Dice Town
Dice Town Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Over the course of the game, players gain Victory Points (VP) by acquiring gold, dollars, property, and equipment. At the end of the game, the player with the most VP wins the game.
Components
- 1 Game board
- 19 General Store Cards
- 20 Property Deed Cards
- 7 Doc Badluck's Elixir Cards
- 5 Dice Cups
- 25 Poker Dice
- 43 $1 Bills
- 30 Gold Nuggets
- 1 Sheriff Badge Card with a Card Stand
Setup
Set up the various game components as shown below:
(When playing with fewer than 5 players, return all unused items back in the box.)
- Shuffle the General Store cards and place them facedown above the general store.
- Shuffle the Property Deed cards and place them facedown above the town hall. Then, draw and place the top 3 cards of the deck faceup.
- Each player takes:
- 1 cup
- 5 dice
- 8 $1 bills
- Place the 30 Gold Nuggets on the gold mine.
- Place 3 $1 bills above the bank.
- Shuffle the Elixir cards and place them facedown. Then, draw and place the top 2 cards of the deck faceup.
- The youngest player takes the Sheriff Badge card and places it on the card stand in front of themself.
Playing the Game
The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round, you:
- I – Build a poker hand by rolling your five dice.
- II – Take actions by taking control of various locations of Dice Town depending on your poker hand.
I - Build a Poker Hand
- Simultaneously, each player shakes the 5 dice in their cup. Then, each player places their cup upside-down on the table in order to keep the dice hidden.
- Each player secretly looks under their cup, keeps one (and only one) die under the cup, and takes the other dice in their hand.
- When ready, each player simultaneously lifts up their cup to reveal the die that they kept. That die is then set aside.
- Players repeat this process, starting with step 1, to choose another die to keep and set aside...
- ... until each player has built their poker hand by setting aside all five dice.
HOWEVER, YOU CAN ALSO BUILD A BETTER POKER HAND BY SPENDING A FEW DOLLARS:
- After rolling your dice, you can choose to keep more than one die. In this example, our cowboy wants to keep 4 dice because he rolled a four-of-a-kind with Queens...
- So, he leaves the dice he wants to keep under the cup and takes the rest of them in his hand.
- When the players lift their cups, he must immediately spend $1 for each die kept beyond the first die (in this case, $3). Dollar bills spent this way are placed on the stagecoach.
Note: After a roll, you can choose to not keep any die. If you do so, immediately spend $1, which you place on the stagecoach.
Often, players who spent dollars finish building their poker hands before the other players:
- When this happens, each player who has not already finished building their poker hands roll their remaining dice one last time.
- These players must keep their final roll, even if it is not exactly what they wanted.
- On the bright side, they do not have to spend dollars to keep more than one die after this last roll.
II - Take actions
After players have built their poker hands, they take actions depending on which town location they control. Resolve these steps in the following order:
(Note: One player may take more than one action during the same round. It is also possible for a location to not be controlled by any player depending on the player's poker hands. In case of a tie, the current Sheriff decides, see "6" below.)
1 Gold Mine
The player with the most 9's exploits the gold mine: That player immediately gains 1 gold nugget for each 9 in their poker hand.
At the end of the game, each gold nugget is worth 1 VP.
2 Bank
The player with the most 10's robs the bank: That player immediately takes all the $1 bills placed above the Bank.
At the end of the game, each set of two $1 dollar bills is worth 1 VP.
3 Stagecoach
No player controls the stagecoach. After the bank has been robbed, the stagecoach comes to town to restock the bank: Immediately take all $1 bills on the stagecoach and place them above the bank in preparation for the next round.
4 General Store
The player with the most J's goes to the general store: That player immediately draws as many cards as J's in their poker hand, takes one, and discards the other cards facedown next to the game board.
(If there are not enough cards, shuffle the discarded cards to form a new deck.)
At the end of the game, this card is worth 4 VP.
When you exploit the mine, this card allows you to gain twice the number of gold nuggets you would normally gain.
Important: During the first round, the player who goes to the General Store takes this action twice (draw, take a card, discard, and then draw, take a card, and discard again).
5 Saloon
The player with the most Q's wins the favor of the girls and takes advantage of their charms to steal from an opponent: That player immediately draws as many cards* from an opponent's hand as Q's in their poker hand, takes one, and gives back the other ones.
Stealing cards allows you to weaken an opponent while earning points! Try to keep track of which players have the strongest cards.
*Property Deed and / or General Store cards.
6 Sheriff
The player with the most K's becomes the new Sheriff: That player immediately takes the Sheriff Badge and places it in front of themself. The Sheriff breaks ties if multiple players tie for control of a town location. Players may offer gold nuggets, cards, and bills to influence the Sheriff in their decisions.
At the end of the game, the Sheriff badge is worth 5 VP.
Note: If no player has any K's, the current Sheriff remains in office.
7 Town Hall
The player with the best poker hand** gives the town a good reputation, which allows the mayor to further his political ambitions. The happy mayor rewards that player with Property Deeds: That player immediately takes the Property Deed placed on the bottommost space, and one additional Property Deed (from the space directly above it) for each Ace in their poker hand (limited to a maximum of 3 cards, or all the faceup cards). Then, shift any remaining Property Deeds down and draw new cards to replace the ones that were taken.
Property Deeds are worth 1 to 5 VP.
** For ease of reference, the ranking of poker hands is listed on the back of the Property Deed cards.
8 Doc Badluck
Each player who was not able to control a town location this round must visit Doc Badluck to get some special medicine. If multiple players must visit Doc Badluck, the Sheriff decides who goes first.
