
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,730
- BGG rating
- 6.1
Pirates of the Spanish Main
- 2–10 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2004

1999
Rules assistance for Button Men
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Button Men is a board game released in 1999 for 2 players, 5 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by James Ernest and its main mechanics are Push Your Luck and Dice Rolling.
This game gained a quick following after one of the major gaming conventions of 1999. It features several characters, represented on actual stickpin buttons, that each have a unique allowance of polyhedral dice. These dice endow each character with fairly unique combat abilities. Players roll the dice against each other and take their opponents' dice as casualties. The object of the game is take out the most die 'sides' during the combat. It's quite simple, quite inventive, and deeper than it would seem at first.
Button Men supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Button Men is 5 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Button Men for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Button Men has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Button Men belongs to these categories: Fighting, Print & Play, and Dice. Its main mechanics are Push Your Luck and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Button Men are: James Ernest. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Button Men as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.