If you’re like most Americans, you know about a certain game called Yahtzee. You probably know it’s played with dice. You may have even played it.
If you’re part of a smaller group of Westerners, you’re familiar with, maybe have even played, a card game called Bohnanza. If you’re in a smaller subsection, you own the game and some of its expansions. If you’re in a teeny, tiny, exclusive cabal, you can name the designer of that game (Uwe Rosenberg) and correctly pronounce his name.
I don’t belong to the latter couple of partitions.
But I do own and enjoy a dice game spinoff of Bohnanza, titled Würfel Bohnanza. So I guess I’m closeted away in some inner chamber of a remote temple only accessible by a secret path guarded by the knights of a little-known cult of gameophiles. At least it feels that way. Not least of all because the dice game’s text is all in German.
Maybe my fancies have extremed the situation. My brother-in-law owns Würfel Bohnanza, too, after all. (And his kid called it “Waffle Bananas” for a while.) I think he bought the game off Amazon. I had to cash in a favor to get a friend to get his friend to buy it in Germany on a business trip and bring it back stateside. But now, if Amazon has it anybody can have it.
If you don’t own the game, it’s like Yahtzee. Only fun. And anybody stands a good chance to win, even on someone else’s turn. You really should check it out.
If you do own the game, maybe you feel some of the isolated loneliness I do. Maybe it seems like no one else knows of this cute little hidden treasure. Maybe you’re stuck at home in quarantine, staring at your game and wishing you had others to play it with.
If so, maybe I can help.
In the first place, I own the game, too, so you’re not alone. At least, you know, metaphorically. But not for long. Because now to play Würfel Bohnanza, all you have to do is invite a total stranger into your home. You can play against the Bean Thief!
That is to say, I’ve created a solo variant. Wherein you match wits – and luck – against the game. The Bean Thief – or the AI of the game – can score points and win the game before you do.
So no more moping. Time to play, to take down that Bean Thief for good! You can download this variant as a printable document here. Or see below for a text version.
If you don’t have Würfel Bohnanza already, you should be able to order it online. If that doesn’t work out, I know a guy who knows a guy....
The Bean Thief
A Würfel Bohnanza solo variant by Adam Sequoyah
You were minding your own business, peacefully tending your bean field with no worries ... until a thief began stealing your beans!
In this solo variant of Würfel Bohnanza, you play against the game. A Bean Thief is out to steal your precious bean crops for his own profit! With some careful choices and a helping of luck, you might make it to harvest and drive off that conniving Bean Thief. But he could steal some of your paying customers or even pluck the beans right out of your field!
Object
Play to the normal 13 Beantalers (coins) to determine the winner. You may be able to pull off the win ... but the Bean Thief could beat you to it!
Setup
Set up the game as normal. You are the first player (and only you take turns). During the game, the Bean Thief may earn Beantalers (coins). So not only will you need a place for your collected Beantalers, you will need a place for the Bean Thief’s as he gains Beantalers as well.
Gameplay
You play each turn of the game like normal, rolling Beandice and choosing dice to commit to the field – but you don’t have to wait until the end of your turn to complete your Harvestcard’s orders. Instead, you should immediately complete orders as soon as the proper Beandice are committed to the Beanfield.
Like normal, you still only use your upper Harvestcard to complete orders, until you cash it in and your lower Harvestcard becomes the new one you’re working on.
The Bean Thief also interrupts your game in the following situations.
Beanfield Stealing – when you plant only 1 bean from a roll
Each time you roll the dice, if you commit 2 or more dice to the Beanfield, you are safe. But if you commit only 1 die before rerolling, the Bean Thief will try to steal one of your planted beans!
Roll all dice that you have available to reroll. This is the Beanfield stealing roll.
Note that this does not include any dice the Bean Thief has already stolen this turn.
This roll can only help the Bean Thief; you can’t use this roll to complete your card’s Bean orders or to plant more beans.
If any rolled Beandice match any Beans in your field*, the Bean Thief steals one of these dice from the Beanfield!
