Tabletop games

Da ist der Wurm drin

Get your earthworm through the garden faster than the others, and be the first to poke its head out of the compost.

You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.

Setup

Fit the small slotted board onto the large board with the four clips.
Sort the worm pieces by colour, within easy reach. Each colour matches a length, from 1 to 6 centimetres.
Each player takes a worm head, a daisy and a strawberry of the same colour.
Everyone slides their worm's head into the tunnel of their colour, at the start.

The youngest player starts, then play goes clockwise.
On your turn, roll the colour die and push a worm piece of that colour into your tunnel until it disappears: the head moves forward by that much.
If the colour rolled has run out, take a piece of any other colour.
During your turn, you may also bet: place your daisy in front of the tunnel of the worm you think will appear first at the daisy line.
The strawberry is placed the same way, for the strawberry line further along.
As soon as a head appears at a line, nobody can bet on that line any more.
A winning bet lets you slide your daisy or strawberry into your own tunnel: your worm moves forward again. A losing bet is removed from the game.

The first worm to poke its head out of the compost wins the race.
Longer variant: carry on to the edge of the board, and the first head to reach it wins.

When should you bet?

As late as possible to see clearly, but not too late: as soon as a worm appears at the line, betting on that line is closed.

Can you bet on another player's worm?

Yes. You back the worm you think is fastest, even if it is not yours: the win still benefits your own worm.