Buck The Trend

Buck The Trend
Release Date: 
Sunday, April 25, 2021
AttachmentSize
PDF icon buck-the-trend-play-board.pdf967.49 KB
Setup Time: 
Play Duration (new players): 
Play Duration (experienced): 
Minimum number of players: 
Maximum number of players: 
Minimum Age: 
13

by Jonathan Leistiko

Object

End the game with the most points. Do this by accurately predicting whether the active player will roll over or under (or spot-on) what the previous player rolled. If you vote against the majority and predict correctly, you get more points.

You Need

Set up

Put the play sheet where everyone can see and read it.

Let each player pick a pawn. Put your pawn at zero in the “spot-on” column.

Pick a player to go first. Give them one of the dice.

Roll one die. Put it on the circled star. This is the target die.

Play

At the start of each turn, starting with the player with the most points and progressing downward, move your pawn to the “under,” “spot on,” or “over” column (keeping it on the same score, of course). With tied scores, start with the current player and proceed clockwise.

When all players have made their prediction, the player with the die rolls it. Compare the new roll to the target die. 

  • If you predicted “spot on” and the roll matches the target die, gain points equal to the number of sides on the target die, plus one. Adjust your score accordingly.
  • If you predicted “over” and the roll is over, or if you predicted “under” and the roll is under, you – and everyone else who made the same prediction – split points equal to the number of players, rounded down. Adjust your score accordingly. For example, if there are five players and you and two others correctly predicted “over,” you and the two other players will each get one point.
  • If your guess is wrong, you get nothing. There is also no penalty, though.

When everyone has adjusted their score, replace the target die with the die that was just rolled. It’s the new target die now. Give the newly-released die to the player to the left of the most recent roller.

Start a new turn.

Ending the Game and Winning

If a turn ends with at least one player with more than 20 points and only one player has the highest score, that player wins the game.

Origin and Credits

2021-04-20 @ 184