Odds'R
Odds'R Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Object of the Game
In Odds'R the object is to win the most money, of course! How? By betting astutely on your own—and everyone else's—answers to Odds'R's quirky Q-Card Q&A. But, don't panic—they're multiple choice. So, even if you're clueless, you've still got a one-in-three chance of getting the answer right. And, with a winning lottery number called on every play, having a little luck—and a Lottery Ticket—doesn't hurt either. There are also lots of great ActionSpots to land on as you all race around the board, heading for the InnerCircle and that last big Lottery win that could put you out on top.
Good Luck!
Q-Card Categories: Art & Pop Culture; Common Sense; Crime & Punishment; Fad or Fashion; Health & Happiness; Life or Death; Love & Marriage; Oddities; Pets, Plants & Wildlife; Politics & World Events; Risky Business; Sex & Sinners; Sports: Feats & Defeats; Success or Failure; Weather or Not.
The Basics
Show Me the Money — Select one Player to be the "House." The House gives each player $1,000 in chips: six $25s, three $50s, two $100s and one $500.
The House maintains the LotteryPool by starting it off with $500 and putting another $500 in after every win.
It's also the House job to collect all proceeds from LotteryTicket purchases, lost bets and penalties and place them in the LotteryPool.
Let's Get Started — Place your GamePiece on the color-matched StartSpot. Your chips go on your CashStash.
Take a Chance — Before play begins everyone may purchase one LotteryTicket for $25; during game play you may purchase one additional LotteryTicket each time you enter a new BoardLevel—for a total of three tickets each. Tickets must be purchased as soon as you enter the new Level, before a question is read. Lottery wins are possible for all Players on every play.
You Gotta Start SOMEWHERE!
On A Roll — Players roll the numbered dice to see who goes first. The highest number begins. When it's your turn, you—as the ActivePlayer—roll the dice and move your GamePiece clockwise, before a Q-Card is drawn.
You've Got to Pay to Play — Before hearing the question all Players must ante-up at the BoardLevel minimum ($25, $50 or $100). The minimum is determined by the BoardLevel of the active player. Anyone unable to ante-up is out of the game.
Good Reading — The person to the left of the ActivePlayer always becomes the Reader. The Reader takes a Q-Card from the front of the box and announces the winning Lottery Number. Next, the Reader reads both the category and question, and then—before the Active Player gives an answer—the Reader shows the answer to the Opponents.
Hint to Reader: For faster play, don't pass the Q-Card! It will slow up play. Opponents need only see the actual answer. As the Reader it's your job to read the answer and the wrap-up aloud so that everyone hears it at the same time.
Place Your Bets — All players place their wagers to Win or Lose in their BettingBox. Opponents bet first, followed by the Active Player. Once all bets are on the board the Reader announces the correct Answer and its Wrap-up.
Cleaning House — After the Reader has finished presenting the correct Q-Card Answer, the House proceeds to collect all loses for the Lottery Pool and pays the winners. The reader then returns the Q-card to the back of the box.
Illustration note: the sample Q-Card, Lottery Number and Wrap-Up diagrams printed on this page are illustrations and are not transcribed here.
The Board
Pass-Thru-Zones — Players enter the next BoardLevel only through these color-matched spaces. But be careful! If you roll a "GO Back" on an Odds'R multiplier Spot, you could end up back-tracking to a lower level—but never beyond your StartSpot.
Odds'R Spots — The spaces on the Board that show the odds—2 to 1 (12), 3 to 1 (16) and 5 to 1 (12)—for the payout on the Active Player's bet, only. If you're in a Pass-Thru-Zone, or on an ActionSpot your odds will be even—1 to 1.
Movement — Your space count is continuous from one level to the next, following the colored arrows. When you go backwards (after a bad roll of the GoAhead/GoBack die), spaces are counted in the same way, and you must descend to the lower level through your own Zone.
The InnerCircle — This is the entire area of the center of the Board, including the LotteryPool and Odds'R logo. The first person to enter the InnerCircle ends the game, winning whatever is in the Lottery Pool and $100 from all Opponents for each Dinger and DunceCap still on their GamePieces at game's end.
