Game: Easy Come, Easy Go

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Kevin C — 2007-06-20T10:47:24+00:00

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SwedeLad — 2007-01-07T05:05:16+00:00

A look at one of the game tiles in size-relation to an average hand.

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SwedeLad — 2007-01-07T05:05:06+00:00

Improved photo of the front of the box.

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SwedeLad — 2007-01-07T04:54:27+00:00

The small and simple rules set.

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SwedeLad — 2007-01-07T04:53:27+00:00

A look inside the box. Everything fits nice and snug.

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SwedeLad — 2007-01-07T04:53:09+00:00

Close-up of the dice. The dice actually have a zero on them!

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ccmonter — 2006-10-26T23:32:47+00:00

Wow! Look in there!

Thread: Session Report

Alby — 2006-07-05T03:52:24+00:00

So after a year of playing Cloud 9 almost 5 times a week with my daughter, I went to Origins with the sole pupose of findning a new game for the family. The people at Out of the Box suggested Easy Come, Easy Go. Instantly I knew she would love it because there were dice involved. So we sat down today and I showed her how to play. It was a smash hit. I think all told we played about 15 times then my wife played 10 more games with her. Even after we said enought you could hear the dice rattling in the cup,then the low sound of an 8 year counting and trying to get the best match. Looks like mission was accomplished. This is one for the whole family and it is good for counting and comprehension.

Thread: Easy Fun, Breezy Flow

ynnen — 2006-04-17T19:34:12+00:00

Overview: I'm a big fan of easy to learn, quick playing games with push-your-luck elements, and the large family tree of Yahtzee games/clones/variants certainly fits here. The thing is, I'm not a real big fan of Yahtzee itself, but appreciate some of those elements.

I enjoy the concept, and I enjoy the breezy nature of this style of game. And to talk about Easy Come, Easy Go, you've got to first talk about the grand daddy itself, Yahtzee. So here's a slight aside for perspective.

A Brief Look At Yahtzee... You Know, For Context: Yahtzee is a true classic, a dice game (nee Yacht) played with 5 standard six-sided dice. Your turn consists of rolling the dice (reserving or re-rolling results up to three times) in hopes of getting die results which match 1 of 13 different scoring categories (earning several 1s or 2s, getting 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, straight, full house, etc). Players try to fill in a score for each category, but it won't always work out that way -- especially later in the game as more categories are already filled in and your target categories may be harder to achieve. When all players have scored (or had to enter a "zero" for missing) for all 13 categories, the game ends and the scores are totaled.

Yahtzee is simple and straightforward, and does have some very light push-your-luck decisions over the course of the game, but even at 10-15 minutes, it takes too long for what it provides. It's completely autonomous, repetitive and stops being interesting for me very quickly. It's one of the few games my wife will play, though, so that's something. As a basis of comparison, I give Yahtzee a true average 5/10 rating.

Then There's This Game Here: On the top end of my Enjoy-O-Meter for this type of dice-rolling push-your-luck Yahtzee-based game is Reiner Knizia's Easy Come, Easy Go, with a slick edition published by Out of the Box which you can snag for $12-15 US.

So How Different Can It Be? Easy Come, Easy Go is a more confrontational Yahtzee, forcing players to vie for the same limited pool of scoring options, rather than each player scoring for each category individually. And it lives up to its name, as fortunes change early and often over the course of the game.

There are nine "Prizes" -- the scoring combos -- which players earn by rolling the requirement printed on the card (Less Than 3, Exactly 13, Four of a Kind, etc). So the players roll four dice and try to earn a Prize by hitting the card requirements. The first player to earn and hold three cards at the beginning of his turn wins the game. Ah-ha, but winning a Prize doesn't prevent other players from trying to seize it... If I snagged the "Exactly 7" card on my turn and you roll 7, you can snatch it from me!

This wrinkle is great, especially when added to the "no going back" aspect of dice rolling. Once you set a die aside to count toward your hand, you can't later re-roll it if a subsequent die roll makes you think another Prize might be easier to go after. While there's obviously a ton of luck, there's some probability manipulation, too -- most of the time, you can set aside dice in such a way that you'll usually have a 50% chance (or at worst 33% chance) of hitting what you need to grab a score (though considerably lower at the end of the game should you need a specific combo to snag a card from another player with three Prizes already).

