Dohdles!

About this board game

Dohdles! is a 2015 puzzle and guessing game for 3–6 players, with play time of about 60 minutes. It challenges players to create and decipher “knätsels,” or kneading puzzles, using clay.

Each player shapes an object such as a mountain, an animal, or a famous ruin. Players then take turns asking questions about these creations or requesting a letter from an object’s name. Since everyone hears each request, a question intended to help one guesser may also guide the other players toward the solution.

• Use clay to create recognizable but challenging objects.
• Ask questions or request letters to uncover the answer.
• Throw solution stones into the answer funnel whenever you think you know it.

Timing is crucial because anyone can submit a solution at any time. When a player gives the correct answer, both the creator and the guesser score points. However, the creator scores nothing if everyone guesses the answer—or if nobody manages to guess it.

Dohdles! rewards an ideal balance between clarity and mystery. Shape a clue that can be solved, but not so easily that every player gets there at once, while listening carefully for the questions and letters that reveal what others may have created.

In the United States, this reworking of the 1988 Spiel des Jahres-winning Barbarossa is titled Dohdles!, a portmanteau of “dough doodles.”