The Gig

About this board game

The Gig is a real-time jazz game for 1–4 players that plays in about 30 minutes. Across six rounds, or “songs,” players improvise their way through a performance, competing for the spotlight while trying to please the audience.

Each song begins with a countdown. Players roll and place their dice at the same time, seeking useful symbols and building patterns on their personal space. When one player places all four dice, they call “Take it to the bridge!” Everyone else must stop re-rolling and place the rest of their dice.

After the dice are placed, each player may add the shape they created to their instrument’s unique solo board. Every solo board presents a different challenge and scoring approach, giving players a distinct way to develop their performance over the course of the game.

• Roll and place dice in real time.
• Create patterns and add shapes to a unique solo board.
• Use symbols to change dice, save them for endgame scoring, or buy audience cards.
• Compete for points from solos, audience cards, harmonies, symbol sets, and majorities.

Symbols gained during a song and through solo boards can be spent in several ways. They may help you quickly change your dice, be kept for final scoring, or purchase audience cards, each representing a newly gained fan and offering another way to score points at the end.

Once the six-song set list is complete, the player with the most points from their solo, audience cards, harmonies, symbol sets, and majorities wins. The Gig also includes a solo mode by Dávid Turczi, offering a way to take on its improvisational challenge alone.