Description

Reichzeichen (Smoke Signals) is a set collecting memory game. There are two types of square cards - "narrow smoke" and "wide smoke". On the reverse side of the wide smoke cards are various landscapes. The narrow smoke cards contain horizons (end caps, think El Caballero)and clouds. A stream of nine cards is placed rising up from a fire; the narrow smoke cards are always face down, the wide smoke cards are first shown to everyone and then placed face down.

On your turn, you point to one of the wide smoke cards from spaces 4-9 (not the first three next to the fire) and claim what it is. If correct, you take it and keep going until you miss. The smoke raisings (?? don't know what this means!) the smoke raisings????....) with each card taken and new cards are added to the bottom. Alternatively you can take a narrow card. If it is a horizon, you take it and your turn ends. If a cloud, the rain gets closer and this paces the game. You need horizons to score so you will take this action often.

You score by creating complete landscapes. Each wide smoke card gets 5 points, narrow smoke cards get 1, and there are bonuses for special collections of landscape cards. The game uses money simply, making you pay the previous player if you take the card they incorrectly identified. In close games the money at the end can be influential.