In the upper left corner and in the bottom right corner there are two hiding places where collected hazelnuts can be stored. The aim of the game is to be the first to reach the coat of arms at the top of the scale of mark by collecting hazelnuts or shouting at thieves. Over the last while, the squirrels have been mollested several times by three thieves, Max the Marten, Fritz the Fox and Leo the Lynx, while collecting hazelnuts. Each player puts his knight squirrel on an empty square and all the score markers are placed on the arrow square of the scale of mark. Then the game begins.
Movement is determined by the special die showing one to three footprints.
When reaching an hazel tree, the player takes the first card at the top of the stack. If it is an hazelnut, he puts it in front of him. If it is one of the three thieves he tries to memorize it and he puts the card back on the stack. If he is right, he moves his score marker two squares further, and the player who has drawn the card from the stack loses all the hazelnuts he has in front of him. But if he is wrong he moves his score marker two squares back.