
- BGG rating
- 9.0
Sizilianische Eröffnung
- 3–5 players
- 30 min

1998
Rules assistance for Quacksalbe
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Quacksalbe is a board game released in 1998 for 3–5 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Volker Tietze and its main mechanics are Trick-taking.
from Game Cabinet Review Each player is a doctor practicing a specific type of medicine - acupuncture, drugs, blood letting, electric shocks - all the very latest techniques, all neatly color coded. Your hand of numbered cards may have some of your own color, and certainly some of other players' colors, and both low and high cards are useful as we shall see. In the manner of Carry On Doctor, the hapless victim patient is wheeled in before the arrayed quacks. Every patient is different, but your aim is to cure him (by having the largest combined total of cards in your color) without killing him (ditto, but exceeding the patient's specified limit). Your typical private patient is pretty weedy, so expires on a total higher than 14. You might play your own 8 card hoping to get close to the total, but your rivals will be only too pleased to play a 5 and a 3 to kill him off. The body goes into your mortuary (minus points) hopefully to be offset by cured patients (positive points). And that is it.
Quacksalbe supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Quacksalbe is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Quacksalbe for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Quacksalbe has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Quacksalbe belongs to these categories: Card Game, Humor, and Medical. Its main mechanics are Trick-taking. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Quacksalbe are: Volker Tietze. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Quacksalbe as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.