Extra!

About this board game

Extra! is a simultaneous dice game for 1–6 players that plays in about 10 minutes. Each player works from the same roll of five dice, dividing them into two pairs and one lone die.

The lone die is recorded on a reject tally chart, where the player checks one box beneath its value. The two pairs are scored by marking boxes beside their dice sums, ranging from 2 to 12. Everyone makes these decisions at the same time, turning each shared roll into a personal challenge.

Players can have at most three values on their reject chart. When a player checks the final box in one of these columns, that player is out of the game. Play continues until all players have been eliminated, after which everyone totals their score.

• Play simultaneously from the same five-dice roll.
• Divide each roll into two pairs and one rejected die.
• Track rejected values and dice sums on separate charts.
• Balance the risk of starting rows against the need to reach their scoring thresholds.

Scoring rewards progress while punishing incomplete attempts. Each sum row that begins without meeting its required threshold costs 200 points, while rows marked beyond the threshold score positive points. Less common sums are worth more, creating an important tension between pursuing valuable results and avoiding costly unfinished rows.

Originally seen in Sid Sackson’s A Gamut of Games under the title Solitaire Dice, Extra! is part of Schmidt Spiele’s series of compact dice games. Each title is packaged in a plastic container that also serves as a miniature dice tower.