Knucklebones

History

Knucklebones is a simple skill-based dice game established from the video game Cult of the Lamb. It has developed a loyal following from the players, many of which have continued to enjoy it with friends long after completing the video game.

https://cult-of-the-lamb.fandom.com/wiki/Knucklebones

Video Tutorial

Instructions

Objective:

The objective of knucklebones is to fill the 3 rows of your grid first, collecting double and triples along the way to maximize your score. During your turn, you must strategically decide between collecting points or preventing your opponent from collecting points.

Materials:

• 18 dice (9 per player)
• (Optional) Remaining dice to use as betting chips.
• (Optional) Two 3x3 grids, drawn on paper, printed, or created otherwise

Setup:

Each player will establish their 3x3 grid side by side so that they can place 1 dice per square. The each grid is seperated into three rows, which reflect the oponents row.

Playing the Game:

• Taking turns rolling a single di, the player will slide their rolled di to one of the 3 rows of their respective grid ensureing the number they rolled is face up.
• Once three dice are laid in a row, a player must choose to lay in another row
• If a player rolls a number and places it in a row which also has that number, one of two things happens:
  1. If the number is on the players side, they will recieve a multiplier for those numbers at the conclusion of the game
  2. If the number(s) is on the oponent's side, they will remove all of those numbers on the oponents side, who will then have to re roll those dice.

• Upon the first player to successfully roll all dice, the game ends.

Scoring:

The score of the game is determined by counting up all the numbers on the face up dice per side. Any row that contains two of the same numbered dice are considered doubles, those similar dice are counted twice. Similarly, any row that contains three of the same number are considered triples and are each counted three times.

The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins!

Variations:

• Players can play an open handed variation where they roll all dice at once and choose to play them one at a time. Any attacked dice will be stored until all initial dice are played, then players will re roll all attacked dice and play, continuing the process. This variation lends towards long term calculation.
• Players can play where doubles and triples can be accumulated both vertically and diagonally. This offers increased complexity, and can lead to more dynamic wins.
• Gold Cup Games Betting Variation: Players can choose to equally distribute some or all 36 Gold Cup Dice, when a dice is successfully attacked, it is awarded to the attacker. Multiple games are played where the winner is determined by who has the most valuable dice in the end.
• If you would like to add a variation to these rules, leave an Amazon review with the variation in the review for it will be added to this section.