Production & Bits: The game is well packaged and provides a great value. It's packaged in the same size box as Tutankhamen, Cloud 9 and several other Out of the Box games. Easy Come, Easy Go features the OTB trademark John Kovalic artwork on the large, sturdy and easy-to-read scoring tiles.

The four dice are specific to the game -- there's a Zero spot opposite the 1 pip instead of 6s... This brings the overall number range down a bit, and I think makes it easier to quickly count the pips to see your score (especially for younger players). The dice could have been a bit larger and more solid, but they serve their purpose, and won't chip or wear.

The game also includes a cloth-wrapped dice cup, which every good dice rolling game needs. It's fairly small, barely larger than a shot glass, but it still offers a good shake when rolling your dice. My particular die cup has the seams exposed and stretched a bit at the lip, leading me to believe it may eventually split and unravel down the road -- so we'll have to keep our crazy die-rolling antics in check.

The production, while nice and easily respectable for the price point, could have been oh-so-slightly better (ie, sturdier dice and die cup).

The Bottom Line: 7.5/10 -- A very nice, light, breezy filler game of Yahtzee-esque push your luck. This is kinda' what Pickomino should have been. Plays quickly and offers enough push-or-pass to keep it interesting for a few rounds in a row. Very affordable, and a great value for its price. As an added plus, it's one of the few games the wife will play!! That's worth +.5 in the rating right there!!

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Boomer — 2006-03-14T18:50:41+00:00

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Boomer — 2006-03-14T18:50:29+00:00

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Boomer — 2006-03-14T18:49:52+00:00

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

TomVasel — 2005-07-25T14:53:31+00:00

Whenever I type a review, I always have the rules in front of me to prevent me from making stupid errors. Yet even thus, I still managed to goof up a major rule in Easy Come, Easy Go (as dozens of people pointed out to me.) Instead of a player having to have three prizes for two turns around the table, it's simply two player turns. In other words, if a player has gotten three prizes, the next two players each have a chance to steal one prize; which, if they fail, gives him the game. I will contend that, stupid as I am, the rules could have been slightly clearer on this regard, but the fault is mine. This changes my opinion on the game quite a bit. While it certainly won't become one of my favorites (it's just too light), I will say that the length of the game is just right for what it is. I want to apologize to the gaming community at large for making such an error - especially one of this magnitude that changes the entire results of the game.

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

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

Chris Dorrell — 2005-07-23T13:04:12+00:00

OK we appear to have at least 3 sets of rules:-

Mine say:

"The first player to collect three prizes, and keep all three through the next two turns, wins Easy Come–Easy Go!
Note: In a two player game the other player may take two turns in a row, if needed, to take a prize away from the player with three prizes."

The OotB Web Site Rules say:-

"The first player to collect three prizes, and keep all three through the next two turns, wins Easy Come–Easy Go!
Note: In a two player game, a player gets a second turn to win a prize from the player with three prizes if he or she failed to do so on his or her first turn. This player may not collect prizes from the center of the table during these two turns."

and Doug's rules say:-

"The first player to collect three prizes, and keep them until the beginning of his or her next turn, wins Easy Come - Easy Go!".

It is evident that OotB have felt it necessary to clarify things and I think Paul is spot on. What I think they mean to happen is that as soon as a player gets three prizes the game effectively enters a different phase. In this "end phase" the other player(s) must concentrate on winning one of these 3 prizes and may not win one from the table. Two player turns must be survived.

Example. In a 4 player game if Player A gets three prizes then only players B and C would get the chance to steal one. Also if say player B failed to throw a combination to remove one of player A's prizes but the combination would win him a prize from the table he cannot take it.

Phew! - all this for a simple dice game?! It does solve / remove Tom Vasel's criticism of the game lasting too long though.

Chris

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

dougadamsau — 2005-07-23T01:45:16+00:00

Maybe there are two versions of the rules out there?

My published copy of the game simply says "The first player to collect three prizes, and keep them until the beginning of his or her next turn, wins Easy Come - Easy Go!".

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

Psauberer — 2005-07-23T01:33:37+00:00

Chris Dorrell wrote:
Tom says:-

If a player has three prizes, they have a chance at winning. If they keep all three prizes through two turns, then the game is over, and they’ve won!

and the rules that came with my game, purchased in the UK, agree.

Maybe there are two versions of the rules out there?

Looking at the rules linked to at the publisher's site, I think that the confusion comes from the term "turn."

