OBJECTIVE OF KRIG: Be the last player remaining with hit points
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 players
MATERIALS NEEDED: Each player will need their own D20, D10, D6, D8 and D4 dice
TYPE OF GAME: Dice game
AUDIENCE: Kids, Adults
INTRODUCTION OF KRIG
Krig is a dice combat game for two players developed by Alejandro Diaz. He describes it as a minimalist game, and he is absolutely spot on. The small amount of space required, the simple set of dice needed for the game, and the short amount of time needed to play the game makes Krig a perfect choice for many occasions. Have a little time to kill at the pub or restaurant? Bust out Krig. Waiting for others to finish their game of Magic the Gatherin? Crush a game of Krig. Heck, this might even make for a great minigame to include in your D&D campaign.
MATERIALS
To play Krig, each player will need an assortment of dice. They will need their own D20, D10, D6, D8, and D4. For those who do not know, the D simply stands for die, and the number is how many sides the die has.
The D20 will act as the player’s hit points (health), the D10 represents Agility, D6 represents Attack power, D8 is Defense, and the D4 represents Parry.
THE PLAY
In this game, players will take turns perrforming a single action. As the game progresses, players will receive attack damage and lose hit points. The player that loses all of their hit points first loses the game.
SETUP
Each player will place their dice as displayed in the above image. A printable two player playmat is included at the end of this article. As pictured above, the dice are to be placed in their starting positions.
The D20 represents the player’s health, and it should start with the 20 side showing. The rest of the dice should just simply be placed on their starting position. The face showing does not matter.
DETERMINE WHO GOES FIRST
Each player should roll their D10 Agility die. The player with the highest roll gets to go first. Return the agility dice to their starting positions.
PLAY
On a player’s turn, they are able to complete one of the following actions: attack, defend, or charge. When attacked, a player is able to attempt a parry, and the success of that parry will determine the next player’s turn.
To attack, the player rolls both their D6 and D10 together. The result of the D6 roll is subtracted from their opponent’s health unless the opponent is capable of defending. If the result of the D10 Agility roll is a 1, the attack missed. If the D10 result was a 10, the attack made a critical hit and cannot be blocked or defended against. Critical hit damage goes straight to the HP counter. If the defending player has a defense die in place, it does not absorb any damage from a critical hit. It should be noted, that the 0 on the D10 actually represents the value of 10.
On a player’s turn, they might choose to Defend. To do so, the player rolls their D8 and places the die next to their D20 with the result showing face up. When they are attacked, the damage will first be subtracted from their defense die unless their opponent makes a critical hit. A critical hit cannot be absorbed by the D8. The D8 remains in the defense position until it reaches zero. At that point, the D8 is returned to its starting position.
A player may also choose to Charge. When a player charges, they simply pick up the D10 Agility die and place it on the Charge location. This ends their turn. On their next turn, they will be able to attack with both their D6 Attack and D8 Defense. The combination of the two equals their total attack power for that turn. The player also rolls their D10 Agility die to determine if the attack misses or is a critical hit. If a player charges, they must attack on their next turn. A charge allows the player to use their D8 Defense die regardless of whether it was activated or not. If a player chooses to charge, any defense points they had are lost. A player cannot parry while charging.
After being attacked but before the damage is taken, the player being attacked can choose to parry. To parry, the player being attacked rolls their D4 Parry die. If their roll is equal to or more than the attacker’s D6 roll, the parry is successful. The attack fails, and the defending player gets to take their turn. If the parry fails, the attack hits and the defending player loses their turn. The attacker gets to go again. A charge attack or a critical hit cannot be parried.
Play like this continues with each player choosing an action to perform until only one player remains with hit points.
WINNING
The last player remaining with hit points is the winner.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021