Out of Sight Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object
• Setting Up
• Turn Sequence
• The Time Keeper
• Taking Turns
  • 1. Rolling the Dice
  • 2. Collecting Cards
  • 3. Refresh the Card Row
  • 4. Ending Your Turn
• The Doubles Card
  • 1. Calling a "Flip"
  • 2. Calling a "Wipe"
• Scoring the Basic Game
• Winning the Basic Game
• Playing the Advanced Game
  • Object
  • Introduction
• Organizing the Cards in Your Bank
• Scoring Frame One and Frame Two
  • 1. Score Your First Row of Cards
  • 2. Save Your Second Row of Cards
  • 3. Subtract Your Third Row of Cards
• Scoring the Final Frame
  • 1. Score Your First Row (as described above)
  • 2. Subtract Any Remaining Colors
• Winning the Advanced Game
• Tips for Younger Players

Contents

• 109 Cards
• 3 Dice
• 1 Sand Timer with Cover
• 1 Score Pad (30 Sheets)
• 1 Pencil
• Instruction Sheet

Object

Collect the most cards by the end of the game. You score 1 point for every card you collect.

IMPORTANT: You DO NOT receive additional points for collecting cards with higher numbers. Regardless of the number on a card, it is only worth 1 point when scoring.

Setting Up

• Remove the Doubles card (there is only 1) from the deck of cards and set it aside.
• Shuffle the remaining cards and place them face down to form a draw pile.
• Snap the curved cover around the barrel of the sand timer.
• Turn over 5 cards from the draw pile and place them face up in a row.
• Place the Doubles card at the end of the row.
• All players roll the dice. The player with the highest number goes first (re-roll any ties). Position the row of cards in front of this player.

Turn Sequence

Each turn, you have approximately 30 seconds to follow four basic steps:

1. Roll the Dice
2. Collect Cards
3. Refresh the Card Row
4. End Your Turn (Call "Stop")

The first player takes a turn, then play moves clockwise around the table. Keep track of each player's turns by marking off check boxes on the score pad – mark one box for every turn a player completes. After all players have marked off 3 boxes under their names, the "SCORING FRAME" is completed.

3 Turns for All Players = 1 Scoring Frame

At the end of a scoring frame, players add up and record the points for any cards they collected (see "Scoring the Basic Game").

A full game consists of 3 scoring frames (a total of 9 turns for each player).

The Time Keeper

When you are ready to begin your turn, the player sitting across from you serves as the Time Keeper. This person says "Go" and flips over the sand timer, making sure to position the cover to hide the timer from your view. The Time Keeper is responsible for watching the timer and telling you when your time is up – unless you end your turn first (see "Ending Your Turn").

Pass the dice and the timer clockwise around the table to the next roller and Time Keeper, and re-position the card row in front of the next player, making sure it contains 5 face-up cards. Do not count up your score at this point. Keep whatever cards you have in your Bank until each player has had 3 turns and the frame is completed. Only at that point do all players calculate their scores (see "Scoring the Basic Game").

Taking Turns

1. Rolling the Dice

Once the Time Keeper says "Go" and the timer is flipped, start rolling all 3 dice together. You have roughly 30 seconds to roll them as many times as you can, but you must always roll all 3 dice together. The numbers you roll are used to collect cards.

2. Collecting Cards

If any of the dice – either by themselves or added together – EXACTLY EQUAL the number on a single card, you may take that card by saying the number aloud and sliding it in front of you. In the Basic Game, the colors of the cards don't matter.

Example One: After making this roll, you could take several different combinations of cards. You could take the 5 card, the 4 card, and the 2 card (the 5 die takes the 5 card, the 4 die takes the 4 card, and the 2 die takes the 2 card); OR you could take the 9 card and the 2 card (the 5 die + the 4 die take the 9 card, and the 2 die takes the 2 card); OR you could take the 11 card (the 5 die + the 4 die + the 2 die equals 11).

• You cannot divide the number on a single die to take multiple cards. For example, if you rolled a 5 on one die, you could not split that 5 to take both a 2 and a 3 card. You could only use the 5 to take a 5 card, or add it to other dice to take a card of a higher number.
• You do not have to take all of the cards your roll allows. In fact, you can re-roll the dice without taking any cards at all. In the above example, you could choose to take only the 5 card and then re-roll, or you could take no cards and re-roll.
• Keep the cards you take face up in a pile in front of you until the end of your turn.
• Once a die has been used to take a card, it cannot be used to take any other cards until it has been re-rolled.

