Who goes first in Über den Wolken?
Zoch English rules
The player with the most of their birds in the front row of the flock starts.
Official tie-break or fallback
If tied, the player with the most of their birds in the front two rows starts. If still tied, determine the starting player randomly.
If your rules call for a random choice, use the player picker.
Rule details
Choose the starter after the shuffled initial birds have been placed in the triangular formation. The front row is the row at the arrows; count each player’s own birds.
Players take turns clockwise. On a turn with action dice available, perform a standard action, play a maneuver card or pass. These are sequential turns, not a simultaneous opening.
After a stage ends, score the landing, recover action dice and prepare the next stage. Choose its starter from the new formation using the same front-row, front-two-rows and random tie-break procedure.
The fewer-birds-on-the-board tie-break belongs to the final score after stage three. It does not replace the starting-player tie-break.
These Zoch English rules cover two to four players. Use one included board extension for three players and both for four; use neither for two.
Source & edition
- Über den Wolken — Zoch English rules, article 601105207Zoch Verlag / Simba Toys GmbH & Co. KG · PDF page 2 (printed 9), Setup and complete initial starting-player tie-break; page 4 (printed 11), clockwise action turns; page 7 (printed 14), Preparing the Next Stage, repeated starting-player tie-break, final scoring and imprint; pages 1, 3, 5–6 (printed 8, 10, 12–13), components, concepts, actions and landing context. · Checked 2026-09-26
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