Dancing Dice
Dancing Dice Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 36 dancing dice: 6 sets of different colors, each made of 6 dice of two types (3 dice with steps of a certain color and 3 dice with white steps and faces of that same color);
- 3 special dice called "Tango:" these dice have steps of different colors;
- a board with a list of dances and an endurance chart;
- 6 performance cubes in six different colors;
- 6 endurance discs in six different colors;
- 6 hiding screens, showing the "curtain," in six different colors;
- these rules.
Object of the Game
Your goal is to arrange your dice into combinations (dances) worth the most points in each dance of the marathon. The best dancing partners complete each round without losing endurance points. If your dancers' endurance drops to "0," you are knocked out of the competition. If your dance team is the last one remaining, you win the Dance Champion's title!
Preparation
Choose a color and take the matching colored screen, performance cube and endurance disc. Take the 6 dice of your color. For example: The red player receives the three white dice with red steps and the three red dice with white steps. With less than 6 players, place any unused materials back in the box. Place the board in the middle of the table. Then place your endurance disc at "10" on the endurance track on the board. As your dancers lose endurance, you'll move your disc down the track.
Roll the three Tango dice. Place them on the board in the Tango circle. The combination of steps on these dice represent the "Tango."
Game Play
Game play is simultaneous. All players roll their dice behind their curtains at the same time, so that other players can't see what's been rolled. After this initial roll, you may re-roll any number of dice (even all of them) if you are not happy with the result. But you must announce the number of dice you re-roll (e.g., "I re-roll four dice!"). You cannot roll after the second roll. You get no more than two rolls per round of dancing.
After all the players complete their rolls, place your six dice behind the curtain in two rows of three dice each. Keep the two rows clearly separated. Each row represents a dance that your dance team performs during that marathon round. The row closest to the center of the table (i.e., farthest from you) is the "first" dance. The row closest to you is the "second" dance (see figure).
Figure labels: HIDING SCREEN; FIRST DANCE (row farthest from the player); SECOND DANCE (row nearest the player).
When all players have finished arranging their dice, raise the curtains. Now the judging begins! First, compare all of the players' first dances (i.e., the first combination of three dice). Then compare all of the second dance combinations.
Before we describe the judging, though, let's compare the values of the different dances!
Dance Values
In Dancing Dice, each combination of three dice is called a "dance." Each dance is awarded a different score. These scores are, from highest to lowest:
- Boogie: three '1's;
- Tap-dance: three '2's;
- Cha-cha-cha: three '3's;
- Tango: the combination shown on the three Tango dice;
- Mambo: the sum of three dice equaling 18;
- Twist: the sum of three dice equaling 17;
- Bolero: the sum of three dice equaling 16;
- Etc. …
- Mazurka: the sum of three dice equaling 5;
- Macarena: the sum of three dice equaling 4;
All these combinations are shown on the board in the order of their ranking on the performance track.
The highest combination, a Boogie, is a combination of three '1's. Three '2's yield a Tap-dance, the second highest combination. Three '3's make a Cha-cha-cha, the third highest combination.
Then comes the Tango: this is the combination of dice identical to the one rolled at the beginning of the round and placed on the board. For example, if the three Tango dice show 4, 1, 5, then a Tango would be a combination formed by exactly a 4, a 1 and a 5 (not just any combination that adds up to 10). If any player scores a Tango, re-roll the Tango dice at the end of the round and place them on the board to create a new Tango combination.
All the other combinations that follow are simply the sum of the three dice, from 18 to 4 (not to 3, as 3 is actually a Boogie!).
Note: Three '4's, '5's, or '6's are scored by their sum (unless they are a Tango). They yield 12 (4+4+4), 15 (5+5+5) and 18 (6+6+6) points, respectively, and are not considered special (i.e., like three '1's, '2's, or '3's).
Each combination made of three dice of the same type is called a "pure" combination (as opposed to a "mixed" combination, where the three dice are of different types). A "pure" combination scores higher than a "mixed" combination. For example, a "pure" 11 made of three white dice with colored steps (e.g., 3, 5, and 3) is higher than a "mixed" 11 made of two dice with colored steps and one die with white steps (e.g., 6 and 1 with colored steps, and 4 with white steps). Therefore, the highest possible score is a "pure" Boogie: three dice of the same type, each showing '1.'
There are two other special combinations, Rock and Gala, but more on these later.
Judging Dances
Judging, like dice rolling, is simultaneous. Judging is done in two phases: first, compare all the dice belonging to the first dance; and, second, compare the dice belonging to the second dance.
