Teach the Game
A script to read aloud: how you win Beer Pioneers (Bier Pioniere), the game board and your brewery, a round, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.
How you win
“Germany, around 1850. Each of us runs a small home brewery and wants to make it the biggest in the land. We brew up to six kinds of beer, improve the brewery, train our workers and deliver beer for points. The first to reach 20 points ends the game at the end of that round — most points wins. About 75 to 100 minutes.”
- You need: victory points, mostly from beer deliveries (purple orders), plus objectives, the first of each extension, cards and the final lightbulb scoring.
- You get them by: placing workers to brew beer and turn your brewing dials, getting barrels into your cellar, and then delivering beer and barrels with your truck. Cards in your display make every action stronger.
The boards
- Card display and brewing level track — 6 cards; your bottle marker shows which you can reach and how many beers you brew at once.
- Turn order track — the barrels show this round’s order.
- Objectives — two printed, one card: 3 or 2
for the first two to fulfil them. - Turn order action spaces — choose next round’s position and a bonus.
- Action 1: Brewing beer — start new beers.
- Action 2: Rotations — turn your brewing dials.
- Action 3: Progress and blocking tokens — brew faster, unlock beer types.
- Action 4: Barrels — take new barrels, move them to the cellar.
- Action 5: Play a white card — a card’s special action or brewmaster.
- Action 6: Upgrade a worker — more experience at round end.
- Action 7: Brewery extension — build an extension tile.
- Action 8: Take 2 coins.
- Truck: 2 coins (9) — one truck per round.
- Truck: complete an order — deliver beer for points.
- Truck: barrel or card.
- Exchange — any number of workers and trucks.
- Victory points track — 20 triggers the last round.
- Coops — six beer types; at first only Alt is open.
- Barrel depot — new barrels arrive here.
- Extension spaces — your second to fourth extension trigger a bonus.
- Progress track — +3 to +0 rotations on every beer, with bonuses.
- Cellar — finished beers and barrels ready for orders.
- Retirement spaces — retiring workers free cellar space.
- Coops under the small cover tile — Stark and Weizen.
- Brewmaster space — one active brewmaster card.
- Administrative area — your private fifth action.
A round
- Action phase — from the first barrel in turn order, each player takes one action a turn until nobody can act (usually 5 turns each): 2 worker actions (maybe followed by a bonus action), 1 turn order action, 1 truck action and 1 administrative action.
- Round end — every dial turns once, pieces come back, worker upgrades, hand limit and a new display card, then income.
How the game ends
- When someone reaches 20 , finish the round, round end included (Game end).
- Then each player may discard 1 beer from the cellar per
for 1 each; at
the top of the brewing level track also pay 1 
per for 1 each. - Ties: most beer (cellar and still brewing), then most barrels.
Ways to score
| Source | How and when |
|---|---|
| Orders (purple cards) | Truck action or improved bonus action: deliver the beers and barrels shown, usually 3–8 |
| Objectives | When fulfilled, sacrificing a small bonus worker: 3 first, 2 second |
| First extension of a type | 1 when built |
| Cards and spaces | Immediate effects, brewmasters, turn order space, exchange, improved bonus action, progress track |
| Lightbulbs at the end | 1 per beer discarded (one per ); top brewing level: 1 per coin paid per |
| Losses | Some white cards cost ; [Boom] draff and export discs (Beer Boom) |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why you need it | How you get it | How you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beer tiles | Orders, objectives, final scoring | Dials reaching 0 | Delivered from the cellar |
| Barrels | Every order needs some | Action 4, truck, cards | Must be moved from the depot to the cellar first |
| Coins | Extensions, upgrades, double actions | Action 8, truck 9, income, cards | Pay costs; at the top brewing level, points at the end |
| Action cards | Everything else | Display, draw pile, turn order, bonus actions | Beige-brown display, purple order or white action |
| Lightbulbs | Improved bonus actions, final points | Beige-brown cards | Need 2 for the improved area; 1 VP each at the end |
| Tagged workers | Worker actions and bonus actions | 1 and 2 at start, upgraded to 3 and 4 | Experience + space value ≥ 6 = bonus action |
| Small bonus workers | Bonus actions and objectives | 2 at start, Machine Hall +2 | Placed on the bonus board, or sacrificed for objectives |
Teaching tips
-
Before the first bonus, demonstrate main action first, bonus second, then check cellar barrels (rehearsal).
-
Show one beer from start to finish: brew Alt (3 + 3 = 6 rotations), turn the dial, beer tile into the cellar, then a truck delivers it with a barrel.
-
Explain the three colours of every card early — beige-brown in your display, purple order, white action.
-
Stress the cellar: barrels in the depot don’t count for orders.
-
Point at the sum-of-6 rule for bonus actions and the 2-lightbulb gate for the improved area.