BoardLevels — The three BoardLevels, or rings, have values of $25 (outer), $50 (middle) and $100 (top) and dictate the minimum wagers to be placed as well as the cost of Lottery Tickets. The Active Player's Board position determines the governing level.
CashStash — Players keep their chips here on the appropriate chip denomination spots.
The Betting Box — The three circles just below each Player's StartSpot are for chip placement for the three types of wagers:
- Ante Up! — The BoardLevel minimum is placed here by all Players before a question is read.
- Bet To Win — Opponents may place their bets on the Active Player to Win by correctly answering the question; as the Active Player, you must bet on yourself to Win.
- Bet To Lose — Opponents may place their bets on the Active Player to Lose by missing the question. As the Active Player, you may not bet against yourself to Lose.
Wagering
All Players Ante Up! Opponents Wager First — After seeing the answer, Opponents—starting with the Reader and proceeding clockwise—must bet on the ActivePlayer to either Win by answering correctly or Lose by answering incorrectly. Like the ante, all bets must be in multiples of the BoardLevel minimum currently in play ($25, $50, $100). These bets are in addition to the ante. Opponents who don't place a bet in addition to their ante lose the ante to the LotteryPool.
Opponents' bets are with the House, not with the ActivePlayer, and are always at even odds (1 to 1). There is no maximum limit on Opponents' bets.
The ActivePlayer Wagers Last — After seeing your Opponents' bets, you as the ActivePlayer, must place a bet on yourself to Win and then answer the question. Your bet cannot be more than four times the BoardLevel minimum. Your payout odds on any question are determined by the space you're on (2 to 1, 3 to 1, or 5 to 1). If you're on an ActionSpot or Pass-Thru-Zone your odds are even (1 to 1).
Tanking — As the ActivePlayer, you're allowed to deliberately miss an answer as a strategic ploy to make your Opponents lose their bet. But, of course, if you tank, you'll also lose your own wager, get a Dinger, and forfeit any ActionSpot play.
Paying Out — After you've answered the question, the Reader confirms the correct answer or Dings a wrong one and then reads the correct answer and the Wrap-up. The House collects lost bets for the LotteryPool and then pays out on winning bets.
Two examples of House payout calculations:
- Even odds (1 to 1): Player's Ante: $25. Player's Bet: $25. House pays: $50.
- 5 to 1 odds: Player's Ante: $25. Player's Bet: $25. House pays: $250.
Missed Qs
If you miss a Q-Card question, the Reader gets to "Ding" you by making a rude noise and placing a DingerRing on your GamePiece. You also lose your wager (ante and bet) and forfeit any ActionSpot play.
If you already have four Dingers, and then miss a fifth question, you're Dunced. The Reader places a DunceCap on top of your GamePiece. You must put $500 in the LotteryPool; and you lose your next turn.
But once you've satisfied the penalty, you're considered rehabilitated! You can turn in your DingerRings and DunceCap, and—if you have any money left—you're back in the game in the same board position as before your humiliation.
The printed illustrations on this page show a Clean Game Piece, One Missed Q, Dinger 2, Halfway, Last Chance and Dunced! stages.
The Lottery
The House "primes" the Lottery Pool with $500 at the start of the game and again after each Lottery win. All chips collected by the House for Lottery Ticket purchases and lost wagers go into the Pool.
One Lottery Ticket per Player may be purchased for $25 at the start of the game, before a question is read.
Players may purchase one additional ticket as they enter each higher BoardLevel at the value of that level—$50 or $100—up to a maximum of three tickets per Player.
Winning Lottery numbers appear on each Q-Card and are called out by the Reader at the beginning of each Player's turn, before a question is read. To collect your winnings, you must immediately state your claim and turn over the winning ticket to the House.
Any Player with a winning number may claim the LotteryPool; the winner need not be the ActivePlayer. In the case of two or more Lottery winners, Players divide the proceeds equally.
If a Player receives a ticket with a duplicate number to one he/she already holds, it may be exchanged for one that's different; but this exchange must be made at the time of purchase.
