6 nimmt!
Officially 6 nimmt! (Take 5!)
German multi-player card game designed 1994 by WOLFGANG KRAMER — 2-10 players simultaneously play one of their 10 hand-cards to be placed on 4 rows. Whoever's card BECOMES THE 6th in a row must TAKE all 5 previous cards + score their 'BULL HEAD' penalty points. Simple ruleset, deeply strategic, brutal 'take that' moments. Spiel des Jahres 1994; over 4 MILLION COPIES sold; classic gateway card game.
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–10
Duration
~30 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇩🇪 Germany
Estimated origin
Designed 1994 by Wolfgang Kramer, published by AMIGO Spiele. Spiel des Jahres 1994; International bestseller with over 4 million copies sold; still in print.
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
AVOID accumulating bull-head penalty points; whoever has FEWEST penalty points at end wins.
Rules
Basic rules
SETUP: 10 cards dealt to each player; 4 face-up starter cards form 4 empty ROWS in centre
Signature 4-row centre setup.
SIMULTANEOUS PLAY: each player secretly chooses 1 card from hand; all reveal AT ONCE
Signature simultaneous reveal.
PLACEMENT ORDER: cards placed in ASCENDING numerical order onto rows
Standard placement rule.
ROW RULE: each card goes onto the row ending with HIGHEST card LOWER than played card, with SMALLEST DIFFERENCE
Signature placement algorithm.
6TH CARD RULE: if you place the 6TH card in a row, YOU TAKE the first 5 cards + their bull-head penalties → your card starts new row
Signature 6th-card penalty rule.
LOWER-THAN-ALL RULE: if your card is LOWER than all 4 row-ends, YOU CHOOSE which row to take + your card starts new row
Signature lower-than-all option.
GAME ENDS after 10 rounds (hand emptied); score bull heads collected
Signature 10-round game.
BULL HEADS on cards: 1 (default), 2 (multiples of 5), 3 (multiples of 10), 5 (multiples of 11), 7 (55 only)
Signature bull-head distribution.
Scoring
Total bull-head penalties on cards you were forced to take; low score wins.
Win condition · Fewest bull-head penalty points wins; typically played until someone crosses 66 pts (loses).
Equipment
104 unique numbered cards (numbers 1-104) with 'bull head' penalty symbols (1-7 bulls per card)
Signature bull-head-decorated numbered deck.
Terminology
- Bull head (Hornochse)
- Penalty symbol on each card (1-7).
- 6th card
- Card that triggers row collection + penalty.
- Row
- One of 4 centre stacks of cards being played onto.
Major competitions
6 nimmt! German Championship (informal)
annual · Germany · since 2000
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Spiel des Jahres jury (award body)
Founded 1978 · Germany
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Wolfgang Kramer (DE, designer)
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — 6 Nimmt!— Wikipedia
- Amigo Spiele— Amigo
- BoardGameGeek — 6 Nimmt!— BoardGameGeek