Familienbande (card game)

Infobox_Game
subject_name=Familienbande
image_link=
image_caption=
players= 2 to 4
designer=Leo Colovini
publisher=Winning Moves
setup_time= 2 minutes
playing_time= 20 minutes
complexity= Easy
strategy= Medium
random_chance= Medium
skills=Bluffing, Hand Management
footnotes=
bggid=11081

"Familienbande" (German for "Family Ties") is a card game designed by Leo Colovini.

"Familienbande" is a game of family inheritance, not of money, but of genetic traits. The card deck in "Familienbande" features an equal number of men and women. Each person on a card has three characteristics, chosen from a set of five, namely big ears, orange hair, thick lips, a big nose, and glasses (to represent nearsightedness). A card's characteristics need not be different, so, for example, a man could have two symbols for big ears and one for orange hair, or three "glasses" symbols.

Gameplay

Each player represents a "family" in which one of the genetic traits is dominant, and therefore wishes to pass along this trait to as many children as possible (and as many times as possible in each child). On each player's turn he or she can do one of three things: : (1) Draw a card.: (2) Play a card that forms a marriage, i.e. is paired with a card of the opposite sex, after which the player then draws a card. : (3) Play a card as a child of a marriage that is already on the board. Most importantly, the three genetic characteristics of a child must be included in the six characteristics of its parents (e.g. so a child's one "ear" and two "lips" traits must be appear in its parents' six genetic traits). Every trait symbol on the child's card scores one point for that genetic trait.

The game ends when the seventh child is played in the fifth "generation".

Bluffing

The genetic trait of the each player's "family" is chosen randomly at the start of the game, being kept hidden from all other players and only revealed at the end of the game. The scores of all five genetic characteristics are tracked throughout the course of the game (even if there are only two players), allowing players to Nathaniel Keyek-Franssen and misdirect their opponents.

At the end of the game, players reveal their own genetic trait and are penalized for cards left in hand, the winner beingthe one with the highest score.

External links

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* [http://funandboardgames.com/site/comments/familienbande_family_ties/ Independent review] of "Familienbande" at funandboardgames.com
* [http://www.boardgame.de/reviews/famband.htm Independent review] of "Familienbande"