How to play Mensch ärgere Dich nicht

Mensch ärgere Dich nicht is a dice game for two to six players, each playing for themselves. You move your four pieces once around the board and then into the four goal spaces of your colour. The first player with all four pieces in the goal wins. The others play on for the next places.

1. Each player picks a colour and takes the four pieces of that colour.
2. Put one piece on the A space of your colour. This is your start space on the track. The other three go on the B spaces in your corner.
3. Everyone rolls the die once. The player with the highest roll starts, then play goes clockwise.

Different starting setup: some families start with all four pieces on the B spaces. The official rules put one piece on the A space from the start.

More or fewer players: the board has a second side for five or six players. With two players, each player can play two opposite colours.

1. Roll the die and move one of your pieces on the track exactly that many spaces in the direction of the arrow.
2. If you have more than one piece out, you choose which one to move. You can’t split a roll between pieces.
3. You can jump over your own pieces and other players’ pieces, but occupied spaces still count.
4. Only one piece may stand on each space. If you would land on one of your own pieces, that move isn’t allowed. Move a different piece instead, if you can.

• Roll again: after every 6, you roll once more after your move, even several times in a row.
• Coming out: while you still have pieces on your B spaces, you must use a 6 to put one of them on your A space. If another player’s piece is standing there, it’s captured. If none of your pieces is on the track and you don’t roll a 6, you may only move a piece in your goal that can still reach a free goal space with that number. If that isn’t possible either, it’s the next player’s turn.
• Clearing your A space: if one of your own pieces is already on your A space, move that piece on with the 6 first. While pieces are waiting on your B spaces, none of your own pieces may stay on your A space. Move it on as soon as you can.
• All pieces out: once your B spaces are empty, a 6 simply moves a piece six spaces.

If a 6 brings your last piece into the goal, you don’t roll again.

Roll three times: the official rules list this as a variant. If you have no piece on the track and your pieces in the goal can’t move up any further, you may roll three times instead of once. A 6 brings a piece out, and then you roll again as usual.

If your move ends exactly on a space with another player’s piece, you capture it. It goes back to a B space of its colour and can only come out again with a 6. You can’t capture your own pieces.

You don’t have to capture. It’s up to you whether you move a different piece instead.

Compulsory capturing: this variant is also in the official rules. With this variant, you must capture whenever you can. If you forget, the piece that could have captured goes back to a B space.

1. Once your piece has gone all the way round the track, it doesn’t start another lap. It moves into the goal spaces a to d of your colour.
2. Each goal space counts as one space. In the goal you may jump over your own pieces and move up with small numbers.
3. Example: your piece is right in front of your goal spaces. A 1 takes it to space a, a 4 to space d. If you roll a 5, it would have to move past space d. That isn’t allowed, so move a different piece if you can.
4. You may never move into another player’s goal spaces.
5. The first player with all four pieces in the goal wins.

No jumping in the goal: in this official variant you may not jump over any piece in the goal. Your last piece can then only move into space a.