Dizzle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Rounds and turns
  • Placing dice
  • Closed in
  • No more fitting dice
    • Rolling again
    • Dropping out
    • Last active player
  • Putting X's
• End of the Game
  • Rare special case
• Fields
  • Effect during the game
  • Effect at the end of a turn (while putting X's)
  • Effect at the end of the game
• Solo Game
• Credits

Components

• 1 Pad with 4 different levels
• 4 Felt-tip pens
• 13 Dice

Ages 8+, 1-4 players, 20 min

Setup

There are 4 levels of difficulty, and players decide which level they want to play. Each player receives a Felt-tip pen and the game sheet for that level. Depending on the number of players, different numbers of dice are needed.

• one player = 8 dice
• two players = 7 dice
• three players = 10 dice
• four players = 13 dice

Place the remaining dice back into the box. The youngest player starts the first round.

Gameplay

Rounds and turns

The number of rounds played is dependent on the number of players. During a round, each player takes a turn as the starting player, rolling all the dice.

• one player = 10 rounds
• two players = 6 rounds
• three players = 4 rounds
• four players = 3 rounds

After a player has rolled the dice, they mark this on their game sheet by ticking off round 1. A round is over once all players take their turns, as shown by the rounds being marked on their game sheet. Beginning with the starting player, turns proceed clockwise giving each player a chance to take and place a die. The next time it is a player's turn, they tick off round 2, etc.

Example: Vicki and Joe are playing a two player game. Round one begins with Vicki as the starting player. Vicki rolls 7 dice and marks round 1 on her game sheet. Vicki takes a die and places it on her game sheet, then Joe takes a die and places it on his game sheet. Vicki takes a second die and places it, then Joe takes a second die and places it. Vicki takes a third die and places it, then Joe takes a third die and places it. Vicki takes the remaining die, placing it. Vicki's turn ends. Vicki and Joe mark the dice on their game sheets. Now Joe is the starting player. Joe rolls 7 dice and marks round 1 on his game sheet. Play proceeds as before with each player alternately taking a die and placing it on their game sheet. Once Joe takes the final remaining die, his turn ends. Both players mark the dice on their game sheets. Now that all players have had a turn as the starting player, Round 1 ends. Round 2 can begin.

Placing dice

During their turn, the starting player rolls all the dice. After that, they sort the dice in ascending order of the displayed pips for a better overview. In a clockwise direction, beginning with the starting player, every player takes exactly 1 die and puts it on a field on their game sheet. The following rules have to be observed:

1. The die must be put on an unused field (no X).
2. The dice must be put on the fields matching the number of pips. A die with a 5 must be put on a field with a 5, a 2 on a 2, but not a 3 on a 1.
3. Every player must put their first die chosen horizontally or vertically next to any field that has already been crossed out. At the beginning, there are only the printed starting fields. However, later in the game, there are more and more possibilities for placing the starting die for players.
4. The next die that is used by a player must be put horizontally or vertically next to a die that is already on the field. This way connected "dice clusters" are created.
5. Players must take a die and play it if possible.

If there are dice remaining after every player has taken a die, then the starting player takes another die and play proceeds clockwise as before. A player's turn is over when none of the other players can take a die or want to roll again (see below).

Example: The first die Beth takes is a "3". She placed it next to the starting field (A). The other players each choose a remaining die. After that she takes a "2" and puts it next to the "3" (B). The other players each choose a remaining die, then she takes a "5" and puts it next to the "2" (C). Lastly, after the other players each choose a remaining die, takes a "6" and puts it on the left side of the "2" (D). During her turn, Beth could have put the "5" below the "3" or the "6" to the right of the "3".

Closed in

It can happen, that a player has no available field next to already placed dice and thus cannot place another die. The die or dice are closed in by X's, next to the edge of the game field, or blocked by obstacles, e.g. a field with a lock that is not available yet (see "special fields"). In this case, and only then, a player is allowed to "jump". Jumping means that the player can put the next die on any available field next to an X on their game sheet. Of course, the die's pips must match the field, but there cannot be a connection to dice that have already been placed. The player, so to say, "jumps" from one place on their game sheet to another, starting a second dice cluster. The placed die thereby functions as a new starting die. During the game, the following die must be put next to it. Should a player again be closed in, they can then jump to another field and start a third (fourth, fifth, etc.) dice cluster. In this case, a player finishes their turn with more than one dice cluster.

