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This is the 1997 Doris and Frank Game and you can find the usual advertisement stuff at the
Ursuppe announcement page . For basic information and links to independent reviews go to the
General Games Page .
And if you are looking for new "neutral" information you might want to look at the following:
-
Search the Funagain Games index . - Ursuppe at the GameCabinet .
Some might have expect it. We've made an expansion kit to Ursuppe The expansion kit consists of
- Pieces and rules to play with 5 and 6 players
- 26 new genes generating millions of new options (Most of them from Steven O'Sullivans page
but not all).
S o it's two expansion in one box! Beside many inovative and funny new genes, there are two genes illustrated by
Christoph Tisch , known from his Pöppel Revue cartoons. Have a glance at 4 gene animation on the right side.
So far only one real error is known with the Ursuppe expansion. This error affects both German and English descriptions of genes sold with the expansion in Essen 1998:
The gene
Migration sensing, Alarm, Fast Food and
Energy Conservation (
Strömungsinn, Alarm, Fast Food und
Energie sparen ) has to be used in
Phase 1 not Phase 2! Note that later editions of the rules might have one or more of this rules corrected!
In German:
Auf den Genbeschreibungen zur Extraportion Gen, die in Essen 1998 verkauft wurden befindet sich ein Druckfehler:
Die Gene Strömungssinn, Alarm, Fast Food und Energie sparen werden in Phase 1 angewandt, nicht wie irrtümlch abgedruckt in Phase 2! In neueren Ausgaben der Regel sind diese Stellen ganz oder teilweise korrigiert!
A wanted to do that myself, but Steven O' Sullivan was faster! In April 1998 one could find more then 60 new genes, invented by him, Brian Bankler and Stephen Tavener and more on his
Ursuppe Gene Testing Grounds . Some of them look pretty interesting. Stephen Tavener even invented an entire
new type of gene , which represents a disadvantage instead of an advantage, but has a negative mutations score!
The arrival of the Ursuppe expansion seems to have freshly inspired Brian Bankler to start inventing new genes again. I've got CC's of a discussion by hi with Stephen Tavener. Also only few weeks before the expansion came out (and while it already was in print) we got a snail mail by Jörg Zuther a German mathematician (hey like me) who invented a whole bunch of new genes. Substracting the genes in the expansion and the genes which have been reinvented quite a few times, adding my own remaining ideas, the unpublished Ursuppe genes are now going up in the eighties. Any hints what we should do with them???
Any new genes, but also suggestions about right prices, mutation or quantity are appreciated, send them to us or better to him!
Every now and then I get an email with a perfect winning strategy. Unfortunately Ursuppe is indeed a system which is pretty vulnerable to the strength of the genes. Much of the testing during the years of development was to avoid invincable genes. Fortunately the perfect winning strategies submitted are all different ;-) So here for yourself to check, in increasing seriosity:
- With three players, simply win the dice role and start in front of all others.
- Buy Movement I. This is invincible. Avoid to buy Movement II since then your Movement I gets free again.
- The player who buys Spores wins.
- Life Expectancy plus Substitution is invincible.
- Streamlining is too strong.
- Movement II plus Streamline is invincible.
- Division Rate together with Life Expectancy is invincible.
- As soon as Aggression and Armour is used only one of those players can win, noone else...
- Life Expectancy, Division Rate and Spores (maybe with Escape or Defense instead of Spores) are unbeatable.
- Speed, Escape, Streamline and Movement II is unbeatable.
I still think there is enough interaction between the situation on the board and the strategy and between the players, that there isn't a perfect way win?!
This section consists rules for two players and alternative rules for Ursuppe.
We've never thought on that, but we've gotten some requests and suggestions, there also was a thread in the news once. Currently we've heard about three possible ways to play Ursuppe with two players.
- Dummy player
Define a dummy player, which doesn't play by the normal rules, but rather plays automatically, e.g. drifts everytime. Has life expectancy from the beginning, gets 2 amoebas per round. Dummy does or doesn't score. - Double play I
Every player plays for two colours, but scores only the worse result of his two colours. - Double play II
Every player plays with two colours. Start like a four players game. All starting amoebas are without. Phase 1: The second ranked players starts by feeding on of his colours, the leading player then feeds his first colour and afterward his second colour and finally the second ranked player feeds his other colour. Phase 3: Players by genes and they apply to both of their colours! Phase 4: New amoebas cost 4 (and 3 with division rate). Usual rules are applied for extinct or nearly extinct colours (not players). Phase 6: A player scores for the number of amoebas in each of his colours plus once the score for his genes.
One might try to combine method 1 with either 2 or 3 when one uses the Ursuppe expansion.
Richard Heli has invented his own way to play Ursuppe with the given bits and pieces. It also his contribution which I use to try to start another Mü discussion .
Well, do you have some? I don't, but
Paul Jefferies has manufactured great ones and sent me two pictures (click the links):
pic1 (64k),
pic2 (42k).
And there are more variants on BGG, semi commercial artistic amoebas: Pic 1 , Pic 2 , Pic 3 , Pic 4 , Pic 5 Pic 6 Pic 7
More About Ursuppe
