D-Day Dice: Free Trial Version Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
• Phase 1 – Rolling Dice
  • Dice Symbols
  • Skull
  • Star
  • Soldiers
  • Courage
  • Items
  • Color Bonus (Red-White-Blue Bonus)
  • Medal of Honor
• Phase 2 – Buying Specialists
  • Specialists
• Phase 3 – Buying Items
  • List of Items
• Phase 4 – Movement
  • Advancing
  • Sectors
  • Enemy Fire
  • Machine-Gun Fire
  • Minefield
• Phase 5 – Combat
  • Losses
  • Victory
  • Defeat
  • Victory Points (VP)
• Solo Play
• Additional Rules

Components

To play, you will need:

• A game board
• 1 marker per player (a small soldier figure works well)
• 1 Player Sheet per player
• A pen or pencil, to record Item information
• 6 d6 dice per player: 2 red, 2 white, and 2 blue. Other colors can be used, but they must be three different colors.

Setup

Players place their markers in Sector #1 on the battle map. This sector also indicates the number of soldiers in each player's unit. As a player's unit advances, they move their marker from sector to sector.

Sequence of Play

Players take their turns simultaneously, phase by phase. A turn is divided into 5 phases. Each phase must be completed by all players before they can move on to the next.

• Phase 1 – Rolling Dice (until you reach your "final result")
• Phase 2 – Buying Specialists (determine the number of Resources you obtained from your dice roll and check off the Specialist boxes)
• Phase 3 – Buying Items
• Phase 4 – Movement and resolving the requirements of the new sector (if any)
• Phase 5 – Combat (subtract losses from your unit)

Phase 1 – Rolling Dice

Each player rolls 6 dice. After rolling, they set aside 2 of them – these cannot be rerolled. The other 4 may be rerolled up to two more times. Once all rolls are finished and the "final result" of the roll has been determined, the player must apply every symbol shown, in the next phase.

Dice Symbols

• 1 – Skull (cancels another die)
• 2 – Star (for hiring Specialists)
• 3 – 1 Soldier
• 4 – 2 Soldiers
• 5 – Courage (needed to Advance)
• 6 – Items (gives Equipment points)

Skull

For each Skull rolled, the player must remove one of the rolled dice (that is, ignore the symbol it shows this turn).

Star

For each Star rolled, the player crosses off one box next to any Specialist on their Player Sheet. Once all the boxes next to a given Specialist are crossed off, that Specialist is considered hired and joins your unit. In a single turn, you can hire several Specialists if the dice are kind to you. Specialists' abilities are described below.

Soldiers

Add 1 soldier to your unit for each "3" rolled, and 2 for each "4" rolled.

Courage

Add 1 Courage point.

Items

These represent weapons and other resources picked up on the beach from your fallen comrades. The number of Item symbols rolled determines how many Equipment points the player gains this turn:

• 1 Symbol = 1 Equipment Point
• 2 Symbols = 3 Equipment Points
• 3 Symbols = 6 Equipment Points
• 4 Symbols = 12 Equipment Points
• 5 Symbols = 24 Equipment Points
• 6 Symbols = 48 Equipment Points
• • 24 Equipment Points for each additional symbol

Color Bonus (Red-White-Blue Bonus)

If a player rolls the same result on three dice of different colors, they receive a special bonus, in addition to whatever the dice themselves provide. The bonuses differ depending on the number rolled:

• 1 – (Skulls) – Dead Man's Chest. You found a fallen soldier's pack: add 20 Equipment Points. In addition, the negative effect of the three rolled Skulls is ignored.
• 2 – (Stars) – Surge. Roll a 7th die, rerolling any "1"s. You may treat it as a die of any color, so it may earn you another bonus (but you cannot trade this die with another player).
• 3 and 4 – (Soldiers) – Reinforcements. Add 6 more soldiers to your unit.
• 5 – (Courage) – Battle Cry. If you move this turn, you may ignore all of the requirements of the sector you are moving into, and you do not need to spend Courage for that move.
• 6 – (Equipment) – Lucky Find. Gain two Stars.

Medal of Honor

If a player rolls every number from 1 to 6 on their dice, they earn a Medal of Honor and immediately record it on their Player Sheet. The player must then restart the dice-rolling phase from the beginning. Only one Medal of Honor can be earned per game. If this player or other players later roll 1 through 6 again, they no longer receive a medal for it. The medal can be earned even if one of the dice was obtained through a trade. In that case, the player who earns the medal must restart the dice-rolling phase from the beginning. Remember that the Officer only lets you trade 1 die per turn.

Phase 2 – Buying Specialists

The Resources rolled by the players must be recorded on the Player Sheet. All resources (soldiers, Specialists, Courage, Equipment points, and Items) are kept and carried over from turn to turn.