For the first comparison, place your performance cube on the board in the space that shows the value of your first dance.
For each dance, the judges always choose only half of the performances to be satisfactory (rounded down). So, start from the Boogie and proceed down the performance track and identify the dances in the upper half of scoring values.
Example: With five players, the judges will choose only two dances out of five to be satisfactory. (This is noted on the board as well as inside the curtains.)
If your dance is not considered satisfactory, your dancers lose an endurance point. Register this loss on the board by moving your endurance disc down one square.
In case of a tie for one of the better half of performances, the tied dancers do not suffer any penalty. (See the example of judging below.) Remember that pure combinations are worth more than the corresponding mixed ones!
Once the judging for the first dance ends, take your performance cube back. Then begin scoring the second dance the same way.
Once you finish the judging of the second dance, this round of the dancing marathon is over. A new round of the marathon starts! Players again roll their dice behind the curtains, etc.
Judging Example
Andrew, Barbara, Cindy, Daniel and Emma are competing in round one. For each of the two dances that round, the judges will pick only two satisfactory performances. Since there are five players (and five dances) and half of five is two and a half, you round down to two. The Tango combination rolled for this round is 1-2-4. These are the results of this round's dice rolls (in the printed example, the dice with colored steps are shown in bold; the bold marking does not survive text extraction, so it is omitted here):
| Andrew | Barbara | Cindy | Daniel | Emma | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st dance | 246 | 321 | 241 | 444 | 521 |
| 2nd dance | 111 | 222 | 524 | 222 | 665 |
All five players put their cubes on the board on the square showing the value of each dance.
Now, let's judge the first dance first. Here, Cindy has a Tango, Andrew and Daniel have 12, Emma has 8, and Barbara 6. The best performances are Cindy's Tango, and both the 12-value dances from Andrew and Daniel (both 12s are "mixed," so they are tied). Both Barbara and Emma lose an endurance point. Since Cindy rolled a Tango, the Tango dice will be re-rolled after both dances have been judged (they are not rolled between the two dances!). The new Tango combo is then displayed in the Tango circle.
In the second dance, Andrew has a Boogie, Barbara and Daniel have a Tap Dance, Cindy has 11 and Emma 17. Barbara's Tap Dance is made of dice of the same kind, so it is "pure"—and her Tap Dance is more valuable than Daniel's. The two best performances of this dance are Andrew's and Barbara's. Cindy, Daniel and Emma each take one endurance point penalty.
Two Other Special Dances
The Rock
Declare a Rock whenever you have two rows (dances) showing the same numbers (e.g., 1-2-5, 1-2-5). The type of dice does not matter. To make sure everyone knows your team is "Rockin'", lay your curtain on the table, with the inside facing up. Then place your two rows of dice on it, right next to each other (without any space between the two rows). You still score your two dances as normal, so your dice must be considered; however, if your dance is not judged satisfactory, you do not lose an endurance point!
The Gala
A Gala is a combination of six dice with the same result (e.g., 4-4-4-4-4-4). You enter the judging phase with a Gala the same way you do with a Rock, and you cannot lose any endurance points that round! Again, you set all six of your dice on your overturned curtain and in the same row. Place the cubes for both your dances on the performance square corresponding to three numbers on your dice (in the example, 4-4-4, your cubes go on the '12's for both comparisons). Moreover, at the end of the round, after both dances, you actually gain two endurance points! Move your disc up two squares (but you cannot, in any case, go over 10 points).
Ending the Game
As soon as your disc reaches "0" on the endurance track, you're out of the game (i.e., you cannot roll any more dice). The last player dancing (i.e., rolling) is the winner!
Notes
- The number of "satisfactory performances" decreases as the game progresses and players are eliminated! Always remember to count the right number of "satisfactory performances" during each dance. This is determined by the number of players still in the game. For example: In a game with six players, you have three satisfactory performances. During the first dance in a round, three players lose their tenth and final endurance point… and are now out of the game. During the second dance, only one performance will be judged good enough!
- The Tango stays in the Tango circle until the end of the round in which a player scores that Tango. Keep that Tango in the Tango circle through the end of judging for the second dance during that round. Then, at the beginning of the next round, re-roll the three Tango dice in order to generate a new Tango. Place the new combo in the Tango circle.
- If you accidentally change one or more dice behind your screen, you must re-roll all of your dice and keep the results. If you intentionally change your dice, you might not be cheating; but no one has to play with you any more!