A review copy of Tante Trudel’s Trodel designed by Steffen Bogen was kindly provided German publisher Zoch GmbH.
What follows is an overview of the game broken down into 5 sections: The Game Components, Setting Up The Game, How To Play The Game, What Did We Think? and finally Who Do We Think Will Like It?. So if you don't want to read the whole review scan down to the heading that interests you.
The Game Components
Tante Trudel’s Scales – A sturdy cardboard image of Aunty Trudel with wooden peg and balancing wooden beam, golden chains, pans and two mice to help ensure the beam is properly balanced.
Game board – This depicts a blue 5 by 5 grid intended I imagine to depict shelves in a junk shop.
25 ‘rummage’ objects – These wooden objects are coloured blue, green, yellow and natural and depict 22 unique shapes such as clocks, coat hangers, cars etc. The colour of the objects plays no part in the game.
3 Shopping Coupons – These are study cardboard counters depicting shopping baskets.
4 Baskets – These player baskets are in heavy lipped cardboard in the four player colours of blue, red, yellow and green.
1 Die
Tante Trudel’s Scales – A sturdy cardboard image of Aunty Trudel with wooden peg and balancing wooden beam, golden chains, pans and two mice to help ensure the beam is properly balanced.
25 ‘rummage’ objects – These wooden objects are coloured blue, green, yellow and natural and depict 22 unique shapes such as clocks, coat hangers, cars etc. The colour of the objects plays no part in the game.
4 Baskets – These player baskets are in heavy lipped cardboard in the four player colours of blue, red, yellow and green.
1 Die
Setting Up The Game
Put the figure of Aunty Trudel and her scales together
One player then constructs Aunty Trudel’s ‘rummage of the day by putting aside 3 items.
Place the remaining 22 wooden ‘rummage’ objects together with the 3 Shopping Coupons randomly one in each of the in the 25 squares on the game board.
Each player selects one of the baskets.
Starting at the door (depicted on one of the corners of the game board) one player throws the dice and then moves their basket that number of spaces, in a clockwise direction, around the outside of the board placing a ‘rummage’ item (selected from the row adjacent to the final move) in the basket, this process is then repeated twice more; the three shopping coupons should be placed in the now vacant spaces on the game board.
These three items represent the ‘rummage of the day’ and are thereby the target weight the players ‘rummage’ will be measured against. The ‘rummage of the day’ is placed in front of the scales for all to see. Players will need to create a basket of three items that whilst lighter than this is heavier than their fellow competitors.
How To Play The Game
Players enter the shop (game) by throwing the dice and moving that number of spaces around the outside of the board in a clockwise direction. They can then do one of the following:
Once you are happy with your items then you can exit the store i.e. throw the requisite number that will take your basket out of the store and line it up in front of the scales; so long as nobody else has exited the store than players may move their basket backwards by the number thrown in order to adjust their selection of items.
Once all players have left the store than weigh each players rummage against the ‘rummage of the day’. If more than one player has ‘rummage’ that is lighter than Aunty Trudel’s then remove hers from the scales and compare the players rummage to see who’s is the heaviest (i.e. closest in weight to Aunty Trudel’s) in order to establish the winner.
Put the figure of Aunty Trudel and her scales together
One player then constructs Aunty Trudel’s ‘rummage of the day by putting aside 3 items.
Each player selects one of the baskets.
How To Play The Game
Players enter the shop (game) by throwing the dice and moving that number of spaces around the outside of the board in a clockwise direction. They can then do one of the following:
- Take any single item (or shopping coupon) into their basket from the row adjacent to their basket.
- Exchange an item in their basket for an item in the row adjacent to their basket.
- Place an item from their basket back on an empty space on the row adjacent to their basket.
- If the row the basket is adjacent to has a scales in it then the player can test the weight of their basket against that of the ‘the rummage of the day’.
- If they have landed next to another player swap one of their items for that of the other players.
- If they have a shopping coupon in their basket they can exchange this for an additional item from that row or another player’s basket if they are now adjacent to this.
Once you are happy with your items then you can exit the store i.e. throw the requisite number that will take your basket out of the store and line it up in front of the scales; so long as nobody else has exited the store than players may move their basket backwards by the number thrown in order to adjust their selection of items.
What Did We Think?
Very definitely a child game that in my view unlike many other Zoch games will have significantly less appeal to adults, other than in the family setting. That said whilst in Essen last year I played this game with two ladies who had wanted to play this game as something light and amusing.
It is colourful, tactile and with the scales offers a visually appealing package to children. It is simple to setup and play made of sturdy materials and for families with younger children should offer enough replayability to make this a good investment.
It will no doubt support their education and development in helping to teach that size doesn’t always determine weight and that three or four objects may weigh the same as three very different ones.
Very definitely a child game that in my view unlike many other Zoch games will have significantly less appeal to adults, other than in the family setting. That said whilst in Essen last year I played this game with two ladies who had wanted to play this game as something light and amusing.
It is colourful, tactile and with the scales offers a visually appealing package to children. It is simple to setup and play made of sturdy materials and for families with younger children should offer enough replayability to make this a good investment.
It will no doubt support their education and development in helping to teach that size doesn’t always determine weight and that three or four objects may weigh the same as three very different ones.
Who Do We Think Will Like It?
Families with young children or teachers looking for an amusing way to convey some of the maths principles around shapes and volumes.
Families with young children or teachers looking for an amusing way to convey some of the maths principles around shapes and volumes.
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