Specialists

These are specially trained soldiers who help your unit survive. Stars are needed to buy them. Each Specialist has their own cost (for example, the Medic costs 4 Stars) and their own abilities. When a Specialist dies, their abilities are lost. A player may have only one Specialist of each type. A dead Specialist cannot be bought again. Otherwise, Specialists are ordinary soldiers, and a player may choose them as casualties in Combat.

Sapper (clears mines) – cost 3 Stars. Lets you avoid losing soldiers when crossing a minefield.

Hero (life for courage) – cost 3 Stars. Your unit may lose Courage points instead of soldiers (1 for 1). There is no limit on the number of these substitutions. In effect, it lets you add your current Courage total to your unit's strength.

Medic (saves 1 soldier per phase) – cost 4 Stars. Reduces your losses by 1 soldier every time you lose soldiers, including the phase in which the Medic themselves dies. The Medic cannot save Specialists, and cannot prevent unavoidable losses (for example, when fulfilling a sector's requirements).

Sergeant (reroll 1 die) – cost 2 Stars. Lets you reroll one of your 4 allowed dice a 3rd time.

Officer (trade 1 die with another unit) – cost 4 Stars. The Officer lets you trade one die from your final result with another player. A player cannot trade more than one die per turn, even if other players also have Officers. If a player traded dice in order to earn the Medal of Honor, they cannot use the Officer's ability again this turn when they reroll the dice. By introducing interaction between units, the Officer can significantly change the course of the game. This is why it is strongly recommended that at least one player hire an Officer as early as possible.

Scout (+1 Item symbol per turn) – cost 2 Stars. Adds 1 Item symbol to the player's final roll result.

Sniper (ignore 1 Skull) – cost 2 Stars. Lets you ignore 1 Skull symbol. However, that symbol can still count toward "Dead Man's Chest" or the "Flak Jacket."

Veteran (+1 soldier for each RWB bonus) – cost 3 Stars. Each time any RWB bonus is rolled, the player adds 1 soldier to their unit, in addition to the bonus's other effects.

Phase 3 – Buying Items

A player may spend earned Equipment Points (EP) to buy Items. Only 1 Item may be bought per turn. Subtract the corresponding number of Equipment Points and note that you now have this Item. Any Item can only be used once and cannot be bought again. Cross the Item off your sheet once you have used it. You may use several Items in a single turn.

List of Items

Backpack (reroll 1 die) – cost 5 EP. Works like the Sergeant's ability, but is one-use only.

Bangalore Torpedo (Enemy Fire of any sector except the bunker = 0) – cost 20 EP. This special extended explosive charge lets you ignore Enemy Fire in a sector for 1 turn. It has no effect on Machine-Gun Fire.

Binoculars (change the result of 1 die) – cost 10 EP. You may change the rolled value of any die (but not its color).

Radio (+5 soldiers) – cost 12 EP. Adds 5 soldiers to your unit.

Flak Jacket (all Skulls become soldiers) – cost 3 EP. Applied at the end of the dice-rolling phase. All Skulls are ignored (they give neither bonuses nor penalties). Instead, add 1 soldier to your unit for each Skull.

Flamethrower (-10 to the bunker's Enemy Fire strength) – cost 20 EP. Works like the Bangalore Torpedo, but only against the bunker.

Grenade (cancels Machine-Gun Fire for 1 turn) – cost 10 EP. The Grenade can only be used BEFORE rolling for Machine-Gun Fire.

Medal (replace a soldier with a Specialist) – cost 15 EP. Subtract 1 soldier from your total and replace them with any Specialist of your choice.

Medal of Honor (gain the Hero or 5 Courage points) – no cost. It cannot be bought, only earned with a lucky roll. In exchange for it, a player may gain either the Hero (if they don't already have one) or 5 Courage points. Whether used or not, the Medal of Honor is worth 10 VP at the end of the game.

Mine Detector (ignore mines) – cost 7 EP. Lets your unit move through a minefield without losses. The Mine Detector can only be used BEFORE rolling for the minefield.

Terrain Map (changes the color of 1 die) – cost 7 EP. Lets you change the color of any die (but not its rolled value).

Mobile Radio (+2 soldiers) – cost 5 EP. Adds 2 soldiers to your unit.

Whistle (advance without spending Courage) – cost 7 EP. Lets you advance without spending Courage points, but does not cancel any other movement requirements.

Phase 4 – Movement

The battle map is divided into areas called sectors. A unit may remain in a single sector for no more than 3 turns (fewer, in some sectors), after which it must leave. A unit may only move into an adjacent sector. A unit may move only once per turn, and only into 1 sector. A unit may only move sideways or forward, never backward. A unit may not enter a sector it has already been in. When a unit moves forward, this is called advancing. If a unit is required to move but cannot do so (for any reason), it is considered completely destroyed and is out of the game.

