Rolit Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Components
• Game
  • Setup
  • Starting Position (fig. 1)
  • Who Starts?
  • First Move
  • Continuing the Game
  • Colour Disappears, Blocking Is Impossible
  • End of the Game
  • Winner
  • New Round
• Further Explanations and Examples
  • Blocking (fig. 2/3)
  • Capture (fig. 2/3)
  • Important!
  • Example
  • Blocking in Different Directions (fig. 6/7)
• Important Notes and Tactical Tips
  • Scoring
  • Tips
  • Tactical Tips (fig. 8)
  • Plan Ahead!
  • Time Limit per Move
  • Other Variants

Object of the Game

Block your opponents' marbles and capture them by turning them into your colour. The player who gets the most of their colour's marbles onto the board wins.

Components

• 1 game board
• 64 marbles
• instructions

For 2–4 players, ages 7 and up. Playing time about 20 minutes.

Game

Setup

Each player is assigned a colour matching the colour mark on the nearest side of the board. Turn passes to the next player following the colour marks clockwise.

• 2 players: the first player is assigned red, the second green.
• 3 players: the first player is assigned red, the second yellow, the third green.
• 4 players: the first player is assigned red, the second yellow, the third green, the fourth blue.
• (If there is only one player, they play red and green in turn.)

Starting Position (fig. 1)

Place the 4 marbles in the starting position shown in figure 1 of the instructions. The starting position is used for 2, 3 and 4 players. The remaining marbles stay in the box; they are not distributed among the players.

Who Starts?

One of the players tosses a marble onto the table like a die. The player whose colour lands face up on the marble starts.

First Move

As the first move, the player places a marble in a cell, blocking an opponent's marble (fig. 2, red arrow), and flips it so that it becomes their colour (fig. 3, yellow arrow).

Continuing the Game

The following players take turns placing a marble, trying to block and flip one or more of the opponents' marbles.

Colour Disappears, Blocking Is Impossible

When your colour has disappeared from the board, or blocking is impossible, do not panic. You may now place a marble in any empty cell that is next to any marble on the board.

End of the Game

The game ends when all marbles have been placed in cells of the board.

Winner

The winner is the player with the greatest number of marbles of "their" colour on the board.

New Round

Pour the marbles back into the box. When starting a new round, change the order of the players; this evens out their chances of winning the new round.

Further Explanations and Examples

Blocking (fig. 2/3)

Blocking applies only between the marble being placed and a marble of the same colour, already in a cell of the board, that lies on the same line as the marble being placed (fig. 2, blue arrow).

Capture (fig. 2/3)

The blocked marble is then captured and turned to the colour of the capturing marbles (fig. 2, yellow arrow).

Important!

1. A new marble is placed next to a marble that is already on the board.
2. A player places only one marble during their turn.
3. If blocking and capture are possible, they must be carried out.

Example

Please see the examples in figures 4 and 5. The section between the marble being placed (red arrow in fig. 4) and a marble of the same colour already on the board (green arrow in fig. 4) is blocked. The blocked marbles (yellow arrows in fig. 4) are then captured and turned to the colour of the capturing marbles (yellow arrows in fig. 5).

Blocking in Different Directions (fig. 6/7)

Marbles can be blocked horizontally, vertically or diagonally, but only in one line. In figure 6, the red arrow points to the marble being placed, and the green arrows point to the ends of the row of marbles to be blocked. Figure 7 shows the result. If blocking and capture are possible in several directions, choose the option that is best tactically (see "Tactical Tips" below). When blocking/capture is possible and you have chosen an option, all the marbles are turned to your colour.

Important Notes and Tactical Tips

Scoring

Count the number of rounds won and the points scored at the end of the round. (Each marble of your colour is worth one point.) The player who has won the most rounds wins. If players are tied on rounds won, the player with more points across all rounds wins.

Tips

If a move has been made, it cannot be taken back. If a move has been made incorrectly, it must be returned to its original position. A player who made a move incorrectly has the right to one more attempt to make the move. Blocking/capture occurs only when a new marble is placed. Any other blocks created by chance must be ignored.

Tactical Tips (fig. 8)

When more than one blocking and capture option is possible, choose the option that is best tactically. Such a move does not necessarily capture the largest number of marbles, because some cells on the board are more valuable tactically and some are known to be weaker, and they should be avoided. Figure 8 shows the tactical value of the different cells on the board:

very strong* — strong* — average* — weak* — very weak*

(The asterisks refer to notes on the original sheet that are not reproduced in the text.)

Plan Ahead!

Remember that every move you make affects not only the position of the next player after you, but also all the others (including the current "leader"). Rolit is a gripping and unpredictable game in which the situation can change at any stage. Sometimes it seems that you are losing, but an unexpectedly good move can turn the success in your favour!

Time Limit per Move

If players think about their moves for too long, introduce a time limit of 1 minute per move.

Other Variants

For a quick game, use the standard rules but limit the board to an area of 6 by 6 cells (36 cells in total) for 2–4 players, and 4 by 4 cells (16 cells in total) for 2 players.