From the context it looks as if a player has to hold the three prizes through the next two turns (i.e. those of his next two opponents), not hold them through his own next two turns (i.e. 4, 6 or 8 total turns depending on the number of players).

This is evident from the exceptions listed for the two player game and the variant described for use with 4 players.

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

Chris Dorrell — 2005-07-23T01:02:04+00:00

Tom says:-

If a player has three prizes, they have a chance at winning. If they keep all three prizes through two turns, then the game is over, and they’ve won!

and the rules that came with my game, purchased in the UK, agree.

Maybe there are two versions of the rules out there?

Chris

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

habermanm — 2005-07-20T14:49:50+00:00

Tom,

I'm not sure if your version of the game is different than mine, but it is impossible for any player to get 4 prizes, since the game ends if they start thier turn with 3. Check your rules again! Once you win your third prize, you just have to keep it until the beginning of your next turn, not for 2 entire turns.

That being said, the game really can last a long time with 4 players, and sometimes even with 3. It is fun when it's quick, but it gets to be a big joke when no one can end the game. Our last game we were singing, "This is the game that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends..."

http://www.bussongs.com/songs/this_is_the_song_that_never_en...

I also don't agree that it's mostly luck. There is more strategy here than meets the eye. Just rolled a 3 of a kind and can still reroll the 4th dice? Don't take the prize, but instead reroll and try for the four of a kind. You still have a 50/50 chance of getting the three of a kind again anyway.

Mark

Thread: Re: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

dougadamsau — 2005-07-19T00:14:28+00:00

The Never Ending Story: What WAS a problem was how the game didn’t really end well. The rules state that a person wins after they have three prizes for two whole turns

This is not correct - they only need to hold the prizes until the beginning of their next turn to win. The game should take 15 minutes, not 45 minutes.

I hate to be negative about the game,

If you try it with the correct rules, you don't need to be.

I don't agree with the "luck luck luck luck luck" comment either, but we'll move on to that later

Thread: [Review] Easy Come, Easy Go

TomVasel — 2005-07-18T02:19:30+00:00

Easy Come, Easy Go (Out of the Box Games, 2005 – Reiner Knizia) is basically Knizia’s version of Yahtzee. If you don’t like Yahtzee too much, even as a lark, then you can probably stop reading now, because ECEG (Easy Come, Easy Go) won’t change your mind much. The components are absolutely stunning with one of the best dice cups I’ve ever used and beautiful prize tiles. But do these components justify the game?

Sadly, I can’t say that I’m a big fan of the gameplay. At first, when I first tried it, I had a blast trying to roll different dice combinations. But the game is really too long for what it is. With four players, our game lasted for forty-five minutes, which was thirty minutes too long. With tinkering, ECEG can probably be modified to play in a shorter period of time. But then, I’m not sure that it will do anything other dice rolling games, such as Dancing Dice or Can’t Stop, do better.

Nine prize tiles are laid in the middle of the table. Players take a turn (starting with the highest roller, rolling four dice (six-sided dice with sides 0 – 5) on their turn, trying to match one of the nine prizes. The combinations for the prizes are…
- A total of 3 or less
- A total of 17 or more
- All four dice showing the same number
- A total of 7 exactly
- A total of 13 exactly
- A straight (“0”, “1”, “2”, “3”, etc.)
- Two pairs of matching dice
- Three dice showing the same number and all four dice with odd numbers
- Three dice showing the same number and all four dice with even numbers
Once the player rolls the dice, they must “lock” at least one die before rolling again. Once a player has frozen dice in this manner, they may not reroll them again that turn. This means that a player will roll the dice four times at the most. If a player does not match any of the nine prizes, they pass the dice to the next player. If they DO match a prize, they take the prize tile, placing it in front of themselves on the table. A player takes the prize, even if another player currently has it.

If a player has three prizes, they have a chance at winning. If they keep all three prizes through two turns, then the game is over, and they’ve won!

Some comments on the game…

1.) Components: As I said above, the components are grade A+. The dice cup is made of “leather” and felt, and just does a wonderful job – I may steal it for another game. The dice look like normal white six-sided dice, until one realizes that they have a null sign on one side instead of six pips. The tiles are wonderfully illustrated (by John Kovalic) and have some sort of laminate on them so that they are easy to slide around and maneuver. Each of these tiles (almost the size of a 3” by 5” card, would almost make a great coaster. Everything fits inside a custom plastic insert in a small, cubish box.