Advancing

To advance, soldiers need courage. A player spends Courage points every time they advance. The number of Courage points that must be spent is shown on the map next to the sector border, in a special Courage symbol (a small medal).

Sectors

Most sectors on the battle map have special properties and restrictions, which fall into 5 categories:

Instructions: simply do what is written. For example, if it says a unit cannot remain here, you must move in Phase 4 of your next turn.

Requirements: Many sectors require special conditions to be met before you can enter them (for example, "you must have a Scout to enter this sector" or "you must sacrifice your Officer to enter this sector"). A player must meet all requirements to enter a sector. If a specific Specialist must be sacrificed, the player must have that Specialist in their unit. The sacrifice happens during movement (Phase 4) and does not count as a loss suffered in combat (Phase 5). The only way to ignore a sector's requirements is to move there with a Battle Cry. The Medic cannot save a soldier who has been sacrificed.

Restrictions: Some sectors restrict certain actions or bonuses (for example, "no Item may be used in this sector," though they can still be bought, or "Surge and Lucky Find are not possible in this sector," which cancels those RWB bonuses).

Penalties: Some sectors impose penalties on dice roll results (for example, "-1 Item symbol per turn in this sector"). These penalties apply every turn.

Bonuses: Some sectors grant bonuses (for example, "+1 Courage per turn"), which are added to the dice roll. These bonuses do not affect whether a player earns RWB bonuses.

Enemy Fire

Every sector has a shield symbol with a number inside it: this is the Enemy Fire strength. This is the number of soldiers each unit in that sector must lose. The higher the Enemy Fire strength, the more dangerous the sector is for you.

Machine-Gun Fire

Some sectors are swept by enemy Machine-Gun Fire. They are marked with a special symbol. If there is at least one unit in the sector, roll a die and add its value to that sector's Enemy Fire. In some sectors, Machine-Gun Fire may cause special damage (for example, "if Machine-Gun Fire rolls a 6, the unit's losses must include 1 Specialist").

Minefield

When moving from sector to sector, a unit is sometimes forced to cross a minefield. In this case, the player must roll a die and immediately subtract the corresponding number of soldiers from their unit. The Medic can save one soldier, and the Sapper allows these losses to be ignored entirely.

Phase 5 – Combat

Regardless of whether a unit moved or not, it takes losses from the enemy during Phase 5. The number of soldiers a unit must lose equals the sector's Enemy Fire strength (plus Machine-Gun Fire, if any).

Losses

When a unit takes losses, the player must subtract the corresponding number of soldiers from it (remember that Specialists also count as soldiers). If no soldiers remain in the unit, it is considered destroyed and is out of the game (other players may continue).

Victory

A player who storms the bunker with at least one soldier remaining in their unit tallies their VP. They then give away half of their soldiers and Equipment points (rounding down) to the other players, trying to distribute them as evenly as possible, to help them storm the bunker as well. Specialists and Courage are not shared.

Defeat

If a player's unit has no soldiers or Specialists remaining, they are considered defeated. The player tallies their VP. They then give away half of their Items (rounding down) to the other players, trying to distribute them as evenly as possible. A player is also defeated if their unit is required to move but cannot do so (whether from lack of Courage or from being unable to meet the requirements of the sector they must move into).

Victory Points (VP)

Whether defeated or victorious, a player earns VP, which measure their level of success or failure. VP are tallied at the end of the game, encouraging players to try to beat their own record in the next game.

• Successfully storming the bunker earns 10 VP.
• If a player is the first to do so, they earn another 10 VP.
• Courage spent by the unit on its final advance earns 1 VP per Courage point.
• Each surviving soldier is worth 1 VP.
• Each unspent Courage point is worth 2 VP.
• Each surviving Specialist is worth 3 VP.
• The Medal of Honor is worth 10 VP.

Solo Play

The game was designed to be playable solo, so the solo rules are the same as the multiplayer rules, with the exception of the Officer's ability:

Officer (solo play) (changes the color of one die) – cost 4 Stars. The Officer lets you change the color of one die (but not its rolled value), making it easier to earn an RWB bonus. If the player wins the game, they earn 10 VP for storming the bunker and 10 VP for being first.

Additional Rules

• The roll for Machine-Gun Fire or the Minefield may be modified with Binoculars (this is more realistic).
• The Dead Man's Chest bonus gives 15 EP instead of 20, to avoid automatically getting the Flamethrower or the Bangalore Torpedo.

D-Day Dice is dedicated to all those men who did everything humanly possible – and more – that duty demanded of them on that fateful morning.