Dice Age: The Hunt
Dice Age: The Hunt Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- Prey cards: 28 cards (4 mammoth cards, 5 fish cards, 6 elk cards, 6 dodo cards, 7 berry cards)
- Generation cards: 40 cards (rounds 1 to 4: 10 cards each)
- Game board: 1 board (Hunting side and Scoring side)
- Large dice: 4 color dice (red, purple, green, yellow), 3 each; wanderer dice (clear), 1 each
- Small dice: 4 color dice (red, purple, green, yellow), 7 each
- Player piece: 4 pieces, 1 of each color
- Dice mat: 4 mats, 1 of each color
- Action tiles: 9 tiles, 3 of each kind (Counsel, Intimidate, Retreat)
- Shell tiles: 30 tiles (40 point shells: 6 tiles, 30 point shells: 10 tiles, 20 point tiles: 14 tiles)
- Point tiles: 12 tiles (300 points)
- Starting player marker
- Hunting Camp (dice tray)
Game Preparations
- Place the game board with its hunting side facing up in the center of the table.
- Shuffle the Prey cards well, form them into a deck and place it face-down.
- Separate the Generation cards into piles corresponding to the numbers on the back of the cards (shuffle them as you did with the Prey deck). Place the piles face-down on the game board.
- Shuffle the Shell tiles well and place them face-down in a pile near the gameboard.
- Separate the Action tiles into 3 piles of each different action and place them face-up near the generation cards.
- Each player chooses a color (out of red, purple, green, and yellow) and receives a player piece, dice mat, 1 large die, and 4 small dice of the corresponding color.
- Empty the bottom of box. It becomes the Hunting Camp (into which each player rolls their dice) during the game.
- The player who most recently went hunting starts the game. That player receives the starting player marker.
Round Preparation
Lay out Prey cards
Draw Prey cards from your pile and place them face-up (1 each) into the Hunting Grounds specified by the dice roll (1 to 6) and the Extra Hunt area.
Lay out Generation cards
Take the Generation card pile corresponding to the round you are about to start (for example, take the pile with cards printed "1" on the back for round 1), and lay out [number of players x 2] cards face-up in 2 rows. The remaining Generation cards of that pile are not used during this game.
Game Flow and Goal
This game consists of 4 rounds. Each player carries out at least 1 turn each round. During their turn, the turn player rolls their dice and places them in the Hunting Grounds. When a round ends, proceed to the next generation.
The players collect Prey cards in each round in order to expand their tribe's influence and enhance special abilities. The player that has the most points at the end of game is the winner.
Taking Turns During a Round
Players take turns in clockwise order beginning with the player holding the starting player marker. Players carry out Mandatory actions and Timing actions during their turn. After finishing their actions, the player ends the turn, and the game proceeds to the next player's turn.
Mandatory actions
- Roll your dice. Roll all of your dice (large and small) into the Hunting Camp.
- Place your dice. Choose any number of dice in the Hunting Camp and place them in the Hunting Ground corresponding to the pips of the die (1 to 6). There is no limit to how many dice you choose to put, but you must choose at least 1, and you must place all of your dice with that pips into the corresponding Hunting Grounds. When placing your dice into a Hunting Ground which already has other dice, place your dice at the very end of the line. Return any dice you didn't pick to your hand, and end your turn.
After placing your dice, if you have none left in your hand, proceed to the "Collect Generation cards" action.
Timing actions
Using Action tiles
During your turn, if you have any unused Action tiles, you can use them at any timing from before you roll your dice until you finish placing your dice. You can use any number of Action tiles during your turn. Remove them from the game after usage. See "Action tile effects" below for details.
Collect Generation cards
If you have no dice left over as a result of the "Place your dice" action, choose 1 row of Generation cards (2 cards) and place them in front of you at the end of your turn. If a player has collected their Generation cards, that player's turn is skipped until the end of the round. Generation cards have 2 kinds of bonuses: [Prosperity bonus] and [Honor bonus]. See "Prosperity bonus and Honor bonus" below for details.
The End of the Round
When all players have placed all of their dice, and have collected their Generation cards, the round is over. Follow the procedures below when finishing a round.
Gaining Prey cards
Gain Prey cards of Hunting Grounds 1 to 6
Following the order of the Hunting Grounds specified (1 to 6), players gain Prey cards.
For each Hunting Ground, the player that has placed the most dice in that area gains a Prey card. Count a small die as 1 die and a large die as 1.5 dice.
Place all Prey cards you have gained in front of you face-up.
In case of a tie. If multiple players have the same number of dice in the same Hunting Ground, the owner of the last die in the row (the most recently placed die) is the player who gains the Prey card.
