Two More Servings of Worms from Knizia and Zoch

Designer Reiner Knizia and publisher Zoch Verlag have assembled two more menus of worms for gamers who have enjoyed Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck, aka Pickomino, with Doris Matthäus once again providing the artwork. For those not familiar with Pickomino, here’s a game summary which I’ll refer to when talking about changes in the new games:

On a turn, a player rolls eight dice; each die has the numbers 1-5 and a worm, which is worth 5. The player chooses one die, then puts aside all dice with that face. The player then stops or rerolls; in the latter case, the player then chooses a die that doesn’t match any already set aside and sets those dice aside.

This process continues until the player chooses to stop or the player can’t set aside any dice, has set aside all dice without claiming a worm, or has set aside dice totalling less than 21. In the former case, the player claims a worm tile (numbered 21-36) that matches the total of her dice and adds it to the stack in front of her. If her total exactly matches a tile on the top of another player’s stack, she can steal that tile. In the latter three cases, the player loses her turn, along with the top tile of her stack, if any. The game ends when no tiles remain to be claimed, with the player holding the most worms winning.

Heckmeck Barbecue converts the row of tiles into a gameboard, with spaces numbered 23-36. (2-5 players, ages 8+, 20-30 minutes, €20) Each player has ten wooden plate discs, and the dice are now numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, worm and 6, with the worm still worth 5. Game play is roughly the same, with a player rolling dice, setting things aside, and needing a worm. If a player stops voluntarily, she can place a disc on the number on the board matching her total, earning worm tokens at the time, If another player’s token is in the spot, she replaces it with her own, stealing worms from the opponent. If she already has a disc on the spot, she places a second disc to lock in the space, earning worms once again.

If the player fails, a pink “grill snail” is placed on the highest-numbered empty location. If your die total matches such a space, you claim the snail and empty the spot once again. The game ends when a player tries to place a snail on the board and none remain in the bank. Worms are worth one point and snails three, with the highest score winning. Complete rules in English, German, French and Italian on the Zoch website.

If one line extension is a somewhat more complicated version of the original game, then you might expect a second line extension to be simpler – which brings us to Heckmeck Junior. (2-5 players, ages 5+, 15-20 minutes, €9)

This game does away with the dots on the dice, replacing them with hamburger components; the worms are still present, but on two sides of the dice this time. Game play is the same as the base game, with players setting aside all of the same type of ingredient. All sides of the dice have one item on them, except for the side with two buns. When a player stops, whether voluntarily or because she rolls items already set aside, she sums the burger elements on the dice, then claims a tile matching this number. Players can still steal tiles from opponents, but they no longer lose a tile when they bust. Complete rules in English, German, French and Italian on the Zoch website.

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