Components
- 100 maps of the United States
- 7 dice - red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, wild
- 1 dice bag
Object of the Game
Fill in your map with numbers rolled on the dice. The challenge is that neighboring states can't have numbers that differ by more than 1. Whoever fills the most states with numbers wins.
Setup
Give each player a map.
Put all of the dice in the bag.
Game Play
Whoever most recently visited another state starts the game and play continues to the left. On your turn, draw 2 dice from the bag (without looking) and roll them. Then announce the colors and numbers on the dice so that everyone hears.
All players simultaneously resolve both dice, in any order, as follows:
Non-wild Dice
Choose one empty state in the region of the map that matches the die color and write down the die number in that state.
Wild Die
Choose one empty state in any region and write down the die number in that state.
Neighboring State Rule
All states that border the state you are currently filling must either be blank, have an X, be guarded (see to the right), or have a number difference of no greater than 1 from the die result.
For example if you rolled a green 2, mark a 2 in a green state where all of the neighboring states are either blank, have an X, guarded, or a 1, 2 or a 3 in them.
Notes:
- The color of any neighboring state is irrelevant.
- Alaska and Hawaii are immune from the neighboring state rule.
You MUST write a number in an available blank state if it doesn't break the Neighboring State rule.
If you cannot write a number without breaking the rule, then you must mark an X in any blank state in the region that matches the die color.
If the matching region is completely filled, you do nothing. (This also applies if the die is wild).
Color Change
Three times during the game you may treat the die you are resolving as a wild. For example, an orange 6 could be a purple 6.
When you do a color change, you must cross off one of the Color Change boxes on your map.
Guard
Three times during the game you may guard a number that you write in a space. This means that you can ignore the "Neighboring State" rule for that number.
Circle the number to indicate that it's guarded, and then cross off one of the Guard boxes on your map.
Dupe
Three times during the game you may write down an active die number twice in the matching color region. (A wild can be marked in two different regions).
For example, if you roll a blue 3, you can mark a 3 in two states in the blue region. (Note that the Neighboring State rules still applies). When you do this, you must cross off one of the Dupe boxes on your map.
Notes:
- You may apply a Color Change, Guard, and/or Dupe on the same die.
- You may only use Color Change, Guard and/or Dupe on the active dice
Continuing a Round
When all players have resolved both dice, co un6 the n u mber of dice that are currently out of the bag. If there are fewer than 6, pass the dice bag to the next player who draws 2 more at random and rolls them, and so on.
Ending a Round
A round ends after 6 dice are out of the bag. When this happens, put them all back into the bag. All players cross off the next empty "round" box at the top of their map. Start a new round, which plays out just like the previous.
End of the Game
The game ends after 8 rounds. At this point, everyone marks an X in any remaining blank states on their maps. Then all players pass their maps to the player on their left, who checks to see if all of the rules have been followed. (Mark one X for every mistake).
Count up the Xs and write down the total in the "number of Xs" box.
The player with the fewest number of Xs wins the game.
In case of a tie, whoever used fewer combined color changes, guards, and dupes wins.
Solo Play
If you play by yourself, simply aim for as a high score as you can.
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