"Bahn Frei" the strategy game
Product number:
MID1087
Train operations in Germany are chaotic. Passengers are upset. Something needs to change. A strong team is wanted to take action and operate the system more efficiently, for the sake of the best passenger experience possible. To get the job you have to prove yourself over two weeks and master all challenges lying ahead. Neither broken air cons nor cows on the tracks shall stop your efforts. Plan ahead carefully, discuss well in the team and keep an eye on time! Will you manage to take passengers to their destinations on time and keep them satisfied?
“Bahn Frei” is a cooperative pick up & delivery board game for 1-4 players (age 11+). Each game will take you about 60-90 minutes. The setting is contemporary Germany with its widely spread railway system. The focus is on a satisfactory passenger experience and avoiding complaints.
Bahn Frei stands out through:
- Cooperative gameplay: players win and lose together and do not compete with each other
- “Hero on your own train"-effect: Finally take control of a train in the German railway system yourself and focus on a great passenger experience
- High replay value: every game is new and nearly unpredictable. Optional variations included in the original game lead to additional variety
- Strategy and puzzling: Players face new challenges every round
The game is played over 15 rounds. The common goal of the team is to take passengers to their destinations on time, keep them satisfied and avoid (too many) complaints. The passenger experience is key to winning the game. In order to succeed the team has to master upcoming challenges, cooperate closely and keep an eye on time. Obtained vouchers may temporarily calm angry passengers.
Each round is made up of 5 stages:
- New passengers come into play
- Draw an event card (from round 3)
- Team briefing
- Train operations (time limit: 30 seconds)
- Complaint management
The team wins the game, if they managed to cause less than 8 complaints after 15 rounds.
Two variations can be added to the regular gameplay to further increase the variety of experiences and replay value.
- 8 special passengers
These cards can be added to the pile of passengers and will surprise the team with demanding expectations to be met for a great passenger experience.
- Special train skills
The trains have a standard side ("Einteiger") and an advanced side ("Vielfahrer"). Turn the trains on their advanced side and benefit from a specific skill that each train brings along.
Understand Bahnhof?
In German we have the idiom „Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof“ which would literally translate to „I only understand train station“ (i.e. I don’t understand anything). This might be what you are thinking when looking at Bahn Frei. So if you already ask yourself, how you will ever be able to play this game, I would like to introduce to you the „English ready package“.
When I planned for the Bahn Frei project and the Kickstarter campaign I thought a lot about whether I should produce an English language edition, a German one or both. Early on in the development it was clear to me that Bahn Frei could never be a language independent game due to the event cards and the story of the game.
This is why I decided to start with a 100% German edition first. In order to still make the game accessible to English speakers now, I created this English ready package. It consists of the following three parts:
1. Instructions: Manual translated from German to English, will provide you all information you need to play the game.
2. Event cards: I translated the event cards and provide them in a print-ready format. You can choose to print these cards and use the printouts (either with or without the back side) or print the front side on adhesive labels and put them onto the cards that came with the game.
3. Glossary: Explains all terms on the passenger cards, the game board and the train plates
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