Der Musikclub is a game for 2, 3, or 4 DJs. Together you build a mix across shared playlist lines. When that mix stays in balance until the end of three turns, the night holds. The DJ who owns the most Victory Points still in play wins. If the night never holds, the game ends in a stalemate.
If a card’s text conflicts with this book, follow the card.
Each DJ has:
The shared field has:
Stems sit on playlist lines. A line is a row: head, then any middles, then tail. A line with one stem has a single card that is both head and tail. Edge means the head or the tail.
You own every card that came from your crate, wherever it sits. In digital play, a border color marks the owner. At the end of the game, every card returns to its owner.
A stem is a synth or a sample. It prints:
While a stem is in play it adds +1 to each of its printed SATB bands, adds its volume, and adds its Victory Points.
An effect prints a time cost. It may also print Victory Points, parallel seconds, SATB or volume modifiers, a lifetime, and abilities.
Play an effect from your hand:
When an effect’s lifetime reaches 0, put it in its owner’s bin. When the card it is attached to leaves play, put the effect in its owner’s bin.
Your time bank is the sum of your two dice. A die cannot go below 1 or above 6.
To pay dice seconds, decrease one or more of your dice by that total.
Parallel seconds are granted by cards you own that are in play. At the start of your turn they equal that total. They do not carry over to the next turn.
You may pay any time cost with dice seconds, parallel seconds, or both, unless a card says otherwise.
The inner clock advances by the number of dice seconds spent whenever any DJ spends dice seconds. Effects with a lifetime lose that many seconds.
Turns pass clockwise.
Cost: 1 dice second.
Set one of your dice to any face from 1 to 6.
Cost: 3 dice seconds.
Draw the top card of your crate. There is no hand limit and no crate limit.
Cost: the stem’s printed time cost, from your hand.
Choose a playlist line.
You cannot place a stem next to a middle card.
Example: the tail is Bass. You may play a Tenor stem there. You may not play a Bass+Alto stem there.
Example: the tail is Tenor+Alto. You may play a stem that is only Soprano, only Bass, or Soprano+Bass.
Cost: the effect’s printed time cost, from your hand.
Attach it to a card in play, or put it in the mix strip, as the card requires.
Cost: twice the stem’s printed time cost.
Choose an edge stem on any line, belonging to any DJ. Put it in its owner’s bin. Attached effects on that stem go to their owners’ bins.
You cannot fade a middle stem.
| Action | Cost | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Change Tempo | 1 dice | Set one of your dice to 1–6 |
| Draw | 3 dice | Draw 1 |
| Play stem | printed | Hand onto an empty line or a complementary edge |
| Play effect | printed | Hand onto a target or into the mix strip |
| Fadeout | 2× printed | Edge stem to its owner’s bin |
An action ends the turn if it spent any dice seconds. An action paid only with parallel seconds does not end the turn.
Those results are the mix.
Example: volume 11, each band had 1. Distortion is 1. Every band becomes 0.
Example: volume 11, Tenor was 5. Tenor becomes 4.
Bands can fall below 0. Show 0. The mix still uses the real number.
At the end of every turn, look at the mix.
If Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass are each 1, 2, 3, or 4, add 1 to the hold.
If any band is outside that range, set the hold to 0.
If the hold reaches 3, the night holds. Each DJ totals Victory Points on cards they own that are still in play. Highest total wins. Tied highest totals share the win.
Victory Points count only while their card is in play.
DJs may agree to a stalemate at any time.
If each DJ has taken a turn and no card entered or left the field during that round, any DJ may call a stalemate.
On a stalemate, nobody wins.
Bin. A DJ’s public discarded cards.
Crate. A DJ’s deck.
Edge. The head or tail of a playlist line.
Head / tail. The two ends of a playlist line.
Hold. The count of consecutive qualifying end-of-turn mixes. The night holds at 3.
Inner clock. The global timer that advances when dice seconds are spent.
Middle. A stem that is not an edge.
Mix. The current SATB bands and volume, after effects and distortion.
Mix strip. Shared zone for effects that do not attach.
Owner. The DJ whose crate a card came from.
Parallel seconds. Time granted for the current turn by owned cards in play.
Playlist line. One shared row of stems. Lines are not owned.
SATB. Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass.
Stem. A synth or sample in the mix.
Time bank. The sum of a DJ’s two time dice.
Victory Points (VP). Score printed on cards, counted while those cards are in play.