Abtei der Rätsel (2011)

About this game

The gameplay in Abtei der Rätsel is inspired by "The Name of the Rose", but plays much like a variant of Hangman. One card is chosen with a word - either a 10 character word (with the easy cards) or a 5-9 character word with blank spaces distributed throughout (with the difficult cards). The card is placed in a plastic bookshelf, which allows each of the letters (or spaces) in the word to be viewed individually. Players then send their monks and novices to collect clues; six clues may be easily obtained from books found around the monastery, but the other four can only be viewed within the locked laboratory. The first player to correctly determine the word wins. This game is a redevelopment of Abtei der wandernden Bücher in a more affordable edition.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 1.7/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.