Who goes first in Mach die Flatter?
Zoch English rules in multilingual booklet
The player who last saw a parrot starts.
If your rules call for a random choice, use the player picker.
Rule details
Players take turns after the opener; the English rules do not specify a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
During a binocular-card turn, everyone reveals their chosen location card simultaneously, then checks the locations one after another. This does not make the game opening simultaneous.
The player who reveals the last card still completes that turn before the final own-parrot scoring phase.
If players tie for the most feathers at final scoring, they share the win. This is not a tie-break for the opening criterion.
If the feather supply runs out, everyone returns the same number of feathers and play continues; no new starter is selected.
If there’s a tie
The rulebook doesn’t say. If you need a tie-break, pick a player at random.
Source & edition
- Mach die Flatter: official multilingual rules, English sectionZoch Verlag · PDF/printed page11, Course of the Game: last-parrot opener and turns; page9 native title/count/components; pages12–13 simultaneous location reveal within binocular resolution; page14 last-card completion and final scoring phase; page16 shared final-score winners/article/imprint. · Checked 2026-09-26
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Found a different instruction in your edition? Send a correction with the game, edition, and source.