Jingle Bell Roll
Jingle Bell Roll Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
How to Win
There are two ways you can win Jingle Bell Roll:
- Score the most Points by the end of 5 Rounds.
- Roll 7 Bells during your turn and automatically win the game!
Components
- 7 Christmas Dice
- 30 Gift Cards
- 16 Character Cards
- 6 Calendar Tokens
- 6 Ornament Tokens
- 1 Tree Board
- 1 First Player Card & 5 Reference Cards
- 1 Score Chart
- 6 Mailbox Cards
- 18 Letters to Santa
Setup
- Place the Tree Board in the middle of the table.
- Place 6 Calendar Tiles (20-25) below the Tree.
- Separate the Letter Tiles into 4 stacks (2 Bells, 3 Bells, 4 Bells, and 5 Bells). Shuffle each stack and place them face up near the top of the Tree.
- Shuffle the Gift Cards and deal 1 card to each player. Place the remaining Gift Cards in a single deck next to the Tree Board.
- Each player selects 1 Ornament Token and places it near the Tree Board.
- Each player selects 1 Character Card and 1 Mailbox Card, placing the cards in front of them.
- The person who most recently gave someone a gift goes first! Give them the First Player Card, all 7 Christmas Dice, and the Score Chart. You're ready to begin!
Give the first player 7 dice, the Score Chart, and the first player card to start the game. Use a Reference Card to help learn icons.
How to Play
Jingle Bell Roll is played over 5 Rounds, and each round consists of 1 turn per player.
Roll Dice
- You have three total rolls each turn.
- To start your turn, roll all 7 Christmas Dice!
Any dice showing a BELL cannot be re-rolled, otherwise, you may re-roll as many dice as you wish using your three rolls. You may set aside any dice you might wish to score at the end of your turn, and choose not to re-roll them. You may stop rolling dice and end your turn at any time to Score Points (pg. 8), give Gift Cards (pg 9), and/or add Letters to your Mailbox Card (pg. 10).
A BELL cannot be re-rolled unless you have a card with the re-roll symbol (two circular arrows around a die).
You can play Gift Cards during your turn to earn Bonus Points! (pg. 9) (Example: the Secret Santa card, "each GIFT = 1 Point", turns 3 GIFTS into 3 Points.)
Use your Character Card ability once per turn to mitigate your dice roll! (pg. 14)
Scoring
You may choose to score your dice at any time during your 3 rolls. Once you score, you cannot re-roll any dice.
- MILK and COOKIES score in pairs. Each pair is worth 4 Points. They each score 0 Points individually.
- LISTS: Santa is making his list and checking it twice! LISTS score 7 points if you have exactly 2 LISTS showing when you score.
- STOCKINGS are hung by the chimney with care. The more you have, the better, because they are all about gaining points!
- GIFTS score more points, but give other players cards. For each GIFT scored, you must choose another player to receive a Gift Card. That player draws the top card from the deck. If multiple GIFTS are scored, a different player can be chosen to draw for each GIFT (pg. 8).
- BELLS score 0 Points and cannot be re-rolled without a Gift Card ability. If you can roll 7 BELLS, you instantly win the game regardless of any players' scores!
When you score, BELLS can be spent to add Letters to Santa to your Mailbox Card, giving you a permanent, ongoing ability for the rest of the game! (pg. 10)
(The per-STOCKING and per-GIFT point values are on the Score Chart and are not printed as numbers in the rulebook text; the turn example shows 1 GIFT scoring 2 points.)
Scoring (continued)
If you score a total of 0 Points on a turn, draw 2 Gift Cards, then choose 1 to keep. Place the other card at the bottom of the deck.
After your turn's score is calculated, move your Ornament up the Tree Board equal to the Points you scored. If you go above 50 Points, flip your Ornament to the back side showing "50" and continue on.
Finally, pass all 7 Christmas Dice to the player on your left for them to begin their turn.
Example: Jess scored 12 Points on her turn, so she moved her Ornament 12 spots up the Tree! Jess reached the top of the Tree by scoring 50 Points! She flips her Ornament over to the "50" side and continues along the lights until she's reached her total.
Playing Gift Cards
You can play any Gift Cards in your hand during your turn. Some cards give you scoring boosts, while some help you mitigate your dice rolls!
- There is no hand limit.
- There is no limit to how many cards you can play during a single turn.
Once you have played a Gift Card and used it's effect, add it to the discard pile next to the main deck.
Giving Gift Cards
For each GIFT you score, deal 1 Gift Card to another player.
- Gift Cards provide one-time use abilities that you can play on your turn to score more Points in the game!
- When giving Gift Cards, you can choose the same player multiple times.
- If the deck runs out of cards when you are meant to deal Gift Card, shuffle the Discard Pile to create a new deck.
This icon means you get to draw 1 Gift Card and keep it for yourself!
Add Letters to Your Mailbox
When you score your dice, you may also use any BELLS you rolled to add Letters to your Mailbox. Letters to Santa give you permanent dice symbols or re-rolls for the rest of the game, allowing you to earn Points faster!
Letters to Santa are in four stacks around the Tree, and the number of Stamps indicate how many BELLS are required.
