Volle Hütte

About this board game

Volle Hütte is a 30-minute board game for 3–5 players, first released in 1997, about competing pub and cafe owners trying to earn the most money from their customers.

Each player has a small board representing their establishment. On your turn, you can add a tile showing seating or an activity, such as a bar, patio, formal seating, dancing, pool, or fooseball. You can also take a Customer card to bring guests to suitable spaces, or choose a Billing card to collect tips while all customers in every pub pay their bills.

Customers are worth different amounts: yellow customers pay 10 DM, red customers pay 20 DM, and blue customers pay 30 DM. When at least ten customers are in play, Action cards let you move guests between tile types. Some movements send customers from a particular attraction to a type of your choice, while others direct customers toward a specific tile.

The key challenge is controlling where customers go. They first look for an available suitable space in their current pub. If they cannot find one, they move clockwise from establishment to establishment until they find room—or leave the game. Customers normally pay when they move, but a No Pay symbol turns the move into an opportunity to draw guests away without collecting a bill.

• Build a varied selection of seating and attractions.
• Use paying movements to earn money from your own customers.
• Use No Pay actions to redirect customers from opponents.
• Time Billing cards carefully when your pub is full of valuable guests.

With three Customer cards, three Action cards, and two fresh tiles available, Volle Hütte offers choices to plan around. The game ends when the Action cards or Billing cards run out, and the player with the most money wins.