After my very positive impressions of Pair-of-Dice games Marvin Marvel's Marvelous Marble Machine and Warp 6, I had high impressions of games made by the company. The next one from this company that I then tried was Knockabout (Pair-of-Dice Games, 2001 - Greg Lam). As with Warp 6, the game uses several different types of dice; as with MMMMM, it simulates marbles rolling around.

Recently, I reviewed Warp 6, and I talked about how all the dice in the game didn't add as much luck as I thought - that the game revolved around strategy. In Knockabout, I'm afraid to say that the opposite is true. Yes, there are tactical decisions to be made in the game, but they are overwhelmed by the rolls of the dice. In the games that I've played the games have been won by the persons who have rolled better numbers on the dice. Rolling the dice I don't have a problem with, but I'm not sure I like how much high rolls affected the game.

The board is in the shape of a giant hexagon, made up of a grid of smaller connecting hexagons. The outer ring of hexes is the "gutter", and each player sets up four four-sided dice, three six-sided dice, and two eight-sided dice on the board, as shown per a diagram in the rules. Each die is placed with a certain number face up - "1", "2", and "3" respectively, and one of the two players is chosen to go first.

On a player's turn, they move one of their dice in a straight line, moving the exact amount of spaces equal to the number showing on the die. The die will continue to move the full amount unless it bumps into another die. When hitting another die, the die that is hit is moved in the same direction as the colliding die, using the remainder of the movement points. It's possible for more than one die to be hit in a move. The last die that is moved in such a collision is re-rolled, gaining new movement capabilities.

When a die lands in the gutter, it no longer moves in a straight line but can simply only move around the outside of the gutter. Dice in the gutter can be maneuvered in such a way as to block other dice from entering the gutter but are otherwise useless. The game continues until one player has knocked five of their opponent's dice into the gutter - at which point they win!

Some comments on the game…

1.) Components: As with the other Pair-of-Dice games, the components are inexpensive and of lower quality but functional enough to utilize the game. The board is on a vinyl mat, which works better than the boards in the other games - and wipes off as well - although it looks a little drab. The dice are functional, although they don't really roll as well as I'd like. Everything comes in a plastic snap container, and the entire package is rather cheap to buy online.

2.) Rules: The rules are quite simple and short - only one side of one page, and that's including several diagrams illustrating setup and movement. Teaching the game to others isn't difficult, I simply use the idea of marbles moving around, knocking each other off the board, into the gutter. The theme works fairly well as a teaching tool, although for some it's hard to imagine the dice as marbles.

3.) Tactics: Sometimes it's worth hitting your own die, simply to change the number to a higher one, giving you more maneuverability. Of course, too high of a number, and your die may be stuck, because all of the available moves might cause it to end up in the gutter. There is also a bit of tactical movement in the gutter itself, as you can use pieces to block your own dice from hitting the gutter; but it's not as much as you might think, since you're at the mercy of the number on the die.

4.) Luck: When one of your dice knocks the opponent's dice backwards, almost to the gutter, and then he rolls an "8" with it, hitting you back into your own gutter, it can be rather annoying. Yes, one should take into account the different possibilities, but it's just a little too random for me. In Warp 6, the different numbers on the die often had many good benefits, because smaller numbers could be used to "warp" down a level. In Knockabout, there's really no benefit to a "1", and it really stinks when that's what you roll.

5.) Fun Factor: I won't deny that I enjoyed certain aspects of the game; it's an interesting two player game that plays fairly quickly, and I like knocking the opponent's pieces into the gutter. But every time that I've played so far, we've really had no general strategy (not after the first couple of moves, anyway); it's more like one simply needs move their high numbered pieces to knock the opponent's into the gutter. It's a neat, fun idea, but doesn't hold much water after the novelty wears off.

There will probably be some who enjoy the game - the theme is interesting, and I've always enjoyed using dice as playing pieces. It's simply too random for me; and while this is fortunately mitigated to a degree by how short the game is, it's enough to keep me from frequently playing the game. Moving dice around is satisfied by Warp 6, and the theme is better represented in other abstract games; so this is one that I can pass. An interesting game, but too much luck.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com

I like the game just fine. I just fear I'm not very good at it....

Althought, admittedly, I like Warp 6 more.

I've got to echo Aaron's comments here. There is not a ton of luck in Knockabout. Against equally matched players, clearly luck plays a role, but there is a much greater variety of tactical play which allows you to almost totally mitigate that luck.

I know it may sound harsh, and I mean no insult, but I'd say if you're seeing randomness dominate the games, you're playing too randomly. Of the 15+ people I've played this game with, it's essentially never been an issue. Sometimes it takes a game or two to learn to avoid the "hail mary" kind of plays, but most seem to catch on pretty quick: Hold the center, establish forks, avoid bumping your opponent more than you might initially tend to.

And, in terms of comparison to Warp 6, while I enjoy Warp 6, I enjoy Knockabout far more. I'd strongly encourage anyone interested in this game not to be deterred by any concern over randomness/luck. If you like 2-player abstracts, it's very worth a look. I find Knockabout as compelling as the best of the Kris Burm games.

It's finally available online! Check it out at http://boardspace.net/. It'll be interesting to see how wide the player ratings will spread.

Close to exactly 3 years ago, Tom Vasel wrote a negative review of one of my favorite two-player games, Greg Lam's Knockabout. Tom basically claimed the game was all luck, a not that surprising (albeit not accurate) claim of an abstract game that involves rolling dice much of the time. I strongly disagreed with him.

Well, recently David Dyer implemented an online version of Knockabout at www.boardspace.net and decided to run a tournament of the game. The tournament was 16 players in a single elimination format but playing best of 5, 5, 7 and 9 games in the four rounds to even out the luck elements there are in the game. Well, the tournament ended last night and I won with an overall record of 16 wins and 4 losses (played 1 extra fun game with one opponent which is why it is 16 and not 15), and that against some quite good opponents. Now, I think this 80% win rate was definitely lucky and all and wouldn't have expected to do nearly that well but still, I really do think this tournament pretty much proves my point in regard to the disagreement above.

Thanks to Greg Lam for designing the game (and providing prizes for the tournament), David Dyer for implementing it and running the tournament, and Doug Orleans for pointing out the tournament to me. Also, of course thanks to all my opponents for some very fun plays of this great game.

Crossposted to my blog: http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/hearth/ and to BoardGameGeek.