Knaster

About this board game

Knaster is a simultaneous dice-and-grid game for 1–99 players that takes about 15 minutes to play. Each player uses a score sheet featuring a 5×5 grid, with numbers from 5 to 10 placed outside its rows, columns, and diagonals.

On every turn, two dice are rolled and their sum is announced for everyone. Each player either writes that number in an empty grid space or circles the same number if it appeared on an earlier turn. This creates a shared decision between filling the grid and building opportunities to circle more numbers.

Your goal is to circle as many grid numbers as possible while creating scoring combinations in the five-number lines of your grid. These combinations include:

• Three-, four-, or five-of-a-kind
• Two pairs
• A full house
• A straight

Whenever you fill a row, column, or diagonal with one of these combinations, you immediately circle 1–3 numbers in that same line. Once every number in a line is circled, you can also circle the adjacent number outside the grid, adding a larger value to your eventual score.

The game ends after someone fills the 25th grid space and everyone takes one final turn. Your score combines the values of the circled numbers outside your grid with one point for every circled number inside it. With everyone acting on each dice roll, Knaster offers a compact contest of number placement, pattern-making, and timing.