Heuchel und Meuchel

Heuchel und Meuchel has a medieval look to the board and tiles, as players try to move characters of different social class up the courtly ladder to their goals. The tiles are of six characters; The Fire-Eater, The Minstrel, The Quack, The Bishop, The Lady & The Prince, each tile having a distinctive background pattern. There are 6 tiles of each, numbered from 1 to 6. The board is a simple grid of columns, having starting and finishing squares with patterns matching the tiles. Players draw 6 tiles each and place them on their starting squares, stacking them if necessary. Then they move a tile, or a stack or an upper part of a stack, up their column to the next free space. When you place a tile, if there is another player's tile on the same row with the same value, it is taken under protection of yours, by placing it under yours to make a stack. You then have another move. So if the 4 Minstrel ends on the same row as the 4 Lady, she is taken under his wing. This can be done in the finishing area too and if this reveals a tile beyond its station, that is removed as a penalty to its owner. When a tile reaches its matching finishing square, it is turned over and is done with. When only one player can move, the game ends and you score. For each tile that reached its place or beyond, you score its value, deducting any penalties. Most points wins. There is a variant using a die to control your moves. An odd movement game, with some thought and memory needed for the knock-on effect, but not a great game. Nice to look at though.