Assess, connect, build higher!

In Kurz vor Knapp, you set up the playing area by placing the string in a circle, placing ten cylinders within this circle, then laying the wood beams out at random in a spiral around this circle. Each player starts the game with a number of cylinders based on the player count.

On a turn, you look at the wood beam on the end of the spiral — without touching it or measuring it — then identify which two cylinders you want to place this beam on. You want to place the beam so that its endpoints are contained (and not hanging over) the faces of these cylinders, and each cylinder can have at most two beams resting on it. After you identify these cylinders, each other player has a chance to steal your turn by identifying cylinders on a higher level where this beam could be placed.

If you — or the turn stealer — have correctly estimated the length of the beam and can make the connection, you then place one or more cylinders from your supply onto the playing area, with one cylinder on the newly placed beam and additional cylinders on beams at lower levels. The higher the beam, the more cylinders you can place! If you can't place the beam, then you return it to the end of the line, and if you had tried to steal someone's turn, they get to hand over the number of cylinders they would have placed.

Whoever first places all of their own cylinders wins.