If you have enough BELLS, you may take the letter from the top of the appropriate stack and place it on your Mailbox Card.
- You can have up to three Letters visible at a time. If at any point you have three Letters, but want to add a new Letter, place the new Letter on top of any of the ones you currently have showing. Now, you may use the bonuses that are all visible.
- You must use the exact number of BELLS you rolled to gain letters. If you roll 4 Bells, you may only take a Letter from the stack with 4 Stamps.
- When you add a Letter to Santa, you get to use the bonus on your next turn, not immediately.
Next Round
After all players have taken a turn, flip over the Calendar Token to reveal a checkmark, then move on to the next round starting with the same First Player.
Game End
Jingle Bell Roll lasts 5 Rounds, with the final round being played on December 24th, Christmas Eve! The game is over once you have reached Christmas morning, December 25th.
Tally up the final score and whoever has the most points wins! If any player rolls 7 BELLS during their turn, they win the game instantly.
If there is a tie: The player with the most Letters in their Mailbox wins. If still tied, the player with the least amount of Gift Cards wins. If still tied, the tied players play one more round to see who can score the most Points and win the game!
If you'd like to play a longer game, play a 6th round and end the game once Christmas Day is over!
Turn Example
- Chris rolls all 7 Christmas Dice and gets an outcome (Roll #1).
- Since Chris rolled 2 BELLS, he must set them aside and cannot re-roll them. He rolled one pair of MILK & COOKIES, which will score him 4 points, so he chooses to keep them and not re-roll them. He re-rolls three dice and gets a new outcome (Roll #2).
- Chris rolled 3 LISTS! But Santa only checks his list twice, so he needs to have exactly 2 LISTS to score, otherwise he busts. Luckily, Chris has a Gift Card that can help. He plays "Nice List" which changes 1 LIST to 1 GIFT!
- Chris decides to stop rolling and score his points. One pair of MILK and COOKIES gives him 4 points, two LISTS give him 7 points, and 1 GIFT scores him 2 points for a total of 13 points! He moves his score to "13".
- Since Chris scored 1 GIFT, he has to give 1 Gift Card to another player. He takes one card from the deck and gives it to Rebecca.
- Since Chris scored 2 BELLS, he can now take the letter from the top of the stack with 2 BELLS Required and place it on his Mailbox Card. The top letter shows a STOCKING, so for the rest of the game, Chris has a permanent STOCKING he will score!
Character Cards
Each player may choose a Character Card at the start of the game. These cards give you ongoing abilities throughout the game, such as dice manipulation, allowing you to get combos more easily. There are 16 characters for you to choose from for lots of replay-ability.
You may use your Character's ability once per turn when you Score.
Character Card Abilities
- Chris Pine Tree - 1 COOKIE equals 2 COOKIES
- Chris Cringle - 1 STOCKING equals 2 STOCKINGS
- Frosty - Re-roll 1 MILK
- Holly Daze - Re-roll 1 GIFT
- Jingle Belle - Change any 1 die to a BELL
- Merry Mack - If you roll 3 GIFTS, draw 1 Gift Card
- Milkman Dan - 1 MILK equals 2 MILKS
- Mrs. Claus (1) - Change 1 GIFT to 1 LIST
- Mrs. Claus (2) - 1 LIST equals 1 Stamp
- Saint Nicholas - Change 1 BELL to 1 GIFT
- Santa Claus (1) - Change 1 GIFT to a 1 COOKIE or 1 MILK
- Santa Claus (2) - Change 1 LIST to 1 COOKIE or 1 MILK
- Tree Larson - Change any 1 die to a STOCKING
- Wreathmaster Winston - Re-roll 1 COOKIE
Glossary
- Cheat Day - Each MILK & COOKIE Pair equals 2 Bonus Points
- Gingerbread House - 3 COOKIES equals 6 Points
- Hung with Care - Each BELL & STOCKING Pair equals 2 Bonus Points
- Lactose Intolerant - If you score no MILK, earn 3 Points
- Lady Luck - Each BELL scored equals 1 Point
- Milk Mustache - Change a COOKIE to MILK or MILK to COOKIE
- Nice List - Change a LIST to a GIFT
- Ring My Bell - 1 BELL equals 2 Stamps
- Rockin' Around - Re-Roll any 1 Die (including BELLS)
- Secret Santa - Each GIFT scored equals 1 Point
- Stocking Stuffer - Change 1 Die to a STOCKING
- Treat Yo'Self - If you roll 3 GIFTS, draw 1 Gift Card
- Triple-Check - 3 LISTS equals 5 Points
Quick Reference
How to Win: (A) Score the most Points by the end of 5 Rounds. (B) Roll 7 BELLS on your turn and you automatically win the game!
On Your Turn:
- Roll all 7 Christmas Dice! You have 3 total rolls on your turn and can re-roll any dice except BELLS.
- Score your dice using the Scoring Chart. Move your Ornament up the Tree accordingly.
- For every GIFT you score, deal 1 Gift Card to another player.
- If you rolled enough BELLS, add 1 Letter to Santa to your Mailbox for future turn bonuses!
- You can play as many Gift Cards as you like during your turn, and there is no hand limit.
- Use your Character Card ability once per turn to help you score more Points!