2.) Rules: Out of the Box does a good job in their games of managing to stretch a couple rules out onto six pages, and ECEG is no exception. Of course, this is because they use full color illustrations and explain everything so clearly that there’s no possible way you could misunderstand it. The game is simple to teach – even for Out of the Box, known for such simplicity.

3.) Luck: Okay, the picture of dice on the front of the box and the logo “The dicey game of changing fortunes” should warn people that the game is plumb full of luck. Yes, there is a minutia of strategy in determining which dice to “freeze” and what combos to go for, but the game is mostly luck luck luck luck luck. If you know this going into the game, it shouldn’t be a problem.

4.) The Never Ending Story: What WAS a problem was how the game didn’t really end well. The rules state that a person wins after they have three prizes for two whole turns. So here’s how a game would go: Laura would get three prizes. On the next turn, Peter would steal one, and then Zak steal the next. Then Zak would have three prizes. On the next turn, I would steal one, and Laura would steal one. A few turns later, Peter would get FOUR prize; but Zak would steal one, and I would steal one. This repeated itself ad nauseum, and it finally got to the point where I started rooting for people to FAIL when they tried to steal a prize from someone else, just so that the game would end. Changing the rules to requiring just one once-around to determine victory would help change this, but the rules as is state that a “challenging” game would require a player to hold on to the prizes for 3 rounds! Save me from such tribulation now!

5.) Fun Factor: When first playing the game, it’s fun to roll the combinations, especially when stealing from someone else. Howls of fun and joy fill the air. This lasts only a short time, however, until people begin to realize that too much of this fun becomes monotony.

I hate to be negative about the game, because at first glance it seems like fun. When I demoed the game at Origins, I had a blast, because I only played for five minutes. Easy Come, Easy Go is a GREAT five minute game. It’s simply a lousy thirty minute game. I’m sure that many games aren’t this long (I’ve played in one), but it only takes one to sour people on the game. If you really want this game, just play it for a short while, then put it away. That way the fun stays fresh.

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games.”
www.tomvasel.com

Thread: Re: 5 and 6 player variants

habermanm — 2005-05-04T17:52:46+00:00

I suggested the second option for 4 players, but I think your first choice would be best with 5 or 6. Just getting 3 prizes with 6 players would be tough.

Thread: 5 and 6 player variants

avmartin — 2005-05-04T17:50:11+00:00

We mistakenly played with 5P last night, and, of course it worked well until a certain point. I think the game would be very playable with 5 or 6 players utilizing one of the following two variants.

1) With 5 or 6 players, when someone acquires 3 prizes, the game ends
immediately.

2) Another option suggested in another thread (which we had not read yet but makes a lot of sense) would be to have the next 2 players have a chance to steal after the player has 3 prizes, and if that fails, the player wins.

Either of these two options would have had a winner, and
kept the game in the 10 minute timeframe that it really
should be at.

Thread: Re:User Review

habermanm — 2005-04-18T23:15:45+00:00

OrangeHat (#457011),

The components are so nice, and reasonably priced it's worth the money. Besides, the 0's add a little character to the game.

Thread: Re:4-player Variants

habermanm — 2005-04-17T22:59:29+00:00

After playing a couple more 4-player games, I'm not sure it needs any tweaking, but here's another idea anyways.

If a player rolls a prize they already own, they may lock the prize by flipping the tile over. That prize may no longer be stolen. This ends the players turn.

Thread: 4-player Variants

habermanm — 2005-04-17T14:15:55+00:00

For those who think the 4-player game may go on too long. Please post any ideas for 4-player variants here.

An obvious one that comes to mind:

After a player wins their 3rd prize, only the next two players have a chance to steal from them. If after the next two players take their turn the first player still has 3 prizes, they win.

Thread: Re:User Review

OrangeHat — 2005-03-18T19:38:55+00:00

dougadamsau (#89903),
Not that I've played this game yet, but I'm interested by the comment that the game must be harder to pirate because the dice range from 0 to 5, as opposed to 1 to 6. Surely all it takes to make your own set is to adjust the values on all numeric cards (eg exactly 3) up by 4. My probability theory may be a bit rusty, but surely that's all it takes ? I'm going to try.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2005-03-18T16:21:53+00:00

Jerry was setting the table for another run through an alien-infested deep-space base, but we were waiting for other marines to arrive. We decided to occupy some time by a quick filler or two. The first was Easy Come Easy Go, the recent Reiner Knizia design released by Out of the Box.

