Cosmic Wimpout

About this board game

Cosmic Wimpout is a push-your-luck dice game for 2–7 players that plays in about 20 minutes. First released in 1975, it invites players to roll five Cosmic Wimpout cubes and decide how far to press their luck.

Each roll can score points for every 5, 10, or Flash—a triplet. Players accumulate points during their turn, but every decision carries a risk: if a roll produces no score, all points collected during that turn are lost and play passes to the next player.

After certain results, a player may choose to end the turn and score the points earned so far. Alternatively, they can continue rolling in pursuit of a larger total. That central decision gives Cosmic Wimpout its memorable character: sometimes you are in the cosmos, and sometimes you wimp out.

• Five dice-based scoring with 5s, 10s, and Flashes
• Push-your-luck turns with points at risk
• Flexible winning totals for shorter or longer games
• Compact format that can fit into a small dice tube

The first player to reach an agreed-upon score wins. Short games commonly use a target of 300–600 points with scores recorded on paper, while game boards more typically use targets of 1,000–1,500 points. Some fabric boards also vary the game length and require a personalized or improvised pawn.

With roots in the Grateful Dead universe and a history shaped by college students and Deadhead fans, Cosmic Wimpout became a cult-game phenomenon spread largely by word of mouth. Numerous variants and house rules exist, and players may change the rules by unanimous agreement—even during the game.