NOTE REGARDING THE SYMBOLS ON CARDS: Each different card color has its own unique symbol – blue is always a "planet," green is a "leaf," etc. The purpose of these symbols is to help you tell the different colors apart. They do not affect game play otherwise.

3. Refresh the Card Row

Before re-rolling the dice, you are responsible for turning over new cards from the draw pile to replace any cards you have taken. This row should always have 5 cards in it.

4. Ending Your Turn

Roll as many times as you want and grab as many cards as you can before time runs out, but remember, you can't see the timer, so it's up to you to guess when to end your turn by saying "Stop."

• If you say "Stop" before the Time Keeper tells you that time has run out by calling "Time," you get to keep all the cards you collected. Turn them face down and place them in a stack to your left. This stack of cards is your Bank.
• However, if the Time Keeper says time has run out before you call "Stop," you lose all the cards you collected this turn. Place them face up in a discard pile beside the draw pile. You do not lose any cards already face down in your Bank.

The Doubles Card

Whenever you roll doubles (2 ones, 2 twos, etc.) during your turn, you have the option of activating the Doubles card. Activating this card is your choice – you don't have to use it if you don't want to. The Doubles card allows you to do one of two things: call a "Flip" or call a "Wipe."

1. Calling a "Flip"

After calling "Flip," slide the Doubles card in front of you to show that you have used it. Once you do so, the Time Keeper must immediately flip the timer over. You now have whatever time remains in the flipped timer to finish your turn. If you time your flip correctly, you could double the length of your turn!

Diagram: "You call a 'Flip'…" – "…Time Keeper flips timer…" – "…and you now have this much time left in your turn!"

2. Calling a "Wipe"

After you call "Wipe" and drag the Doubles card in front of you to show that you have used it, you can remove all 5 face-up cards to the discard pile and turn over 5 new cards from the draw pile. The timer does not stop while you do this. After a wipe, you must re-roll the dice before taking any cards.

You may only call one "Flip" OR one "Wipe" during a turn – not both. At the end of your turn, return the Doubles card to the table for the next player to use.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you use two dice to activate the Doubles card, you cannot also use those dice to take any cards. You must choose to do one or the other.

Scoring the Basic Game

As already stated, a full game consists of 3 scoring frames, with 3 turns making up a single frame. At the end of each scoring frame, you add up your points, receiving 1 point for every card in your Bank.

Write each player's score on the score pad, then place your cards on the discard pile. Shuffle all of the cards, including the discard pile, back into the draw pile, and set up the table for the next frame.

Example Two: Once Jessica completes her third turn and marks off the last check-box, the scoring frame will be completed. At that point, both players add up their scores for the frame.

Winning the Basic Game

Whoever has the most points after scoring the third frame wins the game. In case of a tie, add up the numbers on your cards – whoever has the highest total wins. If it is still a tie, all tied players are the winners!

Playing the Advanced Game

If you've mastered the Basic rules and think you're ready for a real head rush, prepare to take your game to a whole new level!

Object

Before time runs out, roll the dice as many times as you can while grabbing cards that match the numbers rolled. At the end of each scoring frame, you only score points for three of the card colors you collected. Earn the most points by the end of the game.

Introduction

The Advanced Game follows the same rules for rolling and collecting as the Basic Game, but it introduces a new scoring system that forces you to be more selective about the color of the cards you take. Altogether, there are 9 different card colors to choose from. Although you can collect as many colors as you like, you will only be allowed to score 3 of the colors you take. If you grab more colors than that, you could start to lose points!

As in the Basic Game, count up your points after each player has had 3 turns and the scoring frame ends. To determine your score for the frame, just follow the steps below (depending on the number of colors you collected, you may not be able to complete all 3 steps):

Step 1. Score your 3 largest colors – Take the 3 colors you have the most of and count 1 point for each card. Place these cards on the discard pile when you finish.

Step 2. "Save" your next 3 largest colors – After scoring, take the next 3 colors you have the most of and "save" them by placing them in your Bank. You get to carry these "saved" cards into the next frame – think of them as a head-start on collecting!

Step 3. Subtract your last 3 colors – Finally, after scoring and saving, take any remaining colors you have and subtract 1 point from your score for each of these cards. Place these cards on the discard pile when you finish.

