OBJECTIVE: Plant the most seeds and have the most points to win the game
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 or 3 players
MATERIALS: Garden cards, dry erase marker, dry erase score card, dandelion tokens, dice
TYPE OF GAME: Dice game
AUDIENCE: Ages 7+
OVERVIEW OF DANDELIONS
Dandelions is a dice placement strategy game for two or three players. Begin the game by rolling all of your dice. Each turn, choose one die to move your token that many spaces. Place your chosen die on the garden card you landed on. The goal of the game is to get as many dice on high scoring garden cards as possible.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
The game board is made up of five garden cards which are numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8. These numbers represent the point value of the card. There are three different color tokens and dice: yellow, orange, and green. Players will receive one token and eleven dice of the same color. Score is kept on a dry erase board with an included dry erase marker.
SETUP
Put the five garden cards in a circle in ascending order. The resulting shape will look like a flower. Give each player a token and the dice that match their token’s color. Whoever goes first places their token on the start space on card one. This space has an image of two dice on it. Player order is determined by the clockwise seating arrangement. Everyone gathers their dice and rolls them simultaneously. Arrange the dice for everyone to see.
THE PLAY OF DANDELIONS
The starting player goes first. Play proceeds clockwise, and each player will take eleven turns in total.
Begin your turn by choosing one of the dice you rolled. Move your token clockwise around the flower board that many spaces. For example, rolling a six means you move your token six spaces. If your final space for the movement is occupied by another player, move the same number of spaces again. Once you land on your final space, plant the die you chose on that garden card. Gust away any opponent’s dice that match the value of the die you planted by moving them all to one adjacent garden card. Land your token on the starting space and puff – pick up all of your unused dice and roll them again.
After placing one die, your turn ends. Once each player has placed their eleven dice, the game ends.
KEEPING SCORE
There are two different scoring categories: sprout score and seed score. Determine the sprout score by counting how many dice you have on the garden card, and multiplying that number by the card’s point value. If you have three dice on the number 3 garden card, you earn 9 sprout points for that card. Each player does this. The seed score is found by determining who has the most dice on each garden card. That player adds up the pips on their dice, and they tack that point value onto their score. For a tie, the player with the lowest pip total earns the points. Still tied? The points are shared.
WINNING
After determining the score for each player, whoever has the most points wins the game. If there is a tie, all tied players win.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021