If there are Hunting Grounds with no dice. If there are Hunting Grounds in which no player has placed their dice in, the Prey card of that area is removed from the game.
Movement to the Extra Hunt area
For each Hunting Ground, among the players who did not gain a Prey card, all the dice of the player with the most dice in that area are moved to the Extra Hunt area. If there are multiple such players, the dice of the player who has the most recently placed dice in that area are moved to the Extra Hunt area.
Carry out this procedure each time the "Gain Prey cards of Hunting Grounds 1 to 6" procedure is done.
If only 1 player had placed their dice in the specified Hunting Ground (thus gaining a Prey card), no player moves their dice to the Extra Hunt area.
Gain Prey cards in the Extra Hunt area
After all Prey cards from the "Gain Prey cards of Hunting Grounds 1 to 6" procedures have been distributed, carry out the "Gain Prey cards in the Extra Hunt area" procedure. In the same fashion as the other Hunting Grounds, the player with the most dice in the area gains the Prey card. If there are multiple such players, the player who has the most recently placed die in that area gains the Prey card.
Examples
- There are 2 red dice and 1 green die. Thus the red player gains the berries, and the green die is moved to the Extra Hunt area.
- There is 1 purple die, 2.5 red dice, and 2 green dice. Thus the red player gains the dodo, and the green dice are moved to the Extra Hunt area.
- There is 1 each of red, purple, and yellow dice. The yellow player who has the last-in-line die (the most recently placed die) gains the mammoth, and the purple die is moved to the Extra Hunt area.
- No players have placed their dice in this area. Remove the dodo from the game.
- Only the yellow player has placed their dice in the area. The yellow player gains the fish and no dice are moved to the Extra Hunt.
- There are 3.5 purple dice and 2.5 green and yellow dice. Thus the purple player gains the fish and the yellow player, being the owner of the more recently placed dice, moves their dice to the Extra Hunt area.
- (Extra Hunt area) There are 3 green dice, 2.5 yellow dice, and 1 purple die. Thus the green player gains the elk.
Collect the dice in the Hunting Grounds
After distributing the Prey card from the Extra Hunt area, return all remaining dice in all Hunting Grounds to their owners. If a player used their Wanderer die this turn, they do not collect the Wanderer die but put it in the Wanderer die area on the board instead. They do however collect their dice mat.
Resolving Prosperity bonuses
After all dice have been returned to the corresponding players, resolve the Generation card's Prosperity bonus. Some Generation cards have multiple bonuses. In such a case, resolve all of those bonuses. After resolving the Prosperity bonus, remove that Generation card from the game. See "Prosperity bonus" below for details.
Transition of the starting player
After resolving the Prosperity bonus, pass the starting player marker to the left. Then, carry out "Round preparation."
End of the Game
After finishing 4 rounds, count each player's score.
Game end preparation
Flip the game board to the scoring side. Each player places their Player piece on the 0 square, and then moves their piece each time they score points according to the scoring rules. If a player moves their piece around the board and ends up on or passes the 0 square, they receive a point tile worth 300 points each.
Scoring rules
Prey card: base points
Gain points equal to the number described on the Prey card you gained.
| Prey card | Points |
|---|---|
| Berries | 10 |
| Dodo | 20 |
| Elk | 30 |
| Fish | 40 |
| Mammoth | 50 |
Prey bonus: different kinds of prey
Gain 50 points for each full set of prey (5 kinds: mammoth, fish, elk, dodo, and berries) you have. 100 points for 2 sets, 150 points for 3 sets, 200 points for 4 sets.
Prey bonus: hunting
For each kind of prey, the player who gained the most cards of that prey gains a bonus. However, there is no hunting bonus for mammoth.
| Prey card | Bonus points |
|---|---|
| Berries | 200 |
| Dodo | 120 |
| Elk | 100 |
| Fish | 50 |
If there are multiple players with the maximum number of a certain Prey card, divide the bonus equally among them. Round down single-digit numbers to 0.
Shells
Gain the points described on the Shell tile.
Honor bonus
Gain points equal to the amount specified by the Honor bonus of the Generation cards you gained. See "Honor bonus" below for details.
Deciding the winner
Count each player's points following the procedure above. The player with the most points is the winner of the game. If the highest number of points is a tie, the player among them with the most Shell tiles wins the game. If even the number of Shell tiles is a tie, all of those players win the game.
Rule Variants: Attack of the Barbarians
When playing with 2 or 3 players you may choose to add variant rules in which players control a group of barbarians.
