Desperados of Dice Town
Desperados of Dice Town Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Description of Content
- Desperados: Each player takes a gang composed of 5 Desperados, each with a different character symbol. These cards are double-sided with an "In Jail" front and an "Escaped" back.
| Character symbol | Name |
|---|---|
| Bottle | The Brain |
| Fist | The Ugly |
| Knife | The Bad |
| Pistol | The Lady |
| Crossed pistols | The Boss |
"In Jail" side: Each Desperado has a certain number of "ranks". This number represents the difficulty of breaking this Desperado out of jail.
When a player advances the release of one of his Desperados, he turns the card one rank toward the next lowest value.
When a Desperado advances past the last rank and reaches the keys, he escapes from jail and is immediately turned to his "Escaped" side.
"Escaped" side: Reminder of the special effect or of the attack power, represented by icons.
- 4 special dice with one "Action" face and five "Character" faces (one face for each type of Desperados).
- 28 Wild West cards
- $200 in poker chips (valued at $1, $5, and $10)
- 4 Gang cards
Setup
Each player receives a gang of 5 Desperados, the corresponding Gang card, and $50 (5x$1 + 5x$5 + 2x$10). He places his gang in front of him, "In Jail" side up, with the highest number at the top of the card.
Each player rolls all 4 dice. If he obtains an Action face or more than two matching dice, he should re-roll those dice until he has rolled four Character faces with no more than two identical faces. Then, for each Character face showing, rotate the corresponding Desperado one rank towards freedom.
Example: With the result as above, the player turns his Bad two ranks, his Lady one rank, and his Boss one rank.
Note: If the player obtains two Brain faces (bottle), he starts with the Brain on the "Escaped" side.
The Wild West cards are placed face-down in a pile.
For 2 or 3 players: the unused $ chips are removed from the game.
The game can now start! The youngest player begins.
Game Turn
Each player, during his turn, executes the two following phases, one after the other:
- Roll all 4 dice (one to three rolls).
- Have one or more Desperados take an action OR draw Wild West cards.
1 - Roll the dice: The player rolls all 4 dice. He can roll up to a maximum of three times per turn, each time rolling some or all of his dice.
2 - Roll effect: When he decides to stop (generally after the third roll), he applies one effect of the faces rolled:
- He rolled one or more Action faces: he can make his Desperados take Actions (see Desperados' Actions).
- He obtained a Trio, a set of four, and/or no Action face; he draws cards (see Draw Cards).
Desperados' Actions
Character face: The rolled Character faces indicate which Desperados can act during the turn. Multiple faces of the same Desperado are wasted.
Action face: Each Action face allows one of the indicated Desperados to act. If a player rolls multiple Action faces, he can apply all of them to one Desperado or can split them between different indicated Desperados.
Example 1: The player rolls 1 Action face, 2 Lady faces, and 1 Boss face. He can use: his Lady 1 time OR his Boss 1 time.
Example 2: The player rolls 2 Action faces, 1 Ugly face, and 1 Boss face. He can use: his Ugly 1 time AND his Boss 1 time. OR his Boss 2 times. OR his Ugly 2 times.
"In Jail" Desperados actions: Each action side applied to a Desperado allows him to turn his "In Jail" card one rank. When the card advances to the keys, the Desperado escapes and is flipped to his "Escaped" side (see Description of Content).
"Escaped" Desperados actions: An escaped Desperado can bankrupt ALL enemies who haven't had their matching Desperado escape yet. For each action granted to him, the escaped Desperado can make opponents lose the amount of money indicated on his card. The money is discarded to the table center. It is not won by the attacker!
Example: The player obtained 3 Action faces to assign to his Lady, who has one rank left before freedom. With his first Action, he breaks her out of jail and flips her card. With the two remaining Actions, he attacks the other players. Each opponent without a free Lady immediately loses $10!!
Important: A player who loses his last $ is immediately eliminated from the game!
Special characters: In each Gang, the Brain (bottle symbol) has a special ability, and doesn't attack like the other Desperados. The special ability is described on the Gang cards.
Draw Cards (Trio - Set of Four - Misery)
Obtaining Trios, Sets of Four, or Misery (no combinations) allows players to get access to the precious and powerful Wild West cards. If you draw a card, then you may not take any actions with your Desperados.
Trio (3 identical faces): Draw the top 3 Wild West cards. Choose one, add it to your hand then discard the other two.
Set of Four (4 identical faces): Draw the top 4 Wild West cards. Choose two, add them to your hand, then discard the remaining two.
Misery (no Action face, no trio, no set of four): Draw the top Wild West card and add it to your hand.
The player must decide to either draw or to have one of their Desperados take an action.
4 Action faces make a Set of four.
The Wild West cards: The effect of each card is described on it, as is the appropriate time to play it. It is possible to play several cards during the same turn.
A card cannot be played in the same turn in which it was drawn. This also applies to cards drawn or stolen due to the effect of a Wild West card.
Example card - Cheater: Play this card after your last roll. Change the face of one die to the character symbol of your choice. You may not choose the action face.
Clarification on dollars: Only the $ distributed to the players are used in the game. A player can only earn $ from Wild West cards or abilities up to the limit of the available stock at the center of the table (money lost by players). A player's dollars must be visible to all players.
End of Game
When a player breaks his last Desperado out of jail, he checks to see if he is the richest player:
- If so, he instantly wins the game (even if there is a tie for richest player).
- If not, the game continues until he either lowers his opponents' wealth or increases his own to become the richest player, at which point he wins instantly. If an opponent fulfills the victory conditions first, the opponent wins. It is also possible to win by eliminating all of your opponents from the game!