The first Player to enter the InnerCircle collects the final Lottery Jackpot and ends the game.
Action Spots
There are five kinds of ActionSpots on the Board: GrabBag, CowChip Flip, 2xMultiplier Spot, De-Dinger Spot and Snakebite! When you land on any of the ActionSpots (except Snakebite) you must first correctly answer the Q-Card question before taking the action. If, after taking the required action, you have the opportunity (as a result of the ActionSpot) to roll again, and you again land on another ActionSpot, you may take the second action without having to answer another question, and that ends your turn. If you missed your question, you forfeit the action, and play moves to the left.
GrabBag — Grab some good luck—or not! There are good and bad picks hiding in the GrabBag. So reach in carefully, grab a token, and follow the directions. Then return your selection to the bag.
CowChipFlip — The House flips it and you make the call: heads or tails. If you call it right, the House pays you the amount shown on the Board. There's no penalty for a missed call.
2xMultiplier — Here's a great way to zip through the BoardLevels. Using the pair of numbered dice and the "GoAhead/GoBack" die, roll and multiply the number of your roll times two. If the GoAhead side is up, move forward on the Board that number of spaces. If the GoBack side is up, back you go—but never beyond your StartingSpot. If you move up to the next BoardLevel, don't forget that you may purchase a LotteryTicket.
SnakeBite — Ouch! You're snake bitten for sure when you land on this spot. Unlike the other ActionSpots, there's no Q&A or betting when you're on SnakeBite. But you do have a choice: pay each of your Opponents $250—or roll the dice and move back double the number of spaces. You must state your choice before you roll.
De-Dinger — A humdinger of a spot to land on! Divest yourself of those telltale signs of missed opportunities by turning in all your Dingers—and get paid $100 for each one!
Moving On
For Shorter Play — Players may set a time limit or eliminate the outer BoardLevel.
The End Game — Play proceeds clockwise. Players advance to the next higher BoardLevel through their own Pass-Thru-Zones, until one Player reaches the InnerCircle and collects the final Lottery Jackpot, ending the game. The first one out also collects a Dinger penalty from each Opponent—$100 for each Dinger and DunceCap remaining on Opponents' GamePieces. But remember, it's the Player with the most money who WINS—regardless of that Player's position on the Board. So, you'd better add up your chips before you start bragging.
FAQs
- What happens if you land on a second ActionSpot during a single turn? You play the action without having to answer another question.
- Do I get a Q-Card if I land on SnakeBite? No, that's part of the bite!
- What if the House runs out of chips? Ain't gonna happen. The House is unbreakable. And, just like any self-respecting government, it has limitless resources. So, if there's ever a shortage of chips, the House will write an IOU(s) for the amount of chips it needs and call them in from Players, or the lottery pool to keep the action going.
- Is there a limit on the amount we can bet? Not for the Opponents—unless everyone agrees on a betting cap before the game. ActivePlayers may wager only up to a maximum of four times their Ante.
- Can the ActivePlayer "tank"—deliberately miss a question? Yes, but you'll pay the penalty of being Dingered.
- Does a Player have to roll the exact number to move into the InnerCircle? No. Any number that puts a player past the entry point ends the game.
- Is the LotteryPool separate from the InnerCircle? No—they're considered part of the same space.
- Why do you have to place another bet in addition to your ante? The ante is the cost of being in on each round of the game. You then wager an additional amount on the ActivePlayer to win or lose. The "final bet" is the combined total of the ante and the win/lose bet.
- What do you do if a Player questions the correctness of an answer? What the Q-Card says, goes, and so must the game. Move on. But, if you have questions about the information on a card, or suggestions or comments about Odds'R, we welcome your input. Visit our website at .
Everything's in the Box
- 1 Gameboard
- 4 GamePieces, each with 4 DingerRings and 1 Dunce Cap
- 360 Q-Cards
- 200 Chips: 50 $25s, 25 $50s, 25 $100s, and 75 $500
- 90 LotteryTickets
- 1 GrabBag with 15 Tokens
- 1 CowChip
- 2 Numbered Dice
- 1 GoAhead/GoBack Die