Jim, Michael and I rolled dice in hopes of securing valuable prizes. At various points during the game, each of acquired three prizes, only to have it snatched away before we could claim victory. In the end, I managed to hold onto my three prizes for a full round to claim the victory.

Finals: Greg 3, Jim 2, Michael 2

Ratings: Michael 7, Jim 6.5, Greg 6

Thread: Session Report

dougadamsau — 2005-02-28T01:18:17+00:00

A four player game. This is a snappy filler that we've been playing a lot of two player lately. The two player game goes so quickly that we usually play a best of three match. The four player game is much more satisfying, with the prizes flashing back and forth between the players. Anybody who manages to get to three prizes is ruthlessly stomped back into line. After several rounds of said stomping, Roger managed to hold three prizes at the beginning of his following turn and took the game. For interest sake he was holding 3 of a kind/Evens, 3 of a kind/Odd and Seven Exactly.

Thread: User Review

dougadamsau — 2005-02-25T13:17:00+00:00

This review was first posted to at Kulkmann's G@mebox...

Easy Come Easy Go

Author: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: Out of the Box, 2004
Players: 2-4

Easy Come Easy Go is subtitled "The game of changing fortunes", which is a good description. The game is a roll-the-dice, push-your-luck game, where the object is to be the first player to hold three prizes at the beginning of your turn.

The game is presented in a small, colourful box, and contains four special six-sided dice, small rules booklet, quality dice cup/tumbler and nine prize cards. The quality of these components is very good, from the cloth lined dice cup, to the quirky John Kovalic art on the sturdy, thick prize cards.

The game is extremely simple to grasp and play. On your turn, your roll the four dice. Instead of the standard one to six results, we now have zero to five. Anti-piracy perhaps? The player looks at the roll, and decides which dice to "freeze". Frozen dice are set aside and can't be rolled again. In order to continue, at least one dice must be frozen between rolls.

Players are trying to claim prizes, which are die rolling results that sound a little bit like Yahtzee. Examples include Two Pair, Seventeen or More, Straight, Three of a Kind, All Odd, etc. If a prize is hit, you can claim it and place it in front of you. Prizes can be claimed from anywhere, even other players.

If you're holding three prizes at the beginning of your next turn, you win the game.

Easy Come Easy Go is quirky and quick. There isn't a lot to it, you simply balance your freeze decisions so that you stand the best odds of taking a prize with your remaining dice. As soon a player holds three prizes, every other player has one chance to pounce before they claim victory.

The sits somewhere between the raucous fun of Exxtra and the more analytical play of Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck on Knizia's list of dice games. A nice 10-minute filler before the next meaty game comes off the shelf.

Thread: User Review

tolendante — 2005-02-16T22:32:33+00:00

Easy Come, Easy Go from Out of the Box is a simple and fun dice game by Reiner Knizia that offers a lot of the appeal of Yahtzee with more player interaction and a more festive atmosphere. In the game players race to be the first one to have three luxuries in their possession at the beginning of a turn. The game usually plays in around ten minutes, though it can drag if players are constantly stealing luxuries from other players.

The game’s components consist of nine heavy, thick luxuries with dice combinations printed on them, four six-sided dice marked zero through five, and a nice rolling cup. Everything is well made. I have little doubt that the components will hold up to hundreds of sessions. The art on the cards is amusing and attractive.

During the game, players roll four dice in hopes of rolling one of the combinations. After every roll, the player is forced to “lock” at least one of the dice in place. The round ends when all dice are locked whether or not the player has earned a luxury. If they do, they get a card and pass the dice; if not, the dice are simply passed to the next player. This continues until one player starts his or her turn with three of the luxury cards, at which point they win the game.

Some of the cards are easy to get (“17 or more on all dice”, “Two pairs”), while others are more of a challenge. Since all of the cards on the table, whether or not they are already in the possession of another player are up for grabs, it makes a lot of sense to go for the harder cards early, as they are less likely to be stolen. This game play element makes for much more interaction than the group solitaire dice games like Yahtzee, but it also means the game can drag if players continuously manage to lift a card from an opponent right before he or she would win. The drawn-out end game has only happened to us once in about ten games though, so it shouldn’t be much of a deterrent.