Example: Tony takes a "2" for his first die and puts it next to already made X's (A). The next die he takes is a "1" and must be put next to the "2" (B). As these dice are now closed in by X's and the edge of the game field, Tony is now allowed to "jump" with the next die. He takes a "4" and puts it next to an X (C). As he is once again closed in, he must jump again. He puts the "5" of the next die now next to another X (D).

No more fitting dice

Only when a player is no longer able to place dice according to the rules are they allowed to choose to roll again or drop out.

Rolling again

When a player decides to roll again, they take all the remaining dice from the table and roll them again. Thereby they can acquire more useful dice. Should they be able to put at least one die on their game sheet, they must use it. Should they not be able to use a die according to the rules after rolling again, they must return one of the dice from their game sheet back to the table as a penalty. The value of the die that is returned must not be changed. In rare cases, it is not possible for players to return a die as none have been placed on their game sheet before.

Whoever decides to roll again, stays in the game no matter what the results of the roll are. When they have the opportunity to choose a die again, they can take a die or decide to roll again if they are not able to take any of the available dice.

Example: After Geri picked a "3" for her first die, she put a "1" next to the "3". Next, she takes a "4" and puts it next to the "3". As the other players have taken all other matching dice in the meantime, and there are no more "2" or "6" on the table, Geri can decide to roll again or drop out. She rolls again and is unlucky as neither a "2" or "6" has been rolled. Thus, she has to return a die back to the table. She returns her "3", hoping she can take it again during her next opportunity.

Dropping out

If a player decides to drop out, they are out of the current turn and can no longer take dice. To show that they have dropped out, they put their pen on their game sheet. However, a player who rolls the dice again, stays in the game.

Last active player

When all players but one have dropped out, the last active player has exactly one more opportunity to choose a die. They can take a die from the table, roll again, or drop out if none of the dice can be placed according to the rules. Once this last active player makes their choice, this round is over for everyone.

Putting X's

As soon as all players have dropped out or there are no more dice on the table or the last active player finishes, the turn is over. It is possible that players have different amounts of dice on their game sheets. Now the players put X's on their fields. Each player marks all the fields which are covered with dice with X's.

Example: This is how a typical turn could look for a player. As the first die taken, (marked in red), Nick has put a "5" next to a printed starting field. The next die he takes is a "2" that he has put next to the "5". The next dice he takes a "3" and a "6" that he placed next to the "2". All dice form a cluster of dice. At the end of the turn, Nick marks all four fields, which are covered with dice, with X's.

End of the Game

The game ends once all rounds have been played. Points are now awarded. Each player adds up the points they earned for special fields minus the points for bombs and brown piles.

Whoever earned the most points wins the game. Should there be a tie, the player with fewer X's on their game sheet wins. If there is still a tie, then players share the victory.

Rare special case

• In the extremely rare case that a player has crossed out or put dice on all of their fields, the game finishes early after the current player's turn.

Fields

Game sheets have normal white fields and special fields. The effect of the special fields occurs

• during the game, when placing a die on it
• at the end of a turn (while putting X's)
• or at the end of the game

Effect during the game

The special field "key" is used to open a lock later in the game. A player is only allowed to put a die on a lock-field when they have already covered the respective key-field with an X in a previous turn. On Level 2 game sheets, there are keys in different colors. A player can only open a lock with a key of the same color.

A player is only allowed to put a die on a lock-field when they have previously crossed out a key-field of the same color. One cannot put a die on the lock-field, without an X on its matching key-field.

Important: Having a die on the correct key-field will not allow a die to be placed on a lock-field. The key-field must already be crossed out.