If multiple Beans match, you choose which die to remove from your field.
If multiple dice rolled or in your field match, you still only remove one die from the field.
Remove and set aside the stolen die from the Beanfield. It will not be used for anything else until the very end of the turn.
When dice are stolen, it does not cause you to lose orders you’ve already completed. (Remember that in this variant you immediately complete orders on your Harvestcard when the Beanfield has the required Beans.) But stolen dice can greatly hinder your progress toward future orders!
If no rolled dice match dice in the Beanfield, the Bean Thief is unsuccessful and skulks away empty-handed.
* The color of the die does not need to match, just the color/type of the bean.
Super-Steals – at the end of every turn
The Bean Thief seems pesky as he disrupts your farming plans. The crook can get downright nasty, though, if he catches a lucky break.
At the very end of your turn, the Bean Thief attempts a “super-steal.” Super-steals work similarly to the normal game where you can instantly complete orders on other players’ turns. The Bean Thief will attempt to swipe your upper Harvestcard and instantly profit from it.
Pick up and roll all 7 dice. This roll is the Bean Thief’s attempt to super-steal.
This roll can only help the Bean Thief; you can’t use this roll to complete your card’s Bean orders.
If the dice can make a combination matching any of the top 3 orders exposed* on your upper Harvestcard (the orders with darker yellow backgrounds and Beantalers shown to the right), the Bean Thief steals your card! Remove your upper card, and give cards to the Bean Thief as Beantalers, the number of which is the number of Beantalers on the right of the order.
So the Bean Thief gains 1 fewer Beantaler than you would if you had cashed in with that order completed.
The Bean Thief completes the most valuable order he can complete with the roll. But notice that he only earns the number of Beantalers shown to the right of that order. (So he can never earn 4 Beantalers from completing 1 order.)
If the Bean Thief super-steals, draw a new card to become your new lower card like you normally do when you cash in your upper card. If the Bean Thief can now claim the game victory, the game ends and the Bean Thief wins.
If none of the top 3 orders showing on your upper Harvestcard can be completed with the roll, the attempt fails. The Bean Thief retires to his lair to plot and scheme.
Then begin your next turn.
* The normal game allows you to cash in at any time, so you can cash in before the Bean Thief attempts a super-steal. But once you roll for the super-steal, it’s too late! But you aren’t allowed to cash in once the super-steal roll has been made!
** Note that if you progressed beyond the third-from-the-top order, fewer orders on your upper card are exposed. But more is at stake, since you worked hard to get this far!
Summary
When the Needed Dice Are in the Field – Complete orders immediately during your turn.
After Each Roll – If you commit only 1 die, the Bean Thief tries to steal a die from the Beanfield.
Very End of the Turn – The Bean Thief tries to super-steal, cashing in your upper Harvestcard and to earn Beantalers from it.
Levels of Difficulty
Are you playing for a little sport and fun? Go for it; give that Bean Thief a satisfying punt.
Or are you ready for a serious challenge? With a higher difficulty, Mr. Thief could be nigh unstoppable....
Easy “Cool Beans” – If you complete no orders during your turn, the Bean Thief gets lazy and does not attempt a super-steal.
Normal “Baked Beans” – Follow the normal rules written above this section.
Hard “Tough Beans” – At the end of your turn, if you could have cashed in your upper Harvestcard but you didn’t do it, the super-steal roll counts for both your upper and your lower Harvestcards!
If the Bean Thief steals only your lower card, all progress made on your upper card is lost! The new lower card you draw goes in the starting place below your upper card.
If the roll meets the requirements for exposed orders on both cards, the Bean Thief steals both cards and gets the Beantalers showing to the right of both matching orders!
Very Hard “Ouch, My Kidney Beans!” – Same as “Tough Beans,” and if you make no progress on a turn, the Bean Thief steals your upper Harvestcard, taking it as 1 point for himself! Then he still attempts a super-steal on your other card. Good luck!
© 2020 House Rules
Würfel Bohnanza © AMIGO Spiel + Freizeit GmbH