When a player visits Doc Badluck, that player chooses one of the two faceup Elixir cards or draws the top card of the Elixir deck, and immediately resolves its effect. Then, the Elixir card is discarded facedown next to the game board.
If the player chose one of the two faceup cards, replace it with the top card of the deck. If there are not enough cards, shuffle the discarded cards to form a new deck.
Doc Badluck's Elixirs
- Wealth: Each player must give you 2$.
- Charm: Each player must give you a gold nugget.
- Fortune: Draw the top card of the General Store deck.
- Power: Take the Sheriff Badge. You become the new Sheriff.
- Protection: Place 2 Property Deeds from your hand faceup in front of you. They can no longer be stolen from you.
- Friendship: A player of your choice must choose and give you one of their General Store cards.
- Domination: A player of your choice must choose and give you one of their Property Deeds.
Game Round Example
5 players build the following poker hands:
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 9 9 J K | 10 10 10 K K | J J J J A | Q Q Q A A | 9 Q Q J J |
Gold Mine: Player 1 has the most 9's. He exploits the mine and finds 3 Nuggets.
Bank: Player 2 has the most 10's. He robs the bank and takes all the bills placed on the bank.
General Store: Player 3 has the most J's. She goes to the General Store, draws 4 cards, keeps 1 and discards the others.
Saloon: Player 4 has the most Q's. With the help of the Girls, he draws 3 cards from the hand of an opponent of his choice, keeping 1, and returning the other 2. (Note that since Player 4 does not have the best Poker Hand, his two Aces are of no use to him).
Sheriff: Player 2 also has the most K's. He places the Sheriff Badge in from of himself and becomes the Sheriff.
Town Hall: Player 3, with her four-of-a-kind with J's, has the best Hand. The Mayor is pleased and rewards her with the first revealed Property Deed and an additional one because she also has one Ace in her poker hand.
Doc Badluck: Player 5 did not gain access to any location, as such, he pays visit to Doc Badluck. He chooses one of the two faceup cards, the Elixir of Protection, which allows him to place two Property Deeds from his hand faceup in from of himself. They are worth 5 VP and cannot be stolen from him.
End of Round
After resolving all player actions, players pick up their dice and start a new round.
Players keep playing this way until either one of the following end game conditions is triggered:
- There are no gold nuggets on the gold mine.
- All Property Deeds have been taken.
End of Game
Finally, each player score VP as follows:
- 1 VP for each gold nugget
- 1 VP for every $2
- 5 VP for having the Sheriff Badge
- Any VP from Equipment cards (General Store cards with a VP value).
- VP from their Property Deeds
The player with the most VP wins the game.
Example
- 6 Nuggets, worth 6 VP.
- $7 worth 3 VP.
- Badge: 5 VP
- Equipment Cards 3 + 5 + 2 = 10 VP
- Property Deeds 2 + 1 + 5 + 4 = 12 VP.
This player has a total of 36 Victory Points.
General Store Cards List
When played, General Store cards are discarded.
All cards are unique, except for The Brute and the Professional Cheater for which there are 2 copies.
Equipment Cards (6 cards): At the end of the game, these cards are worth 1 to 8 VP.
Dynamite
Play this card when you exploit the gold mine.
Gain twice as many gold nuggets as you normally would.
The Girls
Play this card when you steal from an opponent at the saloon.
Steal twice this round (either from the same player or two different players).
The Brute
Play this card when you reveal the dice you kept.
Keep more than one die without spending any dollars.
Professional Cheater
Play this card when you reveal the dice you kept.
After lifting your cup, turn one of your dice to any side.
Corruption
Play this card when the Mayor rewards you at the town hall.
After taking Property Deeds, add the top Property Deed from the deck to your hand. (Do not show it to your opponents.)
Unlimited Credits
Play this card when you go to the general store.
Go to the general store twice this round.
Nervous Joe
Play this card immediately.
Take $4 from a player of your choice.
Marshall
Play this card when a player becomes the new Sheriff.
The old Sheriff remains Sheriff for the next round.
Even Split
Play this card when an opponent robs the bank.
The player who robs the bank must give you half of the stolen bills (rounded down).
Wanted
Play this card when a player plays a General Store card.
Cancel the effect of the played card.
Elixir
Play this card when any player visits Doc Badluck.
Immediately visit Doc Badluck (even if you controlled a town location this round).
FAQ
If I have the most 10's and the bank is empty, and I didn't access any other location during the round, can I go and see Doc Badluck?
No, you still took control of the bank, even if it was empty.
What happens if several players have the best Poker Hand for the town hall, for example, 2 players with a 4 of a kind?
Just like in Poker, a higher four-of-a-kind beats a lower one: 9, 10, J, Q, K and A is the order from lowest to highest. A four-of-a-kind with K's beats a four-of-a-kind with J's. For Full Houses, we compare the three-of-a-kind first and then the pair. For example "J J J 9 9" beats "10 10 10 A A". The pairs are only compared if the three-of-a-kind is identical. Also, a straight with an Ace is higher than a straight without one. And then as always, in case of a perfect tie, the Sheriff breaks ties and decides who takes control of the town hall.
Who wins if there is a tie at the end of the game?
In case of a tie, the tied player with the most Property Deeds wins… If there's still a tie, let the Sheriff decide!
During our games, Doc Badluck is never visited. Is that normal?
Doc Badluck is only ever busy in games with 4 to 5 players. With fewer, players rarely visit, if ever. It is normal.