On the other hand, is changed by the playing of watches the time of day: are exactly as many watches in addition to the day / night field, as there are players, so the time of day changes (So who plays off the fourth clock with four players, triggers the time change - and Thus, the different character skills). Werewolves, however, can the character tables of the other players are placed and thus block their ability. Since a maximum of a werewolf may ausliegen per time, the former disappears when a new one was played (just the time change).

In the beginning, it happens a as if the rounds never end - because the hole cards seem rather to multiply. But as soon as most of the cards for the unique character abilities have been played, the round is also slowly coming to an end - but you have already more time to plan than the conventional Mau Mau. Even the rating falls differently: Who ends the round, scores one point for each card that have the players still in the hand. Who has the second fewest cards left, gets nevertheless still the points of the other - even worse - players.

Our small round games made Mau Mau version really liked it. By elegant look and the small changes the whole gameplay has been dusted off and enriches some interactive elements. So if you liked the classics and has developed no vampire allergy in recent years, which is very likely to have some fun here.