We already use a lot of dice games for light filler in our group (mostly Liar’s Dice and Can’t Stop), so I wasn’t sure another light, fast dice game was needed. However, Easy Come, Easy Go went over very well with every one I introduced it to while play testing for this review, so I wouldn’t be surprise to see it hit the table at regular intervals over the course of the year. Regardless, the game is great for family game nights or any place gamers need a fast, fun game to pass the time.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2005-02-07T21:58:52+00:00

EDITOR’S NOTE: My full review of Easy Come Easy Go will appear in the next issue of Counter magazine. What follows is a brief overview.

Reiner Knizia keeps churning games out so fast that it is difficult to keep track of them all. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a parcel from Out of the Box containing Easy Come, Easy Go, a new dice-rolling game from the good doctor. I hadn’t heard a peep about the game, so I had no expectations, be they good or bad.

The basic premise of the game is quite simple: Roll dice in hopes of achieving certain combinations in order to capture valuable prizes. Be the first to capture three prizes and hold on to them for a full round and you emerge victorious.

There is nothing ground-breaking here. It is another dice-rolling game, plain and simple. Yet, it is a fun pastime, one that can be played quickly and just about anywhere. It has never failed to elicit outbursts of glee and frustration, and has even resulted in some good-natured taunting. It is best played with 3 or 4, though, as 2 is sorely lacking in interaction and options. In spite of having a closet-full of “fillers”, there is always room for one more, provided it is fun. Easy Come, Easy Go is certainly that, and will likely see lots of table-time in a variety of settings. Another keeper from Herr Knizia!

Keith, Kurt, Michael and I competed in the first round, with prizes switching hands often. All of us were in a position to win, only to have one or more prizes ripped from us. Eventually, Michael held on to his prizes for one full round to claim the victory.

In the second match, Willerd took my spot, but fared no better. This time, Kurt held on to his loot for the victory.

Ratings: Michael 6, Kurt 6, Willerd 6, Keith 6, Greg 6

Thread: Re:One Correction

Zomulgustar — 2005-02-03T15:39:23+00:00

Shannona (#79152),

By direct enumeration, I found 104/1296 combinations yielding a sum of exactly 7, and similarly with exactly 13).

0025 x12
0034 x12
0115 x12
0124 x24
0133 x12
0223 x12
1114 x 4
1123 x12
1222 x 4

Also, the single-parity three-of-a-kinds are a bit more likely than your calculation suggests: there are 24 ways of making each of them, for odds of 1/54 rather than 1/72.

There are 4 ways of selecting which of the dice will not be a member of the triplet, 3 ways of selecting the value of the dice in the triplet, and 2 remaining values for the singlet. 4*3*2=24.

Also, for purposes of actual play, the chance of getting one of these 'naturally' doesn't necessarily imply a corresponding difficulty of obtaining them with the four available rolls.

Thread: User Review

happycamper — 2005-01-31T13:47:17+00:00

Easy Come, Easy Go is a light dice-based game with many similarities to the popular game "Yahtzee".

The game centers around rolling four dice to try to obtain one of nine "prizes". Each player takes a turn and rolls the dice. If the die rolling results in a prize, the player takes that prize from the middle or from another player and places it in front of themself. The winner is the first person to begin their turn with three prizes.

The game components are very nice, with a leather-like dice cup and sturdy cardboard tiles as the prizes. The dice are six-sided showing numbers from zero to five. After your initial roll, you may reroll some of your dice if you first "lock in" the value of one of your dice. In this way, you can reroll up to three extra times, locking one more die each time. The prizes players compete for include: exactly 13, exactly seven, 3 or less, 17 or more, four of a kind, two pair, straight, three of a kind (all dice odd), and three of a kind (all dice even).

In a group of three or four, this is a light, fast paced family game. The competition over prizes makes the game more interesting (and thankfully, shorter) than a game of Yahtzee, but retains a sense of "pushing your luck" through the option of locking in dice to try for specific prizes. There isn't a lot of strategy, but enough decision-making to make a player feel like they have a small amount of control over the situation.

In groups of two, the game comes down to pure luck to see who is the first to fail to win a prize on their turn. While it is easily possible to play the game with five or more people, the rules need to be tweaked. Games with five or more people will go on without ever ending since so many players have a chance to steal a prize from anyone who currently has three prizes. If it weren't for the 4-player limit, this would be a great, light party game - perhaps best played in several groups simultaneously?

Inexpensive and with a small, portable profile this is a good game to bring to family gatherings, small parties, or with the younger set. Someone looking for a more strategy-based game would be well-served by looking elsewhere.

