Ausbrecher AG

About this board game

Ausbrecher AG is a 1985 board game for 2–6 players that takes about 20 minutes to play. Seven criminals are escaping from the prison island Monte Ganovo, and each must make it down the path to one of four waiting boats.

The boats are numbered from 1 to 4, but reaching the first boat is not necessarily good news. Boat 1 is a sinking wreck, while boat 4 is a modern speedboat, so the criminals need to time their run and finish last rather than first.

At the start of the game, players secretly write down their predicted finishing order for the prisoners. Matching colored dice are then used to move the prisoners along the path, either forward or backward, creating an unpredictable race toward the boats.

• Play with 2–6 players.
• A typical game lasts about 20 minutes.
• Use matching colored dice to move prisoners forward or backward.
• Score points according to how accurately you predicted the finishing order.

The better your prediction, the more points you score. With its simple dice-rolling system and unusual goal of avoiding an early finish, Ausbrecher AG offers a funny, straightforward race that works better with more players.

In 1998, Simba reissued the game as Trödeln, changing the theme so that children wanted to be last into class and could sit at the back. Trödeln is listed as a reimplementation of Ausbrecher AG.