OBJECTIVE: The first player to stack a 2×2 cube wins the game
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3 – 5 players
MATERIALS: 35 gelatinous dice, 5 player aid coasters, one custom dice bag
TYPE OF GAME: Dice party game
AUDIENCE: Ages 10+
OVERVIEW OF GELATINOUS
Gelatinous is a dice party game from Steve Jackson Games. Players are racing to wrangle slimy cubes, so they can capture and build a 2×2 gelatinous cube of their own. During each round, all players will roll their dice if they have any. Dice might be kept, passed, or stacked. The first person to complete their 2×2 cube wins. If you have played other dice games like Left Center Right or Aces away, you will be able to hop right into a game of Gelatinous with no problem.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
This box comes packed with thirty-five sparkly six-sided dice. Five slime-themed coasters can be used for holding drinks, but they also act as a player aid. Finally, there is a custom dice bag that has the rules for the game printed on it. The bag is also used for storage.
SETUP FOR GELATINOUS
Each player begins the game with seven dice. All of the unused dice are put back in the custom bag. Give players a coaster for reference (or to hold their cold beverage). That’s it! You are ready to play.
THE PLAY
Gelatinous gameplay takes place over a number of rounds. During each round, all of the players roll the unstacked dice they have in their possession. If they do not have any unstacked dice, they sit the round out.
After rolling, any 1’s are passed to the left for that player to use. 6’s are passed to the right in the same way. 3’s are kept and stacked to build a 2×2 cube. Any other numbers rolled are simply kept by the player for the next round.
For the first round, each player will begin with seven dice. During proceeding rounds, it is possible for a player to have zero dice in front of them. If this occurs, that player simply sits the round out and waits for dice to be passed to them. Do not roll dice that have been stacked. Once they have been stacked, the dice are stuck there.
Continue playing rounds until one or more players has completed their cube.
WINNING GELATINOUS
The first player to complete their 2×2 cube wins the game. If two or more players complete their cube simultaneously, whoever has fewer unstacked cubes in their possession wins. A game ends with no winner if no one has finished their cube and there are no dice left to roll.
TWO PLAYER VARIANT
Each player begins with eight dice to roll and a stack already started with one die. Pass all 1’s to your opponent. Players have two choices after rolling a 6. They may keep the die to roll again on the next round, or they may pass it to their opponent AND remove a die from their opponent’s stack. The opponent gets to keep the removed die for the next round. A player’s starting cube can never be removed from the stack. Whoever completes their 2×2 stack first wins.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021