Mens Erger Je Niet

Image via WikipediaMany years ago I had the fortune to play in the White House Junior Invitational in Amsterdam. On one of the nights that we stayed in, we became a bit restless. I had spotted games at the hostel's reception earlier and so went and procured the intriguingly titled Mens Erger Je Niet. At first we were disappointed to find out it was Ludo in another language.

We opened it up, selected colours and laid the pieces in the obvious way. We were about to start playing but realised that nobody was quite sure of the rules. After a brief discussion we came up with the following synergistic cocktail:

• You had to roll a 1 or 6 to move a piece out of the pen
• If your piece jumped over another player's piece, their piece was sent back to the gate of their pen (or into it if it was at the gate)
• If you landed on another player's piece, your piece would be sent back to the gate of your pen

The last rule worked particularly well as my young partner was struggling to learn one of the golden rules of bridge. On numerous occasions he picked up his most advanced piece without thought and it landed on an opponent's  piece.

This game is a very enjoyable way to shut off your brain and relax with friends.