In Zaunkönig, players start the game by seeding each space on the beech game board with one or two of the 130 rings made from German cherry wood.
On a turn, a player places a number of rings on the board as determined by the die roll, with the player deciding where to place them; if a player creates a tower of four rings, that tower is dismantled, with one piece going in each of the adjacent orthogonal spaces. (If a ring would fall off the edge of the board, the ring is placed on the opposite side of the tower.) If another four-piece tower is thereby created, that tower is dissolved as well. For each four-piece tower a player creates, he receives a ring from the supply.
At the end of a player's turn, he places one of his colored marbles on a tower. If a ring would be placed on this tower, the marble's owner collects it instead. The game ends when the ring supply runs out, and the player with the most rings wins.