As you can see, you need to pay attention to the number of colors you collect. Ideally, you never want more than 6 colors in your Bank or you start losing points. In the final frame, things become even more challenging. We'll cover all that in the Scoring section, but first, let's look at how to organize your cards before you begin the steps of Scoring, Saving and Subtracting.

Example Three: Brian collected 7 different colors. Dividing them into rows of 3 colors each, from most to least, would place Blue, Yellow and Green in his first row; Purple, Silver and Red in his second row; and leave only Orange for his third row.

Brian's cards – First Row, Step 1. Score: 4 Blue + 4 Yellow + 3 Green = 11 Points. Second Row, Step 2. Save: 3 Purple + 2 Silver + 2 Red = 7 Banked Cards. Third Row, Step 3. Subtract: 1 Orange = 1 Point to Subtract.

Jessica's cards – First Row, Step 1. Score: 5 Red + 4 Yellow + 3 Green = 12 Points. Second Row, Step 2. Save: 3 Blue + 1 Silver = 4 Banked Cards. Third Row, Step 3. Subtract: 0 Points to Subtract.

Jessica collected 5 colors. Dividing them into groups of 3, from largest to smallest, would place Red, Yellow and Green in her first row, leaving Blue and Silver for her second row. Her third row would be empty because she didn't collect more than 6 colors.

Organizing the Cards in Your Bank

After each player has had 3 turns and the scoring frame ends, take all the cards from your Bank and separate them into different piles by color. It doesn't matter if a pile has only one card in it – every color should be stacked separately.

You will have anywhere from 1 to 9 different color piles in front of you. Beginning with your largest color piles (those that include the most cards) and working your way toward the smallest (those with the least cards), arrange them in 3 rows. Place your 3 largest color piles in the FIRST ROW, the next 3 largest color piles in the SECOND ROW, and any remaining color piles in the THIRD ROW. If you have several color piles with the same number of cards in them, you decide in what order to place them.

Fill whatever rows you can with the cards you have, starting with your Top Row. It doesn't matter if some of your rows wind up being empty or only partially filled (see Example Three). Once you finish, you are ready to begin scoring.

Scoring Frame One and Frame Two

Frames One and Two are scored differently than the Final Frame. We will look at each separately.

Once you finish dividing your cards into rows, follow the steps below to determine your points for the frame.

NOTE: You must only complete a step if you have at least 1 card in the corresponding row. Likewise, you can skip a step if the corresponding row is empty.

1. Score Your First Row of Cards

At the end of each scoring frame, take whatever color piles you have placed in your first row and record 1 point for each card. When finished, place these cards in the discard pile.

2. Save Your Second Row of Cards

After scoring, take whatever color piles are in your second row and save these cards in your Bank for the next frame. Think of these cards as an investment in the next frame. When you begin your next turn, you should try to build on these banked cards by grabbing more of the same colors. If you need to remind yourself what colors you want, you can always look at the cards in your Bank.

3. Subtract Your Third Row of Cards

Finally, after scoring and saving, take whatever color piles are in your third row (if any) and subtract 1 point from your score for each card. Place these cards on the discard pile when you finish. You do not want any cards in your Third Row!

After completing this step, record each player's score, shuffle all the cards (except those saved in players' Banks) and set up the table for the next frame.

In Example Three: Brian would score 11 points for his first row of cards, save the 7 cards in his second row for the next frame, and subtract 1 point for his third row, leaving him with a total score of 10 points for the frame.

Jessica would score 12 points for her first row, save the 4 cards in her second row for the next frame, and wouldn't have to subtract any points because her third row is empty, giving her a total score of 12 points for the frame.

Scoring the Final Frame

The Final Frame of the game is handled a little differently than the others – you skip the banking step. Now you will only be scoring and subtracting.

1. Score Your First Row (as described above)

2. Subtract Any Remaining Colors

After scoring your first row, take whatever other cards you have and subtract 1 point from your score for each.

TIP: IN THE FINAL FRAME, YOU DO NOT WANT TO COLLECT MORE THAN 3 DIFFERENT COLORS. If there aren't any colors on the table that you need, use the "Wipe" function of the Doubles card to turn over 5 new cards.

Winning the Advanced Game

The player with the most points after three frames (9 turns) wins. In case of a tie, add up the numbers on your cards – whoever has the highest total wins. If it is still a tie, all tied players are the winners!

Tips for Younger Players

If the game seems too complicated for younger players, try the following:

• Remove the Doubles card.
• Uncover the timer. Players collect cards until time runs out. They don't have to call "Stop" and get to keep everything they collect.