Sauerbaum

Overview

Sauerbaum is a cooperative board game where 3-7 players work together to save a tree from acid rain. The game board depicts a stylized tree made up of 58 square fields. Raindrops gradually fill the tree from the top, and players must navigate their pawns through the remaining open spaces to land on and remove raindrops before they reach the roots. The game uses dice to determine both player movement and raindrop accumulation, creating a race between the players’ collective efforts and the encroaching acid rain. All players win or lose together.

Components

• 1 Game board (stylized tree with 58 square fields)
• Player pawns (3-7, one per player)
• Raindrop tokens
• 3 Green dice (movement)
• 1 Blue die (rain)
• Rules booklet

Setup

Place the game board on the table. Each player takes a pawn and places it at the starting position near the base of the tree. Place all raindrop tokens in a supply pile. Determine the first player.

Turn Structure

On each turn, the active player:

1. Roll All Four Dice: Roll the 3 green movement dice and the 1 blue rain die simultaneously.
2. Add Raindrops: Place new raindrop tokens on the top of the tree equal to the number shown on the blue die.
3. Move Pawn: Using the values on the 3 green dice, move your pawn along the tree’s grid. Each die shows the number of steps for one movement.
4. Remove Raindrop: If your pawn ends its movement on a space occupied by a raindrop, remove (flick off) that raindrop.

Play passes clockwise to the next player.

Actions

Raindrop Placement

• The blue die determines how many new raindrops are placed.
• Raindrops are placed on the topmost available spaces of the tree.
• As the game progresses, raindrops fill downward through the tree toward the roots.

Player Movement

• The 3 green dice each provide movement values.
• The player may use each die independently to move in different directions through the tree’s grid.
• Players must navigate through open (non-raindrop) spaces.
• Landing on a raindrop removes it – this is the primary goal.

Raindrop Descent

• Once all raindrop tokens are on the tree, subsequent rain die results cause existing raindrops to slide downward toward the roots.
• Raindrops advancing to the root area threaten to end the game.

Cooperative Discussion

• Players discuss openly which moves would be most effective.
• Strategy involves prioritizing which raindrops to remove (those closest to the roots are most urgent).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: The group wins if all raindrops are removed from the tree.

Lose: The group loses if raindrops spread over the roots of the tree (reach the bottom of the board).

There is no individual scoring – all players win or lose together.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Open Discussion: Players are encouraged to discuss strategy openly each turn, making this a true cooperative experience.
• Movement Flexibility: The 3 green dice can be used in any order and direction, allowing creative pathfinding.
• Raindrop Sliding: When all tokens are on the board, each new rain result pushes existing drops down, increasing urgency.
• Blocked Paths: Raindrops block movement. Players cannot pass through raindrop-occupied spaces, which can trap pawns.
• Multiple Pawns: Multiple player pawns may occupy the same space.
• Environmental Theme: The game was designed with an environmental education message about acid rain and its effects on forests.

Player Reference

Die	Color	Effect
3x Movement	Green	Move pawn along tree grid
1x Rain	Blue	Add raindrops to top of tree

Win: Remove all raindrops from the tree.

Lose: Raindrops reach the tree’s roots.