Game preparation
Choose 1 color not being used by the players as the barbarians. Each player receives 2 small dice of that color.
Taking turns during a round
Mandatory actions
- Roll your dice. Roll all of your dice (including the barbarian dice) into the Hunting Camp.
- Place your dice. Choose any number of dice in the Hunting Camp and place them in the Hunting Ground corresponding to the pips of the die. There is no limit to how many dice you choose to put, but you must choose at least 1, and you must place all of your dice with that pips into the corresponding Hunting Grounds (including the barbarian dice). When placing your dice and barbarian dice into the same Hunting Ground, you may place them in any order. Return any dice you didn't pick to your hand.
Example: When placing 2, 5, and 6 (illustrated in the rulebook).
Timing actions: Collect Generation cards
If you have no dice of your color left as a result of the "Place your dice" action, choose 1 row of Generation cards (2 cards) and place them in front of you at the end of your turn. If a player has collected their Generation cards that player's turn is skipped until the end of the round (even if they still have left-over barbarian dice). The barbarians never collect Generation cards.
Ending the round
After all players have placed all of their non-barbarian dice, and collected their Generation cards, the round is over.
- Gaining Prey cards. If the barbarians gain a prey card, remove it from the game.
- Return the dice in the Hunting Grounds. Collect all of your dice in the Hunting Grounds and 2 barbarian dice.
For what is not noted here, follow the basic rules.
End of the game
After finishing 4 rounds, calculate your scores in the same fashion as in the basic rules.
A List of Bonus and Tile Effects
Prosperity bonus
Childbirth. Gain 1 extra small die of your color. If you already have 7 dice, you cannot gain this bonus. ("More savings means a happy tribe now, more children means a happy tribe in the future.")
Growth. Exchange 1 of your small dice with a large die. If you already have 3 large dice, you cannot gain this bonus. ("Great power is required to catch great prey.")
Visit. Gain 1 wanderer (transparent) die. Wanderer die can only be used during the next round. When placing your Wanderer die in a Hunting Ground, first place your dice mat in that area then place the die on top of it (so players can distinguish to whom that Wanderer die belongs). ("The debt of a meal will be paid with a spear")
Trade. Gain as many Shell tiles as specified on the card. Place Shell tiles face-down by your side. No player other than you can view their points. ("The weak must find other values than force")
Counsel / Intimidate / Retreat. Gain 1 Counsel tile / 1 Intimidate tile / 1 Retreat tile respectively.
Honor bonus
The great and powerful (30 points per large die). Gain 30 points per 1 large die you have at the end of the game. ("Look at them. They protect us, they hunt for us, and they lead us")
The bond of the weak (10 points per small die). Gain 10 points per 1 small die you have at the end of the game. ("We may be weak, but we have each other!")
The prosperous ones (10 points per Shell tile). Gain 10 points per 1 Shell tile you have at the end of the game. ("Even pure force does not match wealth")
Innovation (20 points per 20 point Shell tile). Gain 20 points per 1 20-point Shell tile you have at the end of the game. ("One tribe's common Shell may be another tribe's treasure")
The wisdom of the elder (30 points per unused Action tile). Gain 30 points per 1 unused Action tile you have at the end of the game. ("The sitting elder sees what a youngling can't from a tree top")
The hunter's pride (X points per prey bonus you gained). Gain a certain number of points per prey bonus you gained throughout the game. The points are different according to the number of players.
| Number of players | Points |
|---|---|
| 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 30 |
| 4 | 40 |
When counting your total number of Prey bonuses, count each "Prey bonus: different kinds of prey" and each "Prey bonus: hunting" you gained as 1. Even if you shared a certain bonus with another player, you can still count that bonus as 1.
If you have collected 2 sets of "Prey bonuses: different kinds of prey" and "Prey bonus: hunting" for both dodo and elk in a 3-player game, you gain a total 120 additional points (30 x 4). ("Prayer for the spilt blood will resonate our tribe's name")
Action tile effects
Counsel. You get 1 chance to re-roll any number of your dice in the Hunting Camp. ("A cautious hunter is far braver than a reckless one.")
Intimidate. Choose 1 die another player owns in a Hunting Ground. The owner of that die must immediately take the die out of the Hunting Ground and reroll it. Then they place it in whatever number Hunting Ground the roll came out to be. ("The hunters face other perils than beasts")
Retreat. Choose 2 of your dice from any Hunting Ground and return to your hand. If you still have not rolled your dice this turn, roll those 2 into the Hunting Camp along with the others. If you already have rolled, put them in your hand and roll them on your next turn. ("Some gains are more valuable than prey")