You’ve definitely got my attention, as this sounds quite interesting.  I always used to look forward to Rosenberg’s designs, as they were among the best and most innovative around.  What a treat it would be to get another meaty game from the Beanman!

The language does sound lke an issue, though.  I know it’s early, Eric, but is there any word if an English language version is in the works, either from Lookout, RGG, or another publisher?

Yeah, this really sounds like it could be excellent.  Any news on the number of players?  I can almost make it out on the box, but not quite.  It might say 3-5, or 1-5, or even 1-3.

"Innovative” is one way to describe it. “Strange” is another :) I love Rosenberg’s designs (Klunker being my favorite) so I’m looking forward to seeing how this one plays.

"Strange” is a pretty accurate description.  :-) Yup, Rosenberg’s best games can be downright weird, but that’s one reason I love ‘em.  Klunker is indeed peculiar, but that’s nothing compared to Bali, which is downright twisted!  And let’s not forget the very unusual Schnappchen Jagd, which is one of the great three-player card games.  Please, Uwe, Nottingham was a nice first step back, but we want to see another one of your mind-bending old-style designs!

Correction: The line near the end of the item should read: “...the rules might be only in German.” Not in English, as I originally wrote! Hanno Girke hopes to have an English translation done in time for Spiel, but time might be against the company.

Larry, no word on an English edition yet.

Mark, I asked Hanno about the player count. The box seems to say 1-5, but it’s not clear.

Eric

Hanno Girke at Lookout has confirmed that the number of players is 1-5. He said, “There are rules for playing solo; you just have to beat a given score or your previous one. With all those different cards, no game will be the same.”

Now that I’ve seen the full description in the Essen preview, I’m even more intrigued.  One weird thought did occur to me.  Given the economics of English language versions, this is probably a fantasy, but wouldn’t it be great if, when the English edition comes out, it’s rethemed to a frontier setting?  The doughty couple, living on the edge of civilization in the American West, trying to figure out the best ways to make ends meet?  That’s absolutely the first thing I thought of when I was reading the description.  It probably doesn’t do much for European gamers, but I think it would really appeal to most English speakers.  Unfortunately, it would undoubtedly require changes in the text and, possibly, the art, which means it will never happen.  But it sure is a nice thought!

I always am intrigued by Uwe Rosenberg games.  As mentioned above he has some great card games.

You can replace education” by “training” or “job”, if you must. ;-)

Retheming it to a frontier setting might be a bit complicated. No guns and no stetsons involved…

That’s why a frontier setting would be such a refreshing switch from the over-done theme of the mythic “wild west” that are all about gunslingers and gold diggers ("Meine kleine Farm” statt “Winnetou").

So before you all go and use the “Ask Jay” section for an English language edition - don’t.
The “Ask Zev” column would be the correct one.