Lucky Dog
Lucky Dog Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Free for All (2-4 Players)
Players will take turns trying to win the dog's affection! Shuffle the deck of cards and choose a player to go first (we suggest the player who pet a dog most recently). That player takes the five dice and takes the first turn.
Taking a Turn
Reveal cards – At the beginning of your turn, flip cards face-up onto the table until there are 5 revealed (if there are cards from the previous turn, keep them there and reveal cards until there are 5 showing). If the deck is ever empty, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
Roll – Roll the five dice! After your first roll (and only after the first roll), you may choose a face-up card and discard it, then flip the top card of the deck face-up so there are 5 revealed cards again.
Reroll (up to twice) – You may pick and reroll any of the dice twice. You may reroll different dice the second time you reroll and do not need to reroll if you don't want to.
Score – Look at the 5 revealed cards and see if the dice match the parameters of each of the cards. If they match, you can collect the card to score. You can score each of the available cards that meet the parameters (if you roll one three of a kind, you can score two 'three of a kind' cards).
After scoring, it is the next player's turn. Pass the five dice to the player on your left.
Winning the Game
If any player has scored 20 points or more, it triggers the end of the game. Finish the round by taking turns until it would be the turn of the player who went first, then the game ends. The player with the most points at the end of the round wins! If there is a tie, the player who received the high score first is the winner.
Cooperative Game (2 Players)
Work together to make this the best day possible for the dog! In this version of the game, cards in each player's hand should be kept secret. Try your best not to communicate (with words or gestures) what you have in your hand. You'll have to guess what cards your teammate has based on which dice they choose. Shuffle the deck of cards and place them face down, choose a player to go first (we suggest the player who pet a dog most recently). That player takes the five dice and takes the first turn.
Playing a Turn
Draw cards – Players start each turn by drawing cards until they each have a hand of 2 cards.
Roll the dice – The player whose turn it is rolls all 5 dice. They pick any of the dice to keep, but must keep at least one. They then pass the dice they didn't keep to their teammate, who rolls them and chooses any of the dice they rolled to keep (placing them next to previously kept dice) but must keep at least one. Then they pass any un-kept dice back to their teammate. Continue rolling, keeping and passing dice in this way until all 5 dice are kept. Remember that once a die is kept, it cannot be re-rolled!
Score – After all 5 dice have been kept, both players score any cards by placing them face-up in a pile on the play area. All of the cards that have their parameters fulfilled by the dice can be scored (if the players roll a three of a kind, it's possible for both players to play up to two 'three of a kind' cards each!). If you scored one or more cards, play another round with the other player becoming the first player.
Losing the game – If neither player scores cards, it's game over! Count up your total points of cards scored to see how well you did!
Cuddle time – The cuddle time card can be played if neither player can score. After all dice are kept and you have the cuddle time card in your hand, you can ask your teammate 'Are you scoring anything?' If they say no, you can score the cuddle time card and can take another turn! If a cuddle time card is scored, no other cards can be scored.
Winning the Game
As you play games of cooperative Lucky Dog, keep track of your high score and try to beat it. If you and your partner manage to score every card in the deck, you have officially won the cooperative version of Lucky Dog! Wow, congratulations!
2v2 Team Game (4 Players)
Team up and win the affection of the dog! Just like in the cooperative version, cards in each player's hand should be kept secret. Try your best not to communicate (with words or gestures) what you have in your hand. You'll have to guess what cards your teammate has based on which dice they choose. Players should sit across from their teammate with the two players from the opposite team on their left and right (that way turns will alternate between teams). To set up: shuffle the deck of cards, randomly pick a player to go first and deal each player one card. Take the first turn!
Taking a Turn
Draw cards – Each player in the team whose turn it is may choose and discard a card from their hand by placing it face-up next to the discard pile, then both of those players draw cards until they each have 2 cards in their hand.
Roll the dice – The player whose turn it is rolls all 5 dice. They pick any of the dice to keep, but must keep at least one. They then pass the dice they didn't keep to their teammate, who rolls them and chooses any of the dice they rolled to keep (placing them next to previously kept dice) but must keep at least one. They then pass any un-kept dice back to their teammate. Continue rolling, keeping and passing dice in this fashion until all 5 dice are kept. Remember that once a die is kept, it cannot be re-rolled!
Score – After all 5 dice have been kept, all players score any cards from their hand by placing them face-up in a pile on the play area (this means opposing teams can score cards on your turn!). All of the cards that have their parameters fulfilled by the dice can be scored (if a three of a kind is rolled, it's possible for a team of players to play up to two 'three of a kind' cards each!). Each team should keep their own pile of scored cards. After scoring, it is the next player's turn.
Cuddle time – The cuddle time card can be played if neither player in a team can score. After all dice are kept and you have the cuddle time card in your hand, you can ask your teammate 'Are you scoring anything?' If they say no, you can score the cuddle time card. If a cuddle time card is scored, no other cards can be scored for that team.
Winning the Game
If either team has scored 20 points or more, it triggers the end of the game. Finish the round by taking turns until it would be the turn of the player who went first, then the game ends. The team with the most points at the end of the round wins! If there is a tie, the team who received the high score first is the winner.
Solo Game (1 Player)
Is your crew showing up late and you want to roll some dice? Let's see how well you can entertain the dog by yourself! To set up, simply shuffle the deck of cards. You're ready to take the first turn.
Taking a Turn
Reveal cards – At the beginning of your turn, flip cards face-up onto the play area until there are 5 revealed (if there are cards from the previous turn, keep them there and reveal cards until there are 5 showing).
Roll – Roll the five dice! Then pick and reroll any of the dice. Then pick and reroll any of the dice again! You may reroll different dice the second time, you may reroll previously kept dice and do not need to reroll if you don't want to.
Score – Score any of the 5 revealed cards by placing them in a score pile. If you scored at least 4 points or scored a cuddle time card, take another turn! If not, the game is over, count up your score!
Winning the Game
Though the game is mainly about trying to get a high score, you might be very ambitious! If the deck runs out, keep playing with the revealed cards without revealing any more. While the deck is empty, you only need to score one card (instead of 4 points) to get an extra turn. If all of the cards have been scored, congratulations!! You have officially won the solo version of Lucky Dog! Nice job. That seriously isn't easy!
Scoring Rules
Sometimes the parameters are specific (each of the treats requires two of a specific number showing) and sometimes they show examples ('3 in a row' for instance can be any iteration of three numbers in a row like 1-2-3 or 4-5-6).
Scored cards are worth the number of points shown on the top-right of the card.
Because a full house requires a 3 of a kind and a 2 of a kind, a 5 of a kind counts as a full house.
The printed page illustrates these rules with dice examples labelled "Three of a kind" and "Two of a kind".
(Also, a 4 of a kind counts for a two pair.)