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Shark Attacks!
- 2–6 players
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Rolling Bones
2011
Rules assistance for Rolling Bones
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–99 players
- 30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.0/5
Rules assistant for Rolling Bones
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Rolling Bones is a board game released in 2011 for 2–99 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Henning Poehl and its main mechanics are Push Your Luck, Dice Rolling, and Re-rolling and Locking.
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About the game
In Rolling Bones players use 18 special dice – six showing parts from the left side of the body, six showing parts from the right, and six showing parts from the middle (skull, ribcage, spine, pelvis) plus a hat and a gravestone – to build a skeleton, adding to it roll by roll, in order to score points. The better the skeleton buried, the more you score! The first roll of a player's turn is the "pre-op" roll, with the player launching all 18 dice onto the table. The player then builds as complete a skeleton as he can with no gaps. For each subsequent "post-op" roll – if a player chooses to roll or is forced to roll – the player must first set aside a number of dice equal to the number of rolls already made: one die for the first post-op roll, two more dice for the second post-op roll, and so on. The player must add at least one die to the skeleton after each roll. If a player can't place a bone correctly, he must add an incorrect bone in the wrong location, e.g., a foot on the end of the spine. Whenever a player has a gravestone showing, the player can choose to end his turn, scoring for his skeleton. Each complete section (arm, leg or thorax) is worth five points, with each incomplete section worth one point per die in it. Each incorrectly placed die costs the player five points. If a player's skeleton wears a hat (which naturally goes only on top of the skull), double the score for that round. If a player has no gravestone and cannot pay for another reroll, he ends his turn scoring nothing. The first player to reach 100 points (or some other agreed upon total) wins Rolling Bones.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- SimplyFun
- Sphinx Spieleverlag
Questions and answers
Rolling Bones supports 2–99 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 Rolling Bones is 30 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 Rolling Bones 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.
Rolling Bones has a complexity rating of 1.0 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.
Rolling Bones belongs to these categories: Dice. Its main mechanics are Push Your Luck, Dice Rolling, and Re-rolling and Locking. 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 Rolling Bones are: Henning Poehl. 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 Rolling Bones 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.