Reiner Knizia describes this game in his classic book, Dice Games Properly Explained. The game’s core mechanic is used in Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers as an example of a “negative feedback loop.” Negative feedback loops are mechanics that dampen a leading player’s momentum or aid the players who trail.
- Two or more player
- One six-sided die
- 6 cards (numbered 1 through 6) for each player
Object of the game:
- Be the first player to turn over all six cards.
- Each player arranges the six cards in front of them in numerical order with the numbers face up.
- Players take turns rolling the die.
- After rolling the die, the player takes one of the following actions:
- If the player’s card whose number corresponds to the roll is face up, then it is turned over.
- If the card is already face down, then the player on the left turns her or his card of that value face down.
- If the player to the left’s card is already face down, the player to the right turns her or his card face down.
- If both the player on the left and the right already have their cards face down, the current player must turn his card face up.
- Play continues until one player has turned over all six cards and wins the game.