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Rough Justice

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ROUGH JUSTICE HELP TOPICS:

Can I mix the number in the columns?

I have a question about the rules

I would like some advice about strategy and tactics

I have lost my copy of the rules

Stalemate

Quick Help

  I have a question about the rules

Answers to frequently raised questions:

* Any dice that have not been put on the board at the end of the game are disregarded (i.e. there is no score for those dice).

* You cannot both roll a die and then put it on the board in one turn (people often seem to assume this is allowed).

* Once a die has been placed on the board, it cannot be moved.

* If a player rolls a single die on their turn then the opponent may roll the same die immediately afterwards.

I would like some advice about strategy and tactics

Here are the tips that players have found most helpful:

* Try to think several moves ahead

* Keep track of the number of dice of each value both on the board and off.

* Don't be too afraid of the odds, the game often changes on the throw of a single die so when things are looking bad, it's often worth attempting something that seems statistically unlikely.

* As a general rule you are much more likely to win if you play aggressively (as opposed to playing defensively).

I have lost my copy of the rules

Here are the full rules for Rough Justice:

Outline:

During the game columns of dice are built up on the board. All points are scored at the end of the game and you will only score points for columns that have one of your dice on top. The trick is to make sure that as many columns as possible have one of your dice on top when the game finishes.

How to play:

Rough Justice is best played with two players but you can also make up two teams. One side has the white dice, the other black. Decide who will start by rolling a single die each. Then ALL the dice are rolled and left on the table in full view, they must not be touched except when it is someone's turn.

When it is your turn to play, you can choose a single die of either color from the table (never from the board) and do one of the following three things:
1) Place it on an empty square on the board. The color and value of the die must both match the color and value of the square on the board.
2) Place a die on top of another die which is already on the board to form a column up to four dice high (no higher). You can only do this if the top face of your die matches the top face of the die that you are building onto (the color does not matter) or
3) Roll a single die.

Having done one of these three things your turn is over. Turns alternate between sides.

The game ends when one side has put all of their dice on the board. That side gets a ten point bonus. Then it's time to add up the scores on the board:

Each column which has one of your dice on top counts towards your score. For each column, take the value shown on the column's top face and multiply by the number of dice in the column. (So for example, if you have a column of sixes that is three dice high, you multiply the six by three, making a score of eighteen for that column). Add together the score for all your columns to get your final score. The side with the higher score wins.

Stalemate

This question was sent in by a player, the answer follows below:

"We bought the Rough Justice board game for Christmas and it has been easy to pick up and play, it changes all the time so it holds your interest and I love the problem solving that is required to play. One query. What happens when you get in a stalemate situation? Can you throw a die that has just been thrown by your opponent? This happened a little as we were playing. I know statistically the die will eventually change but it is possible that the same die could be rolled several times in a row by both players, a little boring but necessary to win sometimes, is that ok? Had you thought about the likelihood of that happening?". 

Reply: "I'm pleased to hear you have been enjoying Rough Justice. This particular issue arose before release the board game but there did not seem to be any way round it without seriously undermining other aspects of the game. So yes, you can roll a die that has just been rolled and yes, you do occasionally get frantic rolling and re-rolling phases of play. Many people have found that the more they play the game, the more able they are to foresee the situation and manipulate it to their advantage - so it's not altogether a bad thing!".

Can I mix the numbers in the columns?

This is an email we received from a player about this topic. Our answer follows underneath.

Question: According to the rules, when you play a die on top of another, the number on your die must match the number on the die your playing onto....so, just to clarify things, as the game proceeds, each column of dice will all have the same number showing....a column showing a 3 will all have 3's; likewise, the spaces on the board for each die will only have that particular number showing: the 6's space will all have dice showing the 6 on top....

Have I understood the rules correctly? In other words, no column will have mixed numbers in it......

Answer: Your understanding is absolutely correct!