Deblockle
Deblockle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
How to Win
Be the first player to remove all four of your blocks from the board.
Removing Blocks
A block may be removed from the board when it is rolled star side up onto the star space at the opposite side of the board.
Game Set-up
Begin the game by rolling your opponent's blocks on a flat surface to determine which symbols will start face-up. (If a block lands on its edge, roll it again.) Place your opponent's blocks in the spaces diagonal from their home star. You may place the blocks in any space and orientation that you wish as long as the symbols you rolled remain face-up.
The youngest player goes first.
If you and your opponent have recently played Deblockle, the player who won the previous game may go first, even if they are not the youngest.
Movement
On each turn, a player will move in 2 steps:
Step One: Roll
To begin your turn, roll one of your blocks into any open adjacent space. You may not roll diagonally, and you may not roll into the star space.
Step Two: Hop
After rolling, you must hop that same block according to the symbol that lands face-up after the roll. You may only hop onto open spaces.
Block Symbols
Star
The Star symbol may NOT be rolled face-up anywhere on the board except onto the star space at the opposite side of the board.
Stop
If the stop sign is rolled face-up, the turn is over and the block does not hop to any other spaces.
Cross
When the Cross is rolled face-up, the block hops one space in any vertical or horizontal direction.
X
When the X is rolled face-up, the block hops one space in any diagonal direction.
Slider
When the Slider is rolled face-up, it must slide in any vertical or horizontal direction until it is stopped by another block or the edge of the board.
Hoops
When the Hoops are rolled face-up, the block may hop in any combination of 3 horizontal or vertical steps. The block may even hop back to a space it has previously occupied.
Star Spaces
There are two star spaces on the board marked by a golden star. Each player starts with their blocks in the 4 spaces diagonal from their home star. Players must move their blocks across the board and into their opponent's star space.
No block may be rolled into any star space, unless it is being rolled star-side-up onto the opponent's home star space (at which point it is removed from the board.) Players are also not allowed to end their turn on a star space. Players using the slider or hoops symbols, MAY move across the star, as long as they did not roll into the star space or end their turn on the star space.
Deblockle'd
It is possible to prevent another player from moving by using your blocks and the edges of the board in such a way that they are trapped. When this happens, the player who is blocked has been Deblockle'd! The player who is NOT Deblockle'd may continue taking turns (and removing blocks from the board) until their opponent has been set free.
Game Play Variations
Using Less Blocks
Deblockle can be played with 1, 2, 3 or 4 blocks without any changes to the rules. If two opponents are un-evenly matched, one player might start with fewer blocks to help balance the game. You may use the suggested starting positions (shown in diagrams on the original page) when using less than 4 blocks or you may experiment with your own starting positions. Set-up rules are the same as they would be for a regular game.
No Side-by-side Blocks
To add an extra challenge to the game, another rule may be added that prohibits blocks from ending a turn in a space adjacent to an opponent's block. A player may have their own blocks sitting side-by-side, but players cannot end their turn with any of their blocks touching an opponent's block. Sitting diagonally from an opponent is allowed. The Slider symbol can still be used in this game variation, however, a block may ONLY slide up to the edge of the board or up against a block belonging to the same player.