Stack-A-Biddi Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
• Goal
• How to Play
• Course of Play
  • 1. Roll the Dice
  • 2. Set Up
  • 3. Check
  • 4. Scoring
• End of Game

Contents

• 4 K10 dice (red, white, blue and grey)
• 32 long blocks (8 yellow, 8 orange, 8 purple and 8 blue), each 9 cm long
• 16 ZIOMKI (block pieces showing a ZIOMEK figure): 4 red and 4 blue, each 2.5 cm long; and 4 white and 4 grey, each 3.8 cm long
• 1 score pad

Translator's note: "ZIOMEK" is the name of the figure pieces in the Polish edition (plural "ZIOMKI"); it is kept untranslated throughout.

Setup

At the start of the game each player receives a full set of 8 long blocks in the same colour, and 4 ZIOMKI in different colours (red, white, blue and grey). The oldest player takes the score pad and, at the end of each round, records the points of all players.

Goal

Players try to quickly and efficiently build a stack from long blocks and ZIOMKI, so that a continuous line appears on the front wall of the stack and the structure is stable and does not fall over. In each round the fastest player earns bonus points. The game is won by whoever has the most points at the end.

How to Play

The game lasts seven rounds. Build your blocks and ZIOMKI so that a continuous line is formed on the front wall of the stack. In the first round you build on six levels. In each following round you build a stack one level higher. In the seventh (last) round the stack is twelve levels high, built from all eight blocks and from four ZIOMKI in each of the four colours.

Stack height by round:

• Round 1: 6 levels
• Round 2: 7 levels
• Round 3: 8 levels
• Round 4: 9 levels
• Round 5: 10 levels
• Round 6: 11 levels
• Round 7: 12 levels

Course of Play

Each round consists of four steps, in this order:

1. Roll the dice
2. Set up
3. Check
4. Score

1. Roll the Dice

• The colours of the dice correspond to the colours of the ZIOMKI.
• The dice determine how many ZIOMKI are used in the given round.
• The numbers indicate the level on which a ZIOMEK should be placed. They apply to every player.

At the start of the first round, one of the players (the youngest, or one chosen by the group in a vote) rolls all the dice at the same time until at least three different numbers show. The player must repeat the roll with all four dice until three different numbers are obtained.

Note! In the seventh (last) round the player keeps rolling the dice until four different numbers show. This time, however, they re-roll only those dice that show repeated numbers.

• If a die shows a number higher than the level being built in the given round, it is not taken into account in that round and is set aside. It may happen that in the first round no ZIOMKI are used at all (when the dice show 7, 8, 9 and 10).
• If two dice show the same value, the player decides which of the two colours of ZIOMKI will be used.

Once the dice have been rolled and meet the conditions above, the player who rolled shouts "START!" and all players build their stacks at the same time.

Example: In the first round the players are to build six-level stacks. The following numbers were rolled: white 1, grey 1, blue 4, red 9. The rolled numbers determine the levels on which to place the ZIOMEK of the matching colour. Levels are counted from the bottom up.

• White and grey dice: the player decides which of the two dice showing 1 to use, and chooses white. The white ZIOMEK is then placed as the base of the stack, and the grey one does not enter the game.
• Blue die: the blue ZIOMEK is to be placed on level four.
• Red die: the number 9 is higher than the number of levels required in round one. Therefore the red die does not enter the game now.

2. Set Up

Each side of the blocks shows different lines. Blocks may be turned in any way so that their fragments form a continuous line from the bottom up to the highest level of the stack. ZIOMKI are added to the stack according to the number rolled on the die of the matching colour. On each level players choose blocks from their own sets to reach the required stack height.

Depending on how many ZIOMKI must be placed in the stack, players must add the corresponding number of extra long blocks. Players decide for themselves which blocks they use.

Note! Try to keep the stack in balance! You may hold the stack while adding the next element, but once you have let go, the stack must stay in balance without any extra support.

Made a mistake or your stack fell apart? No problem. You may rebuild the stack at any time, placing the blocks and ZIOMKI in a different way.

Note! Try to build the stack so that the ZIOMKI's faces are visible. If you finish the stack first, you receive bonus points for this. However, if the ZIOMKI are "standing on their heads", you do not receive bonus points.

Icons (printed captions): "bonus points" — ZIOMEK's smiling face is visible; "no bonus points" — face is not visible.

A correctly built stack:

• All ZIOMKI are placed on the correct levels and as indicated by the rolled die.
• The stack has the correct number of levels.
• The stack shows a continuous line running through all blocks and ZIOMKI.

Examples of correct lines.

An incorrectly built stack:

• Blocks or ZIOMKI are on the wrong levels.
• The stack does not keep its balance.
• The stack does not have the required number of levels.
• The line does not connect all elements of the stack correctly.

Examples of incorrect lines.

When your stack is finished and keeps its balance, shout the password "ZIOMEK!" and end the round. The other players must immediately stop building their stacks.

3. Check

After each round the players check whether the player who ended the round by shouting built the stack correctly. Then they check the remaining stacks and calculate the points earned.

Count points from the base of the stack up to the level the player reached, or up to the first incorrectly built level if there is one. No points are counted for an incorrectly built first level, or for any level above it.

Bonus points for the fastest player

The fastest player receives one point for each correctly built level, and in addition two points for each smiling ZIOMEK. Bonus points are recorded in the results table in the corresponding field. If a ZIOMEK's face is "standing on its head" or is not visible, the player receives no points for that ZIOMEK.

Example: Piotr's stack consists of six levels (4 blocks and two ZIOMKI), which gives him 6 points. Piotr finished the round first and built his stack correctly, so he receives an additional 2 points for the smiling white ZIOMEK. Score: 6 + 2 = 8 points.

4. Scoring

Each player receives one point for each level and for each ZIOMEK that counts as a level. Points are entered in the table, in the column of the colour belonging to each player.

If the fastest player did not build their stack correctly, they receive no points and are eliminated from that round. The other players count their points as described above.

After the points have been recorded, the players move on to the next round, in which they build a stack one level higher.

The game proceeds clockwise, and the next player in turn rolls the dice.

End of Game

After seven rounds the oldest player adds up the points. The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest number of bonus points wins.