Vogelschuss

Vogelschuss is a crossbow game about the German Schützenfest. The whole village gathers on the meadow, the brass band plays, and a painted wooden eagle sits on top of a twelve-metre pole. You and the club's marksmen take turns chipping it apart piece by piece. Whoever brings down the last splinter of the body is crowned Schützenkönig. Drag to aim, hold still while your breath settles, and let go to shoot. Hits near a dowel joint loosen a piece fastest. The crown, sceptre and orb earn prince titles, and the body stays under an iron plate until everything else has fallen. The pole sways with the real wind at each festival's venue, so no two shoots play the same. Every king gets a painted disc on the club's king wall, and finishing a season of three festivals starts the next one. Features: • Chip a painted wooden eagle apart: crown, sceptre, orb, head, wings and tail, then the body • Live wind from the real venue sways the pole and drifts your bolt • Rival club members with their own habits: Opa Heinz (three times king) watches every shot and comments, and young Lukas always shoots too fast • Three festivals on a season calendar: a Westphalian village, the Schützenfest in Hannover and a Bavarian Volksfest • A king parade at the end of every shoot, with knights and prince titles • The Königswand: painted king discs going back to 1979, with your own portrait from the camera or your photos • An optional reminder on the morning of each festival day Grab the crossbow — the eagle is already on the pole.

First release.