Blöder Sack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Flow
  • Turn Sequence
    • Step 1: Roll 2 Dice (and possibly score for a pair)
    • Scoring for a Pasch
    • How Scoring Works
    • Step 2a: Place Both Dice
    • Scoring a Full Placement Card
    • Step 2b (Alternative): Remove and Replace an Opponent's Die
    • Special Case: Fewer Than 2 Dice in Your Supply
• End of Game
• Explanations of the Sack Card Conditions
  • Most Dice
  • Most 4s
  • Most Non-1s
  • Most 1s, 2s and 3s
  • Most Matching Values
  • Most Different Values
  • Last Placed 1
  • Last Placed 1, 2 or 3
  • Highest Sum
  • Highest Even Sum
  • Highest Sum Under 10
  • Most Evens

Components

• 40 dice (10 each in the 4 player colours)
• 1 "Starting Sack" card
• 5 placement cards
• 27 sack cards
• 1 cloth bag (for storing the components)

Setup

• Each player chooses a colour and takes the 10 dice of that colour, which they place in front of them as their supply. With fewer than 4 players, the unused dice go back into the cloth bag.
• Place the 5 placement cards side by side in the middle of the table. The far-left card is the one with the 1-pair (a pair of 1s) shown at the top centre. Next to it comes the placement card with the 2-pair, and so on.
• Shuffle the 27 sack cards and form a face-down draw pile.
• Draw 5 sack cards from the draw pile and place 1 of them face up above each placement card. Each placement card therefore always has exactly 1 sack card above it.
• The player who reads the rulebook aloud becomes the starting player. They place the "Starting Sack" card in front of them. It stays there until the end of the game as a reminder of who started, so that every player takes the same number of turns.

Game Flow

You take turns one after another, clockwise. The player with the "Starting Sack" card begins.

Turn Sequence

On your turn:

1. Roll 2 dice (and score a card if you rolled a pair).
2. Either:
   • 2a. Place both dice (and score a placement card if it is now full), or
   • 2b. Remove an opponent's die and replace it.

Step 1: Roll 2 Dice (and possibly score for a pair)

Roll exactly 2 of your dice from your supply. Check whether you have rolled a Pasch (two equal numbers). If you have not rolled a Pasch, go straight to step 2a.

Scoring for a Pasch

If you rolled a Pasch, one sack card is scored. The card scored is the one above the placement card that shows your rolled Pasch. If there is no die on that placement card, nothing is scored and nothing happens.

With a 6-Pasch (a pair of 6s), you may score any sack card whose placement card has at least 1 die on it. With a 6-Pasch you do not have to score a card if you do not want to.

Example: Red has rolled a pair of 3s. The sack card above the placement card showing the 3-pair is now scored.

How Scoring Works

The player who best fulfils the condition of the sack card being scored, with the dice they have placed, wins that sack card and places it face down in front of them. (If the condition of a sack card is unclear, the explanations of the conditions at the back of this rulebook give more precise details.)

If several players fulfil the sack card's condition equally well, the player who placed their last die on that placement card later wins the card.

All dice on the placement card are then removed and returned to the players' supplies. (The placement card stays in place.)

Afterwards, a new sack card is drawn from the draw pile and placed face up in the vacated spot above the placement card.

Step 2a: Place Both Dice

Regardless of whether you rolled a Pasch, place both of the dice you just rolled on any placement cards you choose. Both dice may go on the same placement card or on two different placement cards.

Dice may be placed even when they do not match the condition of the sack card above that placement card. For example, a die showing "3" may be placed on a placement card whose condition is "Last Placed 1."

Each placement card has 9 spaces, so it has room for 9 dice. A newly placed die must be placed on the free space with the lowest number. The first die placed on a placement card therefore always goes on space "1," the second die on space "2," and so on.

Example: Blue and White have each placed the most 4s on this placement card, namely two dice each. Since White's last die was placed on the placement card later than Blue's, White wins the sack card.

Example: Red has rolled a 1 and a 4. Red decides to place the 4 on the placement card with the condition "Most Non-2s" and to place the 1 on the placement card with the condition "Last Placed 1." Red could also have placed both dice on "Most Non-2s."

Scoring a Full Placement Card

When the 9th die is placed on a placement card, the sack card above it is scored. Scoring works exactly as in Pasch scoring: the player who best fulfils the condition of the sack card being scored, with the dice they have placed, wins that sack card and places it face down in front of them.

If several players fulfil the sack card's condition equally well, the player who placed their last die on that placement card later wins the card.

All dice on the placement card are then removed and returned to the players' supplies. (The placement card stays in place.)

Afterwards, a new sack card is drawn from the draw pile and placed face up in the vacated spot above the placement card. If you have not yet placed your second die, you may now also place it on the new sack card.

Important: In a two-player game, a placement card is already considered full when 6 dice are on it! A sack card is therefore scored as soon as 6 dice lie on its placement card. The symbol with the two game pieces on space "6" of each placement card is there to remind you of this.

Your turn then ends, and the next player takes their turn.

Step 2b (Alternative): Remove and Replace an Opponent's Die

Instead of simply placing both dice as described above, you may choose another option: remove an opponent's die from a placement card and replace it with one of your own dice showing the same value. To do so, one of your two dice must show the value you are replacing. In addition, you may not place your second die. Instead you must return it unused to your supply!

