ROLL for Your Life, Candyman!
ROLL for Your Life, Candyman! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 4 sets of colored dice (4 dice per set)
- 4 Gingerbread Men. Each set includes a Head, a Body, 2 Arms and 2 Legs of a matching color.
- 1 Candy Crown for the winner
- 12 Special Treat tokens
- 4 Candy Corn Daggers and Word Bubbles (as fun but meaningless accessories)
- 1 plastic Candy Cane
Object
Frantically roll the dice and remove Cookie Parts from your opponents (Foes) in order to score the most points, while trying to protect yourself so you are not eliminated from the round. The best score after three rounds wins!
Set Up
Give each player a set of four dice of the same color. Then give players a Gingerbread Man whose buttons and hair match the color of their dice. Each player will also need space to form their own score pile of Cookie Parts.
Place the plastic Candy Cane in the center of the table, within easy "grabbing range" of all players.
Place the Special Treat tokens face down and mix them up. Select a number of them at random, equal to the number of players plus 1, and place them near the Candy Cane. (So, with 4 players, select 5 Special Treats). These remain face down and hidden. Place the remainder back in the box without looking at them.
Playing the Game
When the owner of the game (or host) says, "GO!," all players begin rolling their dice simultaneously - as fast as they can.
As a player rolls, they may set aside any dice they need and quickly reroll the others - in an attempt to be the first player to roll 4 matching icons on their dice. When this is achieved, that player grabs the Candy Cane from the center of the table and shouts, "STOP!". Upon this command, players must stop rolling their dice.
The player in control of the Candy Cane becomes the Attacker, and performs one of the following actions, according to the dice they rolled:
- 4 Arms were rolled: remove an Arm from any Foe's cookie and place it into the Attacker's score pile.
- 4 Legs were rolled: remove a Leg from any Foe's cookie and place it into the Attacker's score pile.
- 4 Peppermint Swirls were rolled (choose one):
- a. Take a Special Treat from the center of the table, and place it on your cookie as protection.
- b. Remove a Special Treat protecting a Foe, and follow its instructions (see Special Treats on pages 6 & 8). Then the Special Treat token is placed into the Attacker's score pile.
- c. Remove a Head or Body from any Foe's cookie, so long as they have NO Limbs remaining (ie Arms or Legs) and place it into the Attacker's score pile. If Foes have at least one Limb remaining, their Head and Body are not able to be claimed.
Note: When a cookie is protected by a Special Treat, the Special Treat MUST be removed before the cookie can have parts removed through dice play.
SWEET!!: If a player rolls 4 of a kind (4 matching icons of any type) on their first throw, they may treat the icons as WILD. After grabbing the Candy Cane, they may take any of the dice actions above. It is customary to shout, "SWEET!" when you grab the Candy Cane.
FOUL!: If the player who grabbed the Candy Cane is unable to perform the action they rolled, they must sacrifice a Cookie Part. This part is placed back in the box and will not count during scoring. For example, a player rolled 4 Legs - when no unprotected Legs are available or rolled 4 Peppermint Swirls when there are no Special Treats to claim from the center of the table or from a Foe, nor any Heads or Bodies available.
Once the Attacker has acted, the Candy Cane is placed back at the center of the table. All players must now recollect all 4 of their dice and get ready to start rolling. Players who may have previously rolled 4 matching icons, but did not grab the Candy Cane in time, have missed out on the opportunity and must pick up their dice to roll over again.
When all players are ready, the owner says, "Go!" and players begin rolling their dice again.
If a player loses all their Cookie Parts, they have been "Crumbed" and are out of the round. (Don't worry, it won't be for long)
Continue until only one player remains.
Scoring the Round
Each player scores 1 point for each Cookie Part in their Score Pile (also referred to as Trophies).
Special Treat tokens in a player's score pile are worth 1 or 2 points, as shown on the token.
The surviving player of the round also scores 1 point for each Cookie Part remaining on their cookie.
Record the scores on a piece of scrap paper.
Players then recollect their Cookie Parts and reassemble their cookie. Special Treats are shuffled with those not used in the previous round and a new set is randomly selected for the coming round.
Winning the Game
At the end of three rounds, the player with the highest score is declared the new Candy King and recieves the Candy Crown!
Ties: If one or more players have a tied final score, conduct a final showdown. All tied players roll for Peppermint Swirls and the first to grab the Candy Cane emerges victorious.
Short Game
Play just one round, with the last player standing declared the winner. Points don't matter in the short game.
Create your own house rules! Like "Feast of Words," where each player uses their Word Bubble. If a player rolls a SWEET!, they may force a Foe to 'eat their words' placing the Word Bubble into their score pile as Minus 3 Points!
Special Treats
Claiming a Special Treat
When a player earns a Special Treat during the game, it is placed face down on their cookie, as shown. This shows all players that the player's cookie is protected.
A player may only have a single Special Treat protecting their cookie at any given time, however, once it has been removed, another Special Treat can be earned.
A Special Treat protects the cookie from losing Cookie Parts unless directed by another Special Treat.
Removing and Activating Special Treats
An opponent may remove a Special Treat protecting a cookie by rolling 4 Peppermint Swirls. When removed, the Special Treat is flipped over and activates, with an additional bonus effect for its owner (not the attacker).
In all cases, once a Special Treat is activated it is placed into the Attacker's score pile, for the points listed in the small green circle on the right (1 or 2 points).
See the back page for detailed descriptions of all the Special Treat effects.
Keywords
- Foe: an opponent / an opponent's gingerbread man.
- Cookie Part: any of the six parts of a gingerbread man- Head, Body, Arms, Legs.
- Limb: specifically the Arms and Legs of a cookie.
- Trophy: a Cookie Part placed into a score pile.
- Steal: claim an earned item (Special Treat, Trophy) from a Foe.
- Take: remove a Cookie Part from a Foe's gingerbread man.
- Owner: the player protected by the Special Treat when it activates.
- Crumbed: losing all your gingerbread man's Cookie Parts. Being eliminated.
Special Treat Effects
- M Dudd: No additional effect. There are two of this type.
- More Sprinkles: The owner draws at random a new Special Treat from those placed back into the box this round and places it on their cookie as a new protection.
- Jaw Breaker: The owner may take a Head from any Foe and place it in their score pile. A cookie protected by a Special Treat can be targeted with this effect. If there are none available, ignore the effect.
- Licorice Whip: The owner may steal a Special Treat from any Foe who is currently using it for protection. If none are available, ignore the effect. The stolen Treat is not revealed, but simply placed on top of the thieving cookie as a new protection. Note: "Stealing" is not considered "Removing" and therefore will not cause the stolen Treat to immediately activate.
- Bon Bombs: The owner may take a Limb (Arm or Leg) from any Foe and place it in their score pile. A cookie protected by a Special Treat can be targeted with this effect. If there are none available, ignore the effect.
- Clubba Bubba: The owner may steal any one Cookie Part from a Foe's score pile and add it to their own. If there are none available, ignore the effect.
- Frosting: The owner may attach any Cookie Part in their own score pile onto their cookie. The player loses this as a point for scoring. It is possible to add a Cookie Part in excess of your normal allotment, for example, two heads or three arms is okay. If there are none available, ignore the effect.
- King of Cage: The owner may take one Limb (Arm or Leg) from EACH Foe and place it in their score pile. A cookie protected by a Special Treat can be targeted with this effect. If a Foe has no limbs, ignore that cookie.
- The owner may take one or both Legs from their Attacker and place them in their score pile. A cookie protected by a Special Treat can be targeted with this effect. If there are none available, ignore the effect.