Bears!
Bears! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Bears! is a competitive dice game in which players shoot bears and run from tents by pairing dice for points. Some daring campers may even sleep through the attack! The first player to 100 points is the winner.
Number of Players: 2-4. Ages: 7 and Up. Time: 20 minutes.
Components
Bears! contains the following components.
- 20 Camp Dice: Each Camp Die has 2 different faces; Bears and Tents.
- 20 Player Dice: Each Player Die has 3 different faces; Runners, Guns, and Sleepers.
- Rule Sheet
- 4 Scoring Reminders
Setting Up the Game
Give 5 Player Dice to each player and place 5 Camp Dice per player in the center of the play area. (Setup for a 4-player game: 20 Camp Dice, 5 per player.)
Playing a Round
Roll all of the Camp Dice and then have all players simultaneously roll their own Player Dice and quickly pair them with the Camp Dice. The possible combinations are as follows:
- Gun + Bear
- Runner + Tent
- Sleeper + Tent
Invalid Pairs
The following pairs are invalid: Gun + Tent, Runner + Bear, Sleeper + Bear.
Keep in mind these additional details as you play.
- If the round begins with all bears or all tents, reroll the Camp Dice.
- No more than 1 Camp Die may be picked up at a time.
- Player Dice may be rerolled as often as a player chooses during a round.
- Once dice are paired, they cannot be rerolled.
Ending a Round
Each round ends immediately when either all of the bears or all of the tents are paired (No Tents left, round ends; or No Bears left, round ends). The player who removes the last bear or tent yells "Bears!" At that point, players may no longer take Camp Dice. If a player yells "Bears!" when at least one bear and one tent remain in the campsite, that player takes a penalty of -1 point.
Scoring a Round
The number of points for each pairing is as follows:
- Gun + Bear = 1 point
- Runner + Tent = 2 points
- Sleeper + Tent + No Bears Left in Campsite = 5 points
- Sleeper + Tent + 1 or More Bears Left in Campsite = -2 points
Player Dice that are not paired at the end of a round are not scored. Camp Dice in a player's possession that are not paired or are in an invalid pair result in subtracting 1 point for each such die. It is possible for a total score to be less than 0.
Sample Scoring
Here are Joel's pairs: Gun + Bear = 1, Runner + Tent = 2, Runner + Tent = 2, Sleeper + Tent = 5. There are no Bears left in the campsite, so his paired Sleeper is worth 5 points. The Sleeper he did not pair scores 0, but he accidentally took an extra Bear (-1). Joel's total score for this round is 9 points.
Starting a New Round
All of the Camp Dice are moved to the center of the play area at the beginning of a new round. Players keep their Player Dice.
Ending the Game
The game ends when a player reaches 100 points. If players tie, another round is played to determine the winner. Play as many rounds as needed to break the tie.
Alternate Rules
50 Points
For an even shorter game, play until a player reaches 50 points.
I Don't Have to Be Faster Than the Bear, I Just Have to Be Faster Than You.
In this version of the game, dice pairs are scored for survival, not for points. The only pair that matters is Runners and Tents. No other pairings are counted. At the end of each round, the player with the fewest pairs of Runners and Tents is out. Remove 5 Camp Dice each time a player is taken out of the game. If more than one player ties for fewest, then no player is out that round. The goal is to be the last player left in the game.