Example: Red has rolled a 2 and a 4. Red decides to replace White's 4. Red may no longer place the die showing 2, and must return it unused to their supply.

Your turn then ends, and the next player takes their turn.

Special Case: Fewer Than 2 Dice in Your Supply

If it is your turn and you have fewer than 2 dice left in your supply, you must, before your turn, score any sack card on whose placement card at least 2 of your dice lie. It may happen that you have to score a sack card for which you do not fulfil the condition best yourself. In that case the card goes to an opponent. This is necessary, however, so that you then have at least 2 dice in your supply again. After that, you take your turn as usual ("Roll 2 dice," etc.).

End of Game

The game ends when a player has won 4 sack cards. The current round is still played to the end, meaning up to and including the player seated to the right of the player with the "Starting Sack" card. That way every player has had the same number of turns.

Then all sack cards still lying face up are scored, provided their placement card has at least 1 die on it.

Afterwards, every player counts the sack symbols in the bottom right corner of each sack card they have won. (The original text calls these "task cards" (Aufgabenkarten) here; it means the sack cards won during play.)

• Some sack cards have 1 sack symbol in the corner.
• Some sack cards have 2 sack symbols in the corner.

The sack symbols are printed in opposite corners of each sack card so that they can also be recognised when the card is upside down. Count only the sack symbols in the bottom right corner!

Example: Red won these 5 sack cards by the end of the game. Red counts the sack symbols in the corners: there are 8 in total.

The player with the most sack symbols wins. In a tie, the tied player who has won more sack cards wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the placement.

Note: The player who first won 4 sack cards does not necessarily win the game.

Explanations of the Sack Card Conditions

If a sack card's condition is unclear, see the explanations below. (The card titles are translated from the German card names.)

Most Dice

Whoever has the most dice on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. The values of the dice do not matter.

Most 4s

Whoever has the most dice showing the value 4 on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. Dice with a value other than 4 do not count towards this, but they may still be placed in order to be ahead in a tie (remember: in a tie, what matters is who placed their last die later, even if that die does not match the card's condition), or in order to fill the placement card and so trigger the scoring.

Most Non-1s

Whoever has the most dice with the values 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. Dice with the value 1 do not count towards this, but they may still be placed in order to be ahead in a tie (remember: in a tie, what matters is who placed their last die later, even if that die does not match the card's condition), or in order to fill the placement card and so trigger the scoring.

Most 1s, 2s and 3s

Whoever has the most dice with the values 1, 2 and 3 on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. Dice with the values 4, 5 and 6 do not count towards this, but they may still be placed in order to be ahead in a tie (remember: in a tie, what matters is who placed their last die later, even if that die does not match the card's condition), or in order to fill the placement card and so trigger the scoring.

Most Matching Values

Whoever has the most dice with the same value on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. A single die also counts: you then have "1 die with a matching value."

Example: Here Blue wins the sack card, because Blue has placed three dice with the same value (3 × "5"). Red has placed 4 dice, but only two of them share a value. That Red has two pairs of matching values (2 × "3" and 2 × "6") does not matter.

Most Different Values

Whoever has the most dice with different values on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best.

Example: Here both Blue and Black have each placed three dice with different values. Since Blue placed their last die later, Blue wins the sack card.

Last Placed 1

Whoever was the last to place a die with the value 1 on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. The number of 1s does not matter here. Dice with a value other than 1 do not count, but they may still be placed in order to fill the placement card and so trigger the scoring.

Last Placed 1, 2 or 3

Whoever was the last to place a die with the value 1, 2 or 3 on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. The number of 1s, 2s and 3s does not matter here. 1s, 2s and 3s are equivalent. The only question is who was the last to place a die with one of these three values. Dice with a value other than 1, 2 or 3 do not count, but they may still be placed in order to fill the placement card and so trigger the scoring.

Highest Sum

Each player adds together the values of all their dice on the corresponding placement card. The player with the highest sum fulfils this condition best. The number of dice does not matter here.

Highest Even Sum

Each player adds together the values of all their dice on the corresponding placement card. The player with the highest even sum fulfils this condition best. The number of dice does not matter here. Whoever has an odd sum does not fulfil the condition and therefore cannot win the sack card.

Highest Sum Under 10

Each player adds together the values of all their dice on the corresponding placement card. The player with the highest sum under 10 fulfils this condition best. The number of dice does not matter here. Whoever has a sum of 10 or more on their dice does not fulfil the condition and therefore cannot win the sack card.

Example: Here both Blue and Red have the highest sum under 10, namely 9. White has only the sum 8. Black did not pay attention and placed too much, reaching a sum of 10. Since Blue placed their last die later, Blue wins the sack card.

Most Evens

Whoever has the most dice with the values 2, 4 and 6 on the corresponding placement card fulfils this condition best. Dice with the values 1, 3 and 5 do not count towards this, but they may still be placed in order to be ahead in a tie (remember: in a tie, what matters is who placed their last die later, even if that die does not match the card's condition), or in order to fill the placement card and so trigger the scoring.

The explanations for the remaining sack cards follow from these. For example, the sack card "Most 5s" follows the same rules as "Most 4s," just for the value 5. "Most Odds" follows the same rules as "Most Evens," just for odd values, and so on.