Los Banditos
Los Banditos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 24 dice (6 each in 4 colors)
- 10 booty tiles (4 worth 1 victory point, 3 worth 2, 3 worth 3)
- 1 game overview card
- 1 cloth bag
Setup
The players sit facing each other. The 10 booty tiles are shuffled face down. Then 4 tiles are laid out face up in a row between the players. The remaining tiles form a face-down stack. All the dice go into the bag.
Goal of the Game
Both players try to gather as much booty as possible. The player who achieves the higher combination of three dice (see below) at a booty tile may take that booty. The first player to collect booty with a total value of 10 or more points wins the game.
Sequence of Play
Players take turns alternately. On your turn, draw two dice blindly from the bag and roll them (at the very start of the game, the first player draws and rolls only one die). You must now place the results of your dice, on your own side, against one or two pieces of booty.
Note: At most 3 dice may lie on each side of a piece of booty.
Claiming and Giving Up Booty
During their turn, a player may claim or give up a piece of booty from the row, either before or after rolling:
Claiming: To claim a piece of booty, the player must already have three dice on their own side of that booty. In addition, it must be impossible for the opponent to achieve a better combination (see ranking below) with 3 dice at this booty, no matter which dice they use. Only then does the player win the booty.
Giving up: A player may give up a piece of booty regardless of how many dice are assigned to that tile. The opponent then wins that booty.
If both sides of a piece of booty have three dice, the player with the better combination wins the tile.
The winning player places the tile face up in front of them. All dice assigned to that tile return to the bag. The row is then replenished back to 4 tiles with a new tile turned face up. Once all tiles have been used up, play continues with fewer tiles in the row.
Dice Combinations
Below are the combinations that can be formed from three dice. The ranking runs from a color three-of-a-kind (the best result) down to singles (the worst result):
- Color three-of-a-kind: Three dice of one color with the same value
- Color straight: Three dice of one color with consecutive values
- Three-of-a-kind: Three dice of any color with the same value
- Straight: Three dice of any color with consecutive values
- Color pair: Two dice of one color with the same value, plus any third die
- Pair: Two dice of any color with the same value, plus any third die
- Singles: Any other combination of three dice
For straights, the dice do not need to be laid out in ascending or descending order. If both players have a combination of the same type, the combination with the higher values wins. Three 6s of one color are therefore higher than three 5s of one color. Likewise, a straight of 6, 5, 4 is higher than a straight of 5, 4, 3. For "pairs," the values of the pairs are compared first, then the third die. For "singles," the highest dice are compared first, and if necessary the second-highest or third-highest dice as well. If a tie still cannot be broken this way, the tile is won by the player who reached that combination first.
Example
Player 1 rolls a 1 and a 6. Since he wants to keep the chance of an all-one-color three-of-a-kind of 6s for the three-point booty, and does not want to spoil his developing three-of-a-kind of 5s, he places the 1 at the booty tile worth 2 and then gives up his side of that tile. Player 2 therefore gets the booty. Player 1 then places the 6 at the newly revealed booty tile.
He could also have given up that tile first, but then would have had the problem of where else he could have placed the 1.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when a player has won booty with a total value of 10 or more points.