Activity
| Activity Original | |
|---|---|
| Game data | |
| author | Original: Ulrike and Paul Catty , Maria and Josef Ernst Führer |
| publishing company |
Piatnik (1990), Discovery Toys (1995) |
| Publishing year | 1990 |
| Art | Board game |
| Teammates | 3 to 16 |
| Duration | ~ 60 minutes |
| Age | from 12 years |
When activity is an Austrian board game - and party game series , each several teams against each enter into competition in the individual games. By guessing certain terms you advance on the field and can win the game. In the game, terms must be explained in words , portrayed in pantomime or painted within 60 seconds, depending on which field you are standing on - the time is measured with an hourglass . In the acting parts it corresponds to the traditional party game Charade .
Style of play
Theme and equipment
The original version of the game consists of a game board, an extensive set of 550 cards, 4 playing figures and an hourglass. Crayons and paper are required as additional game material. The game is designed for two to four teams of at least two players each, which means that it can also be played in large groups.
A lane is shown on the board, which begins with a four-colored starting field and then continues in a lane with 49 fields. On the track, the three different actions that are used to represent terms are illustrated by different colors and images. The cards have numbers on the back for the level of difficulty of the respective tasks, with the “3” comparatively easy, the “4” somewhat more difficult and the “5” the most difficult tasks. The six terms per card are assigned to the different colors and images that specify the respective term and the form of representation. Individual terms are marked in red, this is the identification for an open round.
In order to win the game, the players must reach the target field on the game board using the path shown by guessing the terms given on the cards.
regulate
At the beginning of the game, teams are formed and each team chooses a pawn to be placed on the starting field. The cards are sorted and shuffled according to their level of difficulty, then they are placed face down on the corresponding fields on the game board. The teams play in clockwise order and at the beginning of their turn they have to choose a performer from their team, and they take turns over the rounds.
The performer of the starting team chooses a level of difficulty and takes the corresponding top card from the draw pile, which his fellow players are not allowed to see. According to the color and illustration of his field, the actor now chooses one of the terms on the card; At the beginning of the game, all pieces are in the starting area and the player may choose a term, which he must however represent in the required form. After memorizing the term (and if no open round is being played), he passes the card on to the opposing teams for control and begins his task, which is to present the term to his fellow players in the manner given on the field . He has as long as the hourglass indicates, and the teammates have to guess the term during this time.
There are three options for presentation:
- Drawing: For the illustration "drawing" the term to be guessed must be drawn. The performer is not allowed to speak or to help with gestures, only nods of the head at correct partial words are allowed. The drawing must not contain any numbers or letters.
- Descriptive: When using the illustration “speaking”, the term must be explained without revealing the relevant word or parts of the word.
- Pantomime: In the case of the illustration "representing" the term pantomime must be presented as a charade . The performer is not allowed to speak, make any noise, or use any objects to help or point at them. Own body parts may be shown.
If one of the rules is disregarded by the actor, the display is interrupted and the next team continues the game.
The other players shout out the potential solutions, the performer is not allowed to react until the correct term is mentioned. The players of the opposing teams control the observance of the time and the rules in the presentation. When the team has guessed the term, their own playing figure may move forward 3 to 5 spaces according to the level of difficulty on the card. If it doesn't work, the figure stops and it's the turn of the next team. If the figure moves to a space on which the opposing team's figure stands, it is captured and must move back one space.
An open round is played when the term is marked red on the card. The performer does not show the drawn card to anyone and all teams are allowed to guess the presentation. If the opposing team guesses the term, it can move four spaces and the own team two spaces; in this case, both pieces may end up on the same square, no capture is made. If your own team guesses the term first, it may proceed with its figure 6 spaces.
The game ends when a team reaches the target square first or moves beyond it. This team won the game.
Playing style of the original version
Even in the original version of the game, it consisted of a game board, a set of 550 cards, 4 playing figures and an hourglass. However, the track on the game board was divided into 6 areas with 8 fields each with the designations A to F and the respective display forms as well as a target area with a target field. There were 6 terms on each of the cards, which were also marked A to F and each had a number indicating the number of steps involved in solving them. Individual terms were marked in red; this was also the marking for an open round. In addition, the tasks REIM and KETTE could be given on the cards, which were then played accordingly. As in the current version of the game, however, the newer editions were also about guessing terms that were represented by individual players as a charade, as an explanation and graphically.
In contrast to the current version, areas A to F specified the respective form of representation. In areas A and D, the term to be guessed had to be drawn, in areas B and E the term had to be circumscribed and in areas C and F the term had to be mimed as a charade . In addition, there were the options REIM and CHAIN, which were played in the following variants according to the specifications on the cards:
- rhyme
- When rhyming, the actor and another player on the team have to invent a two-line poem together. The actor enters the first line and has to end it with a word that rhymes with the word given on the card. The second player should try, following the instructions given in the first part of the rhyme, to end his part of the rhyme with the given word and may try to do so until the given time has expired. If he has guessed the correct word, the team can move 5 spaces.
