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- BGG #2,708
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- 7.1
Point Galaxy
- 1–5 players
- 15–30 min
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- 2025
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- BGG #5,674
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Dollars to Donuts
2021
Rules assistance for Dollars to Donuts
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 30–45 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.8/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Dollars to Donuts
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Dollars to Donuts is a board game released in 2021 for 1–4 players, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Shawn Stankewich, Robert Melvin, and Molly Johnson and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Tile Placement, and Square Grid.
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About the game
Donuts must be made whole! That's the spirit driving your actions in Dollars to Donuts, a delectable tile-layer where you can play off your mat! Match half donuts for cash and full donuts to score. Fry up a tasty win today! To set up the game, place four 1x1 starting tiles on the 6x6 game board that represents your donut shop and take five "dollar" tiles from the bag; on their backside, dollar tiles have either a half donut (plain, chocolate, sprinkle) or a set of donut holes (again in the three flavors). The starting tiles depict half donuts in these three flavors On a turn, you can purchase a 1x4 donut tile that depicts half donuts along its edges from the six available tiles for a cost of $0-5. You then add this tile to your shop — with some of the tile hanging off the edge of the board if you wish — ideally lining up the half donuts on that tile with those already on your board. If you make a matching donut, i.e., putting two sprinkle halves together, then you take a sprinkle scoring token; if you make a non-matching donut, i.e. a plain half combined with a chocolate half, then you draw a dollar tile from the supply bag. Note, however, that jelly donuts give no dollar tile if paired with a non-jelly donut because who in the world would reward something like that? To end your turn, you can place a dollar tile on your shop board to complete a donut (and score) or fill a space with donut holes (which might also score). Additionally, you can serve a customer in line by offering them scoring tokens that match their desired donuts, which will earn you more points than the tokens on their own. When one player has filled every space in their shop or the donut tiles run out, the game ends, with you scoring for satisfied customers, neighborhoods served, donuts still on hand, and donut hole pairs in the shop, while losing points for empty spaces in your shop. The player with the highest score clearly has the most popular shop in town!
Categories
Mechanics
Publishers
- MTS Games
- Crafty Games
Questions and answers
Dollars to Donuts supports 1–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Dollars to Donuts is 30–45 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 Dollars to Donuts for ages 8 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.
Dollars to Donuts has a complexity rating of 1.8 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.
Dollars to Donuts belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy and Puzzle. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Tile Placement, and Square Grid. 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 Dollars to Donuts are: Shawn Stankewich, Robert Melvin, and Molly Johnson. 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 Dollars to Donuts 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.