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Esels-rennen box art
1989 Ranked #21,684

Esels-rennen

A hidden-information donkey race has players move colored donkeys along arrows while secretly backing a finishing order. One move can trigger a chain of others, and the card matching the final result most closely wins.

Animals Racing Betting and Bluffing Animals: Donkeys

Players

2-6

Play time

Not listed

Age

8+

Complexity

1.17/5

Rating

5.51

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.4/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

First issued in 1989 for fewer players, the second edition (released in 1996) is for 2-6 players. The board has two sides, for racing either 3 or 4 colored donkeys.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

First issued in 1989 for fewer players, the second edition (released in 1996) is for 2-6 players. The board has two sides, for racing either 3 or 4 colored donkeys. Players are given a card secretly, each showing the donkey's finishing order, a different result for each card. The board shows a patchwork of steps across a field from start to finish, each space with a colored arrow matching the donkeys. When you move a donkey onto a space marked with a green arrow pointing left, you then move the green donkey one space that way. If that space then has a blue arrow pointing right, you next move the blue donkey on one space that way. This goes on until you cannot move the final donkey because it is blocked. Eventually, the donkeys cross the finish line, and the player with the best matching result on their card wins. More of a competitive puzzle than a game, it is a nice diversion, but awkward because the donkeys constantly fall on their sides. Possibly Doris & Frank's first game and related to their Bunny Zick-Zack. 3rd Place 1989 Hippodice Spieleautorenwettbewerb (as Donky [sic]).

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Category

2

Mechanism

1

Family

1

Shopping

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
No editions imported yet.

Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–6
Best with
2–6
Play time
15 min
Age
8+
Complexity
1.2/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

2
Doris Matthäus Frank Nestel

Artists

1
Doris Matthäus

Publishers

1
Doris & Frank

Linked items

No published linked games yet.