Dicy Cards
Dicy Cards Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 6 dice
- 48 cards: each with an Active side and a Frozen side
- 1 First Player card
- 1 score pad
Goal of the Game
Score more points than your opponents by fulfilling the conditions on your cards with the help of your dice.
Glacial Mode
For the best gaming experience, we recommend that you play in Glacial mode first. Then, after a few games, you can try other game modes or create your own using the advanced cards described at the end of the rulebook.
Setup
Give each player a set of 5 cards of the same color, with the letter A in their corners. Return all the other cards to the box, as they will not be used for this particular game.
Place each of your 5 cards in a row in front of you, with their Active side face up: see "Active or Frozen side" below.
The youngest player takes the 6 dice and becomes the first player. They place the First Player card in front of them, which they will keep throughout the game.
Active or Frozen Side
Each of your cards shows 2 pieces of information:
Active or Frozen side
When the card is showing its Active side, i.e. your color is face up (red player example), you can use it to score points or reroll dice.
When the card is showing its Frozen side, you cannot use it. You must reset it by flipping it back to its Active side before you can use it again.
Fulfilling a card's conditions
The diagram on a card shows you how to score points with it.
Example setup for a 3-player game. The players are using all of the "A" cards.
How to Play
The game consists of successive rounds, starting with the first player, then proceeding clockwise.
At the start of your turn, you must roll all 6 dice.
If you are not happy with what you rolled, you may reroll some or all of the dice by flipping one of your Active cards to reveal its Frozen side. You may repeat this action as many times as you like, provided you still have Active cards you can freeze.
Then, choose one of the following 2 actions:
Score points
Choose one of your Active cards and use your current die values to fulfill its conditions.
Then freeze the card you just used, by flipping it over to show its Frozen side.
Note down your points in the score book.
or
Skip your turn
If you don't want to or can't score any points, you must skip your turn.
To do so, reset all of your Frozen cards by flipping them over so their Active side is face up again. Then, if possible, all the other players must reset a single one of their Frozen cards by flipping it back to its Active side.
This marks the end of your turn: pass the dice to the player on your left.
Important: if all of your cards are frozen at the start of your turn, your only option is to carry out the "Skip your turn" action to reset them.
Glacial Game Mode (A) Cards
Reroll card
Scoring conditions: Select 2 dice. All values are allowed.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 4 + 5 = 9 points.
Immediate effect: the players to your left and right must freeze one Active card of their choice, if possible.
"1-5" card
Scoring conditions: You must use all 6 dice. The values on the dice must be between 1 and 5; you cannot select a 6.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 2 + 3 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 4 = 20 points.
"1/3/5" card
Scoring conditions: You must select at least 1 die. The die you select must have an odd value: 1, 3 or 5. You can use up to 6 dice.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 1 + 1 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 15 points.
Straight card
Scoring conditions: You must select at least 2 dice. The selected values must form a straight. You can use up to 6 dice.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 2 + 3 + 4 = 9 points.
Two-pairs card
Scoring conditions: Select 4 dice. You must create 2 pairs of dice showing different values.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: (6 + 6) + (3 + 3) = 18 points.
End of the Game
When a player reaches a total of 100 points or more, finish the current round, making sure that all the players have had the same number of turns.
The player with the highest score wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most Active cards in front of them wins. If there is still a tie, those players share the victory.
Interglacial Mode
In Interglacial mode, the game follows the same rules as the Glacial mode, with the following exceptions.
During setup:
One of the players takes 12 cards of the same color, shuffles them, then keeps 5 at random which they place in a row in front of them, Active side up.
Then all of the other players must each select the same combination of 5 cards that the first player picked and place them in front of them.
Return all the other unused cards to the game box.
As you play the game:
Some cards have an immediate effect which you must apply in addition to scoring points. Note: you must apply a card's effect immediately, and before flipping it to its Frozen side.
Interglacial Game Mode Cards
"6" card
Scoring conditions: Select at least 1 die. You can only select dice with a value of 6. You can use up to 6 dice.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18 points.
Immediate effect: the players to your left and right must reset one Frozen card of their choice, if possible.
"x2" card
Scoring conditions: Select 2 dice. You must have a pair of dice showing the same value.
Scoring: Double the total sum of your dice. Example: (4 + 4) x 2 = 16 points.
Lowest-3 card
Scoring conditions: Select 3 dice. You must select the 3 lowest values among your 6 dice.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 1 + 3 + 3 = 7 points.
Immediate effect: all other players must freeze one Active card of their choice, if possible.
"4/die" card
Scoring conditions: Select at least 1 die. Each die you select must have a different value. You can use up to 6 dice.
Scoring: Each die scores 4 points. Example: 1, 5, 2, 6 = 4 dice x 4 points = 16 points.
"5/die" card (different values, up to 5 dice)
Scoring conditions: You must select at least 1 die. Each die must have a different value. You can use up to 5 dice.
Scoring: Add up your dice total. Example: 5 + 2 + 4 = 11 points.
"40-" card
Scoring conditions: You must select 6 dice. All values are allowed.
Scoring: Subtract your dice total from 40. Example: 40 - (2 + 3 + 6 + 4 + 1 + 3) = 21 points.
"5/die" card (same value)
Scoring conditions: Select at least 1 die. Each die you select must have the same value. You can use up to 6 dice.
Scoring: Each die scores 5 points. Example: 1, 1, 1 = 3 dice x 5 points = 15 points.
Optional card combinations
If you prefer, during setup you may choose one of the card combinations below.
Beginner Mode B: Reroll card, Straight card, Lowest-3 card, "1-5" card, Two-pairs card.
Intermediate Mode C: "5/die" (different values, up to 5 dice) card, "40-" card, Straight card, "6" card, "1/3/5" card.
Increased Interactions D: "6" card, "x2" card, Lowest-3 card, "5/die" (same value) card, "4/die" (different values) card.
Example of 3 turns on Christina's go
Turn 1
Christina rolls the following: 6, 6, 5, 2, 1, 1.
She uses this card (A) to score 24 points with her 2 dice 6 and then freezes the card.
Turn 2
Christina rolls the following: 5, 5, 4, 4, 2, 1.
She can no longer use her card which doubles a pair's value, but still has 4 Active cards.
She could score 21 points with this card (B), but decides to reroll 2 dice to try for a higher score.
She freezes her (C) card and rerolls the 1 and 2 dice: she then gets a 6 and a 3.
She doesn't think the 6 die is of any use, so she decides to freeze this card (D) as well and rerolls only her 6: she then gets a 4.
She decides to score 25 points with this card (B) by using all of her dice 5 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3.
Finally, she freezes the card she scored.
Turn 3
Christina rolls the following: 6, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1.
She only has one Active card left.
She decides to score 10 points by creating a straight with the following dice: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 and freezes the card.
All of Christina's cards are now frozen. She must now reset them on her next turn using the "Skip your turn" action.
Credits
The author would like to thank their testers: Shannon Appelcline, David Boyd, Dan Fernandez, Jos Harbinger, Carmen Ho, Dan O'Neill, Clara NgQuinn, Sam Owen, Christina Robinson, Colin Schneider, Chris Specker, Jon Spinner, and MacKenzie Stuart.
English Translation: Naomi Long and Eleanor Chapman for The Geeky Pen
© 2024 Blue Orange Edition. Dicy Cards and Blue Orange are trademarks of Blue Orange Edition, France. Game published and distributed under license by Blue Orange, 97 impasse Jean Lamour, 54700 Pont-à-Mousson, France. www.blueorangegames.eu