Fifty
Fifty Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Player Grid block
- 7 Score Tracks
- 7 transparent Marbles
- 7 Pencils
- 10 Forbidden Tokens (numbered 0 to 9)
- 5 Danger Cards (for the variant on page 11)
Setup
- Each player takes: 1 Player Grid; 1 Score Track; 1 marble; 1 pencil.
- Each player places their transparent marble on space 0 of their Score Track.
- Place the 10 Forbidden Tokens face down in the centre of the table.
Game Flow
A game of Fifty is played over 4 rounds. Each round is divided into 3 phases:
- REVEAL!
- CHOOSE!
- COUNT!
1. REVEAL!
Depending on the number of players, turn face up, at random, a certain number of Forbidden Tokens:
| Number of players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokens to turn face up | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
The digits revealed in this way are forbidden to all players for this round (see CHOOSE!).
2. CHOOSE!
During this phase, write 5 numbers secretly on your Grid, on the line for the current round. You must respect the following 3 rules:
- The numbers must be between 1 and 49 inclusive.
- They must be ordered from smallest to largest.
- They cannot end in one of the forbidden digits (revealed in the previous phase). For example, if the digit 2 is among the revealed Forbidden Tokens, players cannot write 2, 12, 22, 32 or 42.
Example: in a 5-player game, 2 tokens must be turned face up. Here, the revealed digits are 2 and 8, so no player can write a number ending in 2 or 8. Sabin chooses to write, in ascending order: 4, 15, 26, 37 and 44. Good luck, Sabin!
3. COUNT!
Designate 1 player who immediately starts counting aloud from 1.
For the moment, no player advances their marble on their Score Track.
As soon as one of the numbers written by a player is called, that player must raise their hand and say I HAVE IT! ("J'AI !") to interrupt the count.
Two cases are then possible:
- Only one player raises their hand: that player takes over and continues the count from that number. For each new number they announce, they advance their transparent marble 1 space on their Score Track. They also advance their marble for the number by which they were interrupted.
- Several players raise their hand: they each cross out the corresponding number on their own Grid, but the same player continues the count, and no player advances their marble on their Score Track.
Each time the count resumes, it can again be interrupted by the other players if one of their numbers is called.
Example of the start of a game:
- "1, 2, 3, 4..." One of the players starts counting without scoring any points.
- "I HAVE IT!" Sabin has the number 4. He interrupts the count and takes over.
- "5, 6, 7..." He continues counting. For each new number he calls, he advances his marble 1 point on his Score Track.
- Théo and Yann have both chosen the number 7, so each crosses out the corresponding box on their own Grid.
- "8, 9..." Sabin continues counting, but no longer scores points...
- "I HAVE IT!" Joëlle has the number 9. She in turn interrupts the count and takes over.
- "10, 11, 12..." She continues counting. For each new number she calls, she advances her marble 1 point on her Score Track.
Winning a Crown
Once your marble reaches the value shown in the table below, colour in one of the crowns on your Grid. If you manage to colour in your 2nd crown during a later round, you win the game immediately!
| Number of players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points needed for a crown | 19 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
The value needed to obtain a crown is shown for each number of players on your Score Track.
Example: with 5 players, you must reach 12 points to obtain a crown.
When the number 50 is called, the round ends. Then go to the End of the Round step.
End of the Round
1. CALCULATE YOUR SCORE
Add the value reached by your marble to the bonus points in the top right corner of each of your crossed-out boxes. Note the round score in the Score box at the end of the corresponding line on your Grid.
Example: Sabin had to cross out 2 of his numbers. He therefore obtains 2 and 1 victory points, which he adds to the 14 points of his Score Track. He thus totals 17 points, which he records in the Score box of the current round's line.
2. PREPARE THE NEXT ROUND
Turn face down the Forbidden Token or tokens revealed in this round, then shuffle them. Then return your marble to space 0 of your Score Track.
A new round is ready to begin: return to the REVEAL! phase.
After the 4th round, skip this step and go directly to the End of the Game.
End of the Game
The game can end in 2 ways:
After 4 Rounds
Add up the scores of your 4 rounds. The player with the most victory points wins the game. If several players are tied at the top, the player or players who obtained 1 crown win the game. If none of the players involved has a crown, they share the victory.
Immediate Victory
If a player colours in their 2nd crown, they win the game immediately!
Tips and Details
- Try to choose at least 1 number in each ten. This will increase your chances of making a long chain.
- Choosing your numbers is crucial: who will write 1 to score quickly? Should I then put the 2 to take back the turn? Should I choose a number just before the forbidden digit?
- Your marble may have to go past the 20 points shown on your Score Track. In that case, return it to 0 and continue from there, considering that you have 20 more points than what your marble indicates.
Playing with 8 or More Players
To play with more than 7 players, use several boxes of Fifty and follow these 4 rules:
- Play without Forbidden Tokens.
- The number up to which you must count increases by 5 for each player beyond 7 players: 8 players count to 55, 9 players to 60, 10 players to 65, 11 players to 70, and so on.
- During the CHOOSE! phase, write numbers between 1 and the number just before the new maximum value. Example: for a 10-player game, you may choose numbers between 1 and 64, since you will count up to 65.
- Beyond 7 players, the value to reach on your Score Track to obtain a crown is always 9.
Printable Score Tracks can be downloaded from iello.fr. All you then need is to give each participant 1 Player Grid and something to act as a transparent marble! Organise the largest game of Fifty in the world! Contact us to certify your record!
Variant: Danger Cards
This variant uses the 5 Danger Cards, shown in the rulebook as the ranges 01-09, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39 and 40-49.
- During setup, shuffle the Danger Cards and form a face-down draw pile.
- During each REVEAL! phase, turn over 1 Danger Card. Your numbers and those of your opponents that lie between the 2 numbers indicated (inclusive) are then in the Danger range.
- During the COUNT! phase, if at least 2 players raise their hand for the same number lying in the Danger range, they also cross out the bonus points (located in the top right corner of the corresponding box). They will not obtain these bonus points at the end of the round.