#70: Rüsselbande

Russelbande

• designer: Alex Randolph
• publisher: Drei Magier Spiele
• date: 2000
• BoardGameGeek rank/rating: 2454/6.04
• age: 4+
• # of players: 2-7
• print status: in print?
• cost: $23.99 (Amazon)

This is not just any pig racing game - oh no. These are acrobatic circus pigs who are racing around the variable board... and that makes all the difference. Really.

The wooden pig pieces stack - and while it's an important part of the game, it's also makes this, in the words of SNL, "a floor wax & a desert topping." Stacking the pigs in intricate formations (having nothing to do with the actual race game) is encouraged by a sheet of potential stacking combos that you can try. (I think a couple of them are impossible without the help of Crazy Glue, but I don't usually do real well at stacking games.)

The game itself is a simplified version of Die Heisse Schlacht im Kalten Buffet and/or Monster Fressen (both by Alex Randolph as well): pigs lower on a stack carry all the pigs above them along as they make their move. There are some rules for rolling again (the dice is custom made for the game) and for extending the pathway (each player can do it once per game) but it's really just a race game with delightful bits and, here it is again, the stacking.

There are three big selling points here:

1. This is a great game for young children & adults... it plays quickly & easily. It's also not uncommon to have ties (due to the stacking).
2. The stackable piggies sell themselves - almost any time I've brought the game out, at least one person tried to put the acrobatic circus pigs through their paces after the game was over.
3. It will play with up to 7 players without any noticeable extra downtime.