- Chain
- In the case of the chain, all teams must each select a teammate. The actor specifies the term on the card and uses the second part of the compound word to create a new word that must begin with it. Then the selected teammate of the next team must also form a new word from the second part of the previous word within five seconds and pass the chain on to the next player. All existing nouns and verbs are valid; a term or part of a word that has been used may no longer be used. As soon as a player has not found a new word, the chain ends and the team of the player with the last valid term wins the round and can move their own figure 4 spaces.
If the answer was correct, the team could choose according to the information on the card. In the open round, the team that guessed the term first could proceed 6 spaces with its figure. A stroke rule was not provided, both pieces could be on the same square.
When a character had gone through all the game areas, it reached the target area and the corresponding team could try to solve the final task in the next round. This was solved when the team was able to solve two tasks in a row. For the first task, the actor had to select one of the areas A through F before dragging. If it was a chain or rhyme problem, a new card was drawn. This first task was played as an open round and only if the performer's team found the solution first, the second task was started. The opponents drew a card and chose a term that the team had to solve. If one of the two tasks failed, the team was only allowed to try again to solve the final task in the next round. As soon as both tasks were solved, the corresponding team won.
Variant for three people
There is a variant for both the current and the original version that enables the game for three people:
When playing with three people, each player chooses his own character. In this game only open rounds are played and each player tries to present the given concept to his two fellow players. If the term is solved, both the actor and the player who guessed the term may move the specified number of spaces forward. If no other player guesses the term, it is the next player's turn. All other rules are the same as for team play, hitting is not possible. The player who crosses the finish line first wins.
The following additions applied to the original version:
- In the case of a rhyme problem, the player had to solve the problem with his left neighbor and both could move 5 spaces on successful completion.
- As soon as a player was in the target area, he could draw a card and show his left neighbor what he thought was the most difficult term. This had to represent the term for the third player and if he guessed the term, both players moved and the game continued. If they don't succeed, the player in the target area has won.
Further adaptations and variants
Based on the original game published in 1990, Piatnik published numerous additions and further adaptations. Some of the variants are no longer manufactured, others have appeared in several revised editions:
|
Currently available:
|
No longer available:
|
Supplementary sets:
|
Variants for children
Child-friendly versions of Activity are available as Activity Junior (1997, 2013) or as Activity Junior Turbo for children aged 8 and over. The variant Activity Franz Ferdinand (2012) is suitable for children from 7 years. There is also Activity - Die Oktonauten (2013). Activity - My first (2005) can be played by children of kindergarten age. The terms are suitable for children from the age of four, these are also shown graphically on the cards. In addition, the game has a variable game plan to adjust the length of the game.
TV show
In the years 2006-2007 the game show Extreme Activity was broadcast on German television, which is based on the game principle of Activity and was taken up again in a separate board game version Extreme Activity . This was also adapted for Hungarian television in 2016 and has been broadcast since September 2016.
History and reception
The original Activity comes from two Austrian couples, Ulrike and Paul Catty and Maria and Josef Ernst Führer. The two couples met in Seckau in Styria to play and invented this game as a "nonsense game" that is quickly explained and easy to play. In 1990, after an editorial revision, it came out as "Activity" at Piatnik. Discovery Toys published an English version as the Word Trio in 1995 . A number of other adaptations of the game have been developed since 1990, starting with individual theme packages for the basic game and revisions of the basic game through to independent games for different target groups.
From 2006 a television show based on the game was developed under the name Extreme Activity and broadcast internationally. In the 2007 Grimme Prize and the “ Romy 2007 ” show, celebrities had to solve various tasks in the style of an activity game under the guidance of Jürgen von der Lippe . Based on the show in 2006 the board game of the same name was Extreme Activity developed in 2007 with the Austrian Game Prize Game of the Year Award, and later adapted for the Hungarian television. In 2011, a mobile app for the game was also developed for the iPad .
By 2009, more than five million games in the Activity series had been sold, and in 2015 more than six million games were sold. The game has been translated into 13 languages and is one of the most successful board games of all time internationally.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Activity Original , current rules of the game Activity, edition from 2012; accessed on October 22, 2017
- ↑ a b c d e f g Rules of the game Activity in the original version
- ↑ Activity for children at Familienbrettspiele.de
- ↑ Piatnik: Happy Birthday Activity! at brandora.de from August 2009
- ↑ Brettspielbox-News 18/2015: Innovations, 25 years of Activity. On brettspielbox.de, May 1, 2015; accessed on March 22, 2017.
Web links
- Activity Original , current rules of the game Activity, 2012 edition
- Rules of the game Activity in the original version
- Activity at Piatnik
- Activity in the Luding games database
- Activity in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English)