The Quacks of Quedlinburg
Officially Die Quacksalber von Quedlinburg (2018, Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele)
A push-your-luck bag-building game where 2-4 players are quack doctors brewing potions by drawing chips from their bag — draw too many cherry bombs and the pot explodes. 2018 Kennerspiel des Jahres winner.
What is The Quacks of Quedlinburg?
The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a bag-building push-your-luck game designed by Wolfgang Warsch, published by Schmidt Spiele in 2018. Players are 17th-century charlatans concocting potions to sell at the market. Each round, all players simultaneously draw ingredient chips from personal bags and place them along a spiral in their pot; each chip's number is the steps advanced. Cherry-bomb chips are the risk — if their cumulative total exceeds 7, the pot explodes and the player loses either the round's victory points or coins (their choice). At round end, players earn coins based on final position + VPs based on scoring spaces reached, then spend coins on new chips from a marketplace of 9 differently-colored ingredients (each with unique end-of-round effects). Rulebook has 4 ingredient sets (Books 1-4) providing enormous variety. Kennerspiel des Jahres winner 2018; expansions (Herb Witches 2019, Alchemists 2021) add ranked chips + new colors. Widely considered the modern gold standard for push-your-luck.
Quick facts
Category
Board Games
Type
Mixed
Players
2–4
Duration
~60 min
Where played
indoor
Field / court
Personal spiral pot boards + shared marketplace
Country of origin
🇩🇪 Germany
Estimated origin
Published Oct 2018 Spiel Essen; English North Star Games; won Kennerspiel des Jahres July 2018
Olympic
No
Popularity
global
How it works
Objective
After 9 rounds, score the most Victory Points by successfully brewing high-value potions without exploding your pot too often.
Match structure
9 rounds. Each round: (1) draw fortune-teller card; (2) simultaneous chip-draws — keep drawing or stop; (3) evaluate explosions (>7 cherry bombs); (4) resolve position-based rewards (coins/VPs/rubies); (5) resolve chip effects; (6) shop for new chips + upgrade pot.
Rules
Basic rules
Draw chips one at a time
Reach into bag, pull chip, place on next spiral space (moving forward by chip's value).
Stop or continue
After each chip, decide to stop or draw again.
Explosion at >7 cherry bombs
If cumulative cherry-bomb value exceeds 7, pot explodes.
Choose VP OR coins after explosion
Exploded players get either coins OR victory points that round, not both.
Score at end of round
Furthest advanced on spiral → best rewards; last players get 'rat' catch-up.
Buy 1-2 new chips per round
Spend coins at marketplace based on last-round performance.
Advanced rules
Chip effects
Each color has unique triggered effect (green: extra draw; yellow: skip draw; blue: rubies; etc).
Ingredient set variety
Rulebooks 1-4 rotate chip effects, offering high replay value.
Fortune-teller cards
Round-specific bonus card affects all players (e.g., 'green chips worth +1').
Pot upgrades
Spend 2 rubies to move starting position forward one space.
Rat token
Trailing players start with rats (each = 1 free spiral space this round).
Scoring
9 rounds of potion brewing; total VP wins.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Furthest on spiral (round) | Coins + VP based on position reached |
| Chip effects (green, black, purple) | Bonus coins/VP/rubies |
| Ruby-based scoring bonuses | +1-3 VP per ruby (variable) |
| Explosion penalty | Choose either coins OR VP, not both |
Win condition · Highest VP after 9 rounds.
Playing area
Called
Personal spiral pot boards + shared marketplace
Dimensions
1 spiral pot per player (50+ spaces) + shared central marketplace + scoring board
Each player has a spiral pot board; shared marketplace displays ingredient chips available for purchase.
Equipment
4 pot boards (spiral)
Personal spiral tracks where ingredient chips are placed each round.
~150 ingredient chips
9 colors (white/orange/purple/yellow/green/black/blue/red + neutral), each with unique effect.
Rulebooks 1-4
Four sets of ingredient rules for variety.
Fortune-teller cards
One drawn per round; provides temporary bonus/rule.
Rat markers
Trailing players catch up via rats.
Ruby tokens
Bonus resource, spent for pot upgrades or extra draws.
4 cloth bags
Hold each player's chips for random draw.
Scoring track + coin/VP tokens
Track final scores + intermediate rewards.
Positions & roles
Quack Doctor (Player)
×4Manages own bag, pot, coins, rubies, chips.
Officiating
Casual game — self-officiated.
- None
Penalties & fouls
Penalties
Pot explosion
Lose choice of coins or VP for the round.
Over-buying
Cannot buy chips you cannot afford.
Strategies
Buy cherry-bomb removers early
Yellow/orange/red chips reduce explosion risk in later rounds.
Focus one color path
Green (chain draws) or Purple (rubies) offer highest single-strategy payoff.
Push in early rounds
Early explosions cost less; late-round explosions cost most.
Buy 2 cheap chips over 1 expensive
Bag dilution + double effects usually outperform one big chip.
Track cherry-bomb count
Know how many cherry bombs left in bag to estimate explosion risk.
Terminology
- Pot
- Personal spiral board for placing drawn chips.
- Cherry bomb (white)
- Dangerous chip; explodes pot at cumulative >7.
- Bag
- Cloth bag holding all your ingredients.
- Ruby
- Bonus resource, used for pot upgrades + potion effects.
- Rat
- Catch-up mechanic for trailing players.
- Fortune-teller
- Round modifier card drawn each round.
Major competitions
Kennerspiel des Jahres 2018 (Winner)
once · Germany · since 2018
Spiel Essen demo tournaments
annual · Essen, Germany · since 2018
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Schmidt Spiele
Founded 1907 · Berlin, Germany
Official site ↗North Star Games (English publisher)
Founded 2005 · USA
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Wolfgang Warsch (designer, also Wavelength, Ganz Schön Clever)
- Menzel + Klemens Franz (art)
Records
Kennerspiel des Jahres 2018
Wolfgang Warsch — Winner (2018)
Deutscher Spiele Preis 2018
The Quacks of Quedlinburg — 1st place (2018)
Sales
Schmidt Spiele — 1M+ copies sold globally by 2022 (2022)
Learn this sport
beginner
- 1
Play with Rulebook 1
Simplest chip effects; explains push-your-luck cleanly.
- 2
Learn cherry-bomb counts
Base game has 4/2/1 cherry bombs (values 1/2/3).
- 3
Buy 1 chip per round confidently
Skip overthinking; feel the flow.
advanced
- 1
Switch to Rulebooks 2-4
Higher variance chip effects; deeper strategy.
- 2
Master ruby management
Save rubies for pot upgrades + explosion insurance.
- 3
Play with expansions
Herb Witches + Alchemists add ranked chips + new colors.
Frequently asked
How long is a game?+
45-75 minutes for 4 players; 30-45 for 2 players.
Is Quacks family-friendly?+
Yes — box says age 10+, but 8-year-olds can play. Great for families.
How much luck is there?+
High short-term variance from bag draws, but strong long-term strategy in bag composition + chip effects.
Is it Kennerspiel or Spiel des Jahres?+
Won Kennerspiel des Jahres 2018 (the 'advanced' category), not Spiel des Jahres.
Best expansion to start with?+
Herb Witches (adds ranked chips + new colors) is the essential first expansion.
Sources & provenance
- BoardGameGeek — Quacks of Quedlinburg— BGG
- Wikipedia — The Quacks of Quedlinburg— Wikipedia
- Kennerspiel des Jahres— Spiel des Jahres jury