Effect at the end of a turn (while putting X's)

The special field "bomb" will cause the following effect at the end of a turn (while putting X's): The player who has put a die on the bomb puts a regular X on it. All the other players must strike out the same bomb-field on their game sheets with random lines (make the field explode). As the game continues, players cannot cross out the bomb-field or put a die on it anymore. If more than one player puts a die on the same bomb-field by the end of a turn, they are all allowed to make an X, while the other players have to strike it out. Exploded fields count as minus points at the end of the game, as displayed on the game sheet.

The "rocket" starts at the end of a turn (while putting X's). This means that a player who crosses out a rocket-field must immediately put 1 more X on a planet-field of their choice. ATTENTION: Only with a rocket are players able to get to otherwise unreachable areas on their game sheet in Level 4. From the next turn on, players can start to spread out from the crossed out planet-field, as it counts as a crossed out field.

At the end of a turn (while putting X's), players who have a die on a field with a "flag" can draw a circle around their reached points. If no other player has reached a flag-field, then a player draws a circle around the first number while the others have to cross it out on their game sheets. The second player to reach a flag-field draws a circle around the second number (or the highest available number at that time) and so on and so forth. If more than one player puts a die on a flag-field by the end of the turn, all these players get the respective points. The other players cross out as many numbers as players have reached flag-fields. Thus, if two players reach the first flag-field at the same time, then both outline the 10 while the other players cross out the 10 and the 6. On the game sheet for Level 4 there are two different colored flag-fields that are each valued separately.

Effect at the end of the game

There are different colored "gemstone" special fields. At the end of the game, each crossed out gemstone-field generates as many points as displayed on the game sheet.

On the edge of some rows and columns are arrows with a number. At the end of the game, each completely crossed out row or column with an arrow provides the displayed points.

There are several "puzzle" special fields on a game sheet. Whoever has crossed out all puzzle-fields of the same color earns the corresponding points denoted on the sheet. In Level 2, there are puzzle pieces in two different colors that only grant points if combined with the correct colors.

In Level 4, there is a 4-square-field that is framed by a black line. If all 4 fields are crossed out, a player gets 10 points.

The special field "brown pile" yields minus points at the end of the game if crossed out. It is possible that there is a die on the field during a turn that can be removed by a penalty. In this case, the brown pile-field is not crossed out and does not yield minus points at the end of the game. It only must be crossed out when it is covered by a die at the end of a turn.

Solo Game

"Dizzle" can also be played solo. The goal of the solo game is the same, collect as many points as possible. The game ends after 10 rounds. The rules of the game stay mostly the same.

You need 8 dice and 2 additional dice, which are rolled separately from the 8 actual dice. The 8 dice are used as a general display from which the player takes their dice. The additional 2 dice simulate other players that take dice from the display.

After the player has taken a die and placed it on their game sheet, they must roll the 2 additional dice. Matching with the rolled result, up to two dice must be taken from the general display. For example, if a "1" and a "4" have been rolled, then a "1" and a "4" must be removed from the display if those numbers are part of the display. Should there not be a die with a corresponding number, then the player is lucky and does not have to remove a die. Should both dice show the same number, then two dice with the number (if available) are removed.

A bomb that has been crossed out in a solo game yields 2 extra points.

The following chart shows how well a player has played "Dizzle".

Level 1	Level 2-4	Rating	Comment
> 80	> 90	4 stars	Congrats! You are a certified Dizzle superstar!
71 – 80	81 – 90	3.5 stars	Wow! You have one foot on the Dizzle podium.
61 – 70	71 – 80	3 stars	You Dizzler! This cannot just have been luck!
51 – 60	61 – 70	2 stars	Pretty good! But still far away from being a Dizzle superstar!
41 – 50	51 – 60	1.5 stars	The only good news: There are two Dizzle ranks that are worse.
31 – 40	41 – 50	1 star	Well! Still not a really impressive result!
< 31	< 41	0 stars	Man, that's really bad! Did you use bouillon cubes instead of dice?

Credits

Author: Ralf zur Linde Layout: Anne Pätzke Editor: Thorsten Gimmler Localization: T.R. Knight

Schmidt Spiele GmbH Lahnstr. 21 D-12055 Berlin www.schmidtspiele.de www.schmidtspiele-shop.de