Dead Man's Dice

Dead Man's Dice (game)

Dead Man's Dice game cover. Dead Man's Dice game.
Designer(s)	Martin H. Samuel
Illustrator(s)	Martin H. Samuel David Penfound
Publisher(s)	Games Above Board Channel Craft
Players	2 - 6
Age range	7 and up
Setup time	1 minute
Playing time	20 minutes
Skill(s) required	Tactics, strategy, concentration

Dead Man's Dice 2-player game.

Dead Man's Dice bandana.

Dead Man's Dice is a two to six-player game, played with dice, using luck, strategy and points accumulation.
It is a dice game of piracy that comes with a hearty warning for, as pirates roll the bones and face their fate, plunder and pile up their doubloons, greed may cause them to become marooned.

Pirates take turns rolling dice to build point-scoring piles o' treasure with matching like numbers, numbers in succession or sums of 7.
Pillaging is not recommended however, plundering the opponent's dice is not only permitted but strongly advised but beware the Jolly Roger … double your points and seal victory or get caught holding Dead Man's Dice and be keelhauled to subtract 7 points.
Sending your opponent to Davy Jones' Locker by firing a broadside is one way to sink your opponent but it will cost you in doubloons.

The game was designed by Martin H. Samuel and originally produced for two to six players by Games Above Board.

Channel Craft, Inc. of Charleroi, Pennsylvania, USA, published a 2-player version of the game in 2006.

Giseh Verlag launched the game in Germany at Essen Spiel.

The skull and pistols graphic was designed by and licensed from David Penfound of Andover, England.

Components

• 6 Jolly Roger and 12 regular dice
• Score pad
• Pencil
• Instructions

Objective

The goal of the game is, to pile up the points with all your dice before the opponent(s), while plundering other pirates, and score points which count as doubloons.

Gameplay

The Dead Man's Dice game is played on a flat surface.
Players (the game is played as pirates) choose 1 same-color Jolly Roger and 2 regular dice each.

To begin, pirates roll any one of their dice and, leaving the dice in place, the pirate with the lowest number rolls another die. If two or more pirates roll the same lowest number, all pirates roll again.
Then, taking turns, play rotates clockwise round by round, with pirates rolling their remaining dice one at a time.

A pirate may place their rolled die on top of their own die if:

1. it matches,
2. it is in ascending numerical sequence – or,
3. it totals 7 with the die currently on top.

PLUNDER: pirates must roll a die before they plunder and may then take an opponent’s top die - placing it on their pile if it meets either Rule 2. or 3. Pirates may plunder any number of possible dice on a turn.

JOLLY ROGER: a pirate may mutiny and roll this special die on any of their turns. If their special die is rolled first and the Jolly Roger comes up, it is the 1 spot. This die only has special value, and a points value of 7, if the skull and crossbones comes up.
A rolled Jolly Roger may be placed on the pile regardless of the top number. A Jolly Roger may not be plundered.
A pirate caught red-handed holding their special die at the end of a round – Dead Man's Dice, is keelhauled and subtracts 7 points.
If a pirate ends a round with the Jolly Roger on the top, that player doubles the points value of their pile.

If a pirate does not have at least one die in their pile, due to opponents' plundering, that pirate must roll a die on their next turn – and may then plunder if possible.
A turn is over when a pirate is marooned and cannot place a die on their pile - a round is over when a pirate’s pistol is empty and has no more dice to play.
Pirates then add up the points on the tops of the dice in their pile o’ treasure.

A pirate who falls overboard (knocks their own pile over), returns any plundered dice and starts again on their next turn. A pirate who fires a broadside with their rolled die and blows an opponent’s pile to Davy Jones’ Locker (knocks it over), walks the plank and deducts 7 points. The victim returns any plundered dice and immediately starts again.

Pirates keep their own score (on the pad) throughout the game, overlooked points are forfeited and the game is over when a pirate has scored 100 doubloons and is then the winner.

References

[1] Games Above Board
[2] Channel Craft
[3] Essen Spiel 2006
[4] BoardGameGeek

External links

• Dead Man's Dice
• Games Above Board
• Rhumb Line by Channel Craft, Inc.
• Dead Man's Dice at Boardgamegeek
• Dead Man's Dice at Giseh Verlag