Thread: One Correction

shannona — 2005-01-21T22:24:25+00:00

After carefully calculating all those probabilities, I couldn't get the math right!

If you like at my two pair, you'll see I list it as 3 * (1 * 5/6 * 1/6 * 1/6). That's 15/216, not 15/1296, or 6.9%, which makes it the second most likely result, as you'd expect.

Whew.

1. Exactly 7, Exactly 13: 96/1296 =~ 7.4%
2. Two Pair: 15/1296 =~ 6.9%
3. Straight: 1/18 =~ 5.6%
4. 3 or Less, 17 or More: 35/1296 =~ 2.7%
5. 3 of a Kind (odd or even): 1/72 =~ 1.4%
6. 4 of a Kind: 1/216 =~ 0.5%

So, hard to steal: 4 or 3 of a kind; easy to steal: exactly 7 or 13 or two pair, possibly straight depending on psychological issues.

Thread: The Math

shannona — 2005-01-21T20:20:09+00:00

Here's my math for those calculations:

Exactly 7, Exactly 13: This is based on figuring out how many ways the number can be put together from the component die. I'm sure there's some simple formula to figure it out, but I don't know it, and it's not easy to calculate because it's a bell curve, which means that its nice progression at the edges goes wonky in the middle.

By my best method of figuring out all the possibilities, I came up with 96 different ways to form each of 7 and 13. There are 1296 possible options on four six-sided dice (6^4);hence 96/1296.

Straight: This one's easy. There are 3 potential straights (starting with 1, 2, and 3), and since there are each four dice, there are 4! potential ways to arrange each straight.

Hence:
(3 * 4!) / 1296 = 72/1296 = 1/18

3 or Less, 17 or More: Again, an exercise in counting the possibilities. Here I had to add the ways to form "0", then "1", then "2", then "3". Fortunately, this is at the bottom of the bell curve, and the numbers are nice & consistent. 17 is exactly the same as 3, statistically.

(1 + 4 + 10 + 20) / 1296 = 35/1296

3 of a Kind, Odd or Even: This is a standard probability. For each of them (odd or even), the first die just has to be an odd or even (1/2), then you have to have another die that is the same eveness, but doesn't match (1/3), and two others that do (1/6). There are 3 different ways to put those last three dice together. This is one of the ones that I'm not totally confident on, but I think it's right:

3 * (1/2 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/3) = 1/72

Two Pair: Similar deal: the first die can be anything, and then you need one die that's different, and then one that matches each of the ones before, and again there are three ways to organize the latter three dice. Again, not 100% sure, but it looks good to me:

3 * (1 * 5/6 * 1/6 * 1/6) = 15/1296

4 of a Kind: And this one's simple: one die that can be anything, and three that match it:

1 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 = 1/216

Thread: Prize Probabilities

shannona — 2005-01-21T20:07:03+00:00

When I was writing up my review (see the Links section) I was curious what the probabilities were of rolling each of the prizes naturally on 4 dice.

Here's my best work at the calculations, in order from easiest to hardest:

1. Exactly 7, Exactly 13: 96/1296 =~ 7.4%
2. Straight: 1/18 =~ 5.6%
3. 3 or Less, 17 or More: 35/1296 =~ 2.7%
4. 3 of a Kind (odd or even): 1/72 =~ 1.4%
5. Two Pair: 15/1296 =~ 1.2%
6. 4 of a Kind: 1/216 =~ 0.5%

What's less clear to me are if the actual chances of rolling any prize, including the rerolls, is notably different. This *isn't* just a question of probability, but also psychology.

For example, I list the straight as one of the most common prizes, and I'm entirely sure of the math in that one, but in actuality it only came up once in our game, and no one took the prize from the original owner. I suspect this was a result of the psychology of the players, where they were less likely to pursue the straight because it "seemed harder".

There's also some question of how overlapping probabilities might change up what people are willing to go for: if a player can reroll one die and go for two different, less likely prizes; or roll a different die and go for one more likely prize; then he'll probably go for the two less likely ones, as long as the sum of their probabilities is higher than the singular probability. Again, I don't know how this interactivity might influence final odds.

Nonetheless, despite my disclaimers, the above list is probably a good thumbnail for which prizes will be hardest to take from you, namely the 4 and 3 of a kind, and which will be easiest to take, namely the exactly 7 and 13.