Dalek Dice
Dalek Dice Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Dalek Dice consists of ten special dice and a dice cup.
Each die has these symbols on its faces: Human, Dalek, The Doctor and Exterminate! (the printed rulebook shows these as icons; the rules refer to them by these names).
Preparations
Before you begin playing, choose a suitable play area. The area in front of each player is considered to be divided into several sections, depending on where the different dice results are placed after each roll:
- Top section: place the Doctor and Exterminate! results here.
- Top left section: place all "kept" dice showing Human results here.
- Top right section: place all "kept" dice showing Dalek results here.
- Right section: place all dice that you will roll again here.
Leave the central section free so you can roll the dice comfortably and examine their results.
Gameplay
The game is played over several rounds. On your turn, take all the dice and roll them. Then examine the results you have obtained: your aim is to get many Humans, but at the same time enough Daleks to equal or exceed their number.
After each roll you may "keep" some dice and use those results to score at the end of your turn. Any die you do not "keep" you may roll again.
On each roll you must "keep" at least one die. (This also includes dice set aside with results of The Doctor or Exterminate! See below.)
Sequence of Play
Roll the dice. Then check whether you have obtained any result of The Doctor or Exterminate!:
- The Doctor. If on the roll you have obtained one or more Doctor results, you must keep 1 Doctor result (only 1). Move that die to the top section of your play area.
- Exterminate! If on the roll you have obtained one or more Exterminate! results, you must keep 1 Exterminate! result (only 1). Move that die to the top section of your play area.
Doctor or Exterminate! results above one (if there are any) are moved to the right section (to possibly be rolled again).
Then check the remaining results, separating the Humans from the Daleks.
Kept Dice
Set aside the dice you want to "keep", the dice results you want to score. Move to your right section all the dice you want to roll again.
- To "keep" Human results, move them to the top left section.
- To "keep" Dalek results, move them to the top right section.
End of Turn
When you have finished making your choices, decide whether you want to continue or to stop (if you no longer have dice to roll, your turn ends automatically).
- To continue, take all the dice you have moved to the right and roll them again (the dice you did not want to "keep", and all Doctor and Exterminate! results above one).
End-of-Turn Scoring
Your turn ends whenever you have no dice left to roll, when you decide to stop even though you still have dice, or in the cases of The Doctor Intervenes or Exterminate! (as explained above).
You Have No Dice Left
Compare the number of Humans with the number of Daleks. If the Daleks equal or exceed the Humans, you score as many points as the number of Humans, plus a bonus of 5 points. If the Daleks neither equal nor exceed the Humans, you score no points.
You Stop
Compare the number of Humans with the number of Daleks. If the Daleks equal or exceed the Humans, you score as many points as the number of Humans (but you do not get the 5-point bonus for using all the dice). If the Daleks neither equal nor exceed the Humans, you score no points.
The Doctor Intervenes
If you have obtained 3 Doctor results, you lose and score nothing.
Exterminate!
If you have obtained 3 Exterminate! results, you double your score. Count all your Human results (do not compare them with your Dalek results): you score as many points as the number of Humans multiplied by two. (If you have no dice left, you also get the 5-point bonus, which is applied after you have doubled your Human results.)
The Doctor Intervenes
If the number of Doctor results in your top section reaches 3, then The Doctor intervenes to thwart the Daleks' plans:
- Your turn ends immediately and you score no points.
Exterminate!
If the number of Exterminate! results in your top section reaches 3, then you may shout "EXTERMINATE!" in your best Dalek voice. Place your results as normal, and then your turn ends.
- You emerge victorious, regardless of the number of Dalek results. Your final score is doubled (see Scoring, below).
Doctor Who vs. Exterminate!
If the conditions for The Doctor Intervenes and Exterminate! are triggered at the same time, The Doctor prevails and you lose.
Final Scoring
Each player must keep a record of their score between rounds. If a player's score reaches 60 during a round, play continues until all players have taken the same number of turns (that is, until the round is complete) and the game ends. The winner is the player with the highest score.
Translator's note 1: The original English uses the word "round" for everything, without distinguishing between a round (each time all players have each taken one turn) and an individual player's turn. The translator has made that distinction. The translator believes this affects the end-of-game condition, as explained in the next note.
Translator's note 2: The italic text in the original rulebook reads "the game ends at the end of that round". Because round and turn are not distinguished, the translator considers this confusing. If the game ended at the moment a player reached 60 points, it would make no sense for "the winner will be the player with the highest score", since that same player would already be ahead with no chance for other players to score higher. The translator believes the most logical reading is the one given above: complete the round so that all players have taken the same number of turns, and only then determine the winner.
Example of Play
Peter and Jenna are playing. The game will end at the end of the round in which one of them reaches 60 points.
Jenna goes first. She takes the 10 dice and rolls them. Her results are:
- Humans: 4, 4, 4, 2, 2
- Daleks: 3, 3, 3, 2
- 1 Doctor
The single Doctor result is moved to the top section of her play area. Jenna then decides: she keeps three Human results of 4, all the Dalek results of 3, and rolls the remaining three dice again. This means Jenna now has more Humans (a total of 12) than Daleks (9).
On her second roll she obtains:
- Daleks: 3, 2
- 1 Exterminate!
The Exterminate! result is moved to the top section of her play area. Jenna has two Dalek results left, a 3 and a 2. She decides to keep them and end her turn.
Jenna's score is: 12 Humans vs. 14 Daleks. Jenna scores 12 points, plus the 5-point bonus for using all the dice.
Now it is Peter's turn.
Peter takes the 10 dice and rolls them. His results are:
- Humans: 4, 2, 2
- Daleks: 3, 3, 3, 3, 2
- 2 Doctors
One Doctor result is moved immediately to the top section of his play area, while the other is moved to the right section (and may be rolled again). Peter decides to keep two of the Human dice (a 4 and a 2) and two Daleks of 3. This means Peter keeps a total of 6 Humans vs. 6 Daleks.
Peter now takes the remaining five dice (the four he has not kept, and the Doctor result above one) and rolls them.
On his second roll he obtains:
- Humans: 4, 4
- Daleks: 2
- 1 Doctor
Peter already has two Doctor results, a dangerous situation to be in! He decides to keep one of the Human results of 4, the Dalek result of 3, and roll the two remaining dice again.
On his third roll he obtains:
- Humans: 4
- Daleks: 2
Now Peter must score one die, and he decides to keep the Dalek result of 2. He may then stop or roll the remaining die. He decides to continue.
On his last roll he obtains a result of Exterminate! Peter shouts "EXTERMINATE!" and his turn ends.
Peter's score is: 10 Humans vs. 11 Daleks. Peter scores 10 points, plus the 5-point bonus for using all the dice.
At the end of the first round, Jenna has scored 17 points and Peter has scored 15 points. They now play a second round...