Knuckle
Original · a push-your-luck dice duel for two
Five faces pay and one burns the whole pot — first tally to forty takes the fire.
Ready to play now.
A demonstration of Knuckle, played by the computer against itself.
Knuckle — playing itself
Ways to play
Alone, against the computer
Your own pace, no arranging anything. Take a move back whenever you like.
Play alone4 opponents, weakest first
- The LambRolls once and banks whatever fell — one throw a turn, and the ace still takes 351 of its pots in four hundred fires. The Shepherd takes it 388–12: never rolling is nearly never winning.
- The ShepherdRolls to a pot of eight, then banks — 2.2 throws a turn and a tally of 29.6 against the Drover. It takes the Lamb 388–12 and falls to the Drover 108–292: eight pips is patience the race cannot afford.
- The DroverBanks at twelve and chases — a tally behind rolls to eighteen, a tally ahead rolls shorter. 292–108 over the Shepherd, 2.9 throws a turn, 844 aces survived, a tally of 31.5 a fire: the highest on the ladder, and still not the best.
- The BonesThe whole fire solved — every tally-tally-pot state carried to a fixpoint over the six faces, the exact policy read from the table. 246–154 over the Drover and 363–37 over the Lamb; it tallies least (27.8), throws most (4.3 a turn, 1039 aces taken) and wins most. The perfect read is the bravest one.
Together, in the same room
2 players. One device goes round the table, or everybody plays off the same screen.
Play in the same roomOnline, at a table
A room code, joinable from anywhere. Pause tonight and pick it up next week from your device.
Play online
About
A push-your-luck dice duel for two — the oldest one there is. On your turn ROLL the knucklebone: every pip adds to the pot, and you may keep rolling as long as you dare. An ACE — the single pip — spills the whole pot into the fire and ends your turn with nothing banked. Say BANK and the pot moves to your tally, safe, and the bone passes — and an empty pot has nothing to bank, so the only verb over nothing is the roll. First tally to forty wins outright; the turns alternate, so nobody crosses together — there is no tie, ever, said plainly.
How it feels
- A pot of twenty staring down the ace
- Banking nine and watching the rival burn twenty
- The chase: behind by ten, rolling on
What the design is for
The ace takes the whole pot
One die, one law: the single pip spills everything — a pot of twenty burns as fast as a pot of two. Every extra roll prices your nerve against five faces that pay and one that ends you.
The shelf’s first dice pot
The catalogue has dice placed, dice bluffed and dice summed — but nowhere a pot you grow yourself and must choose to save. The bone is rolled from the match seed, so every fire replays true.
No tie, ever
First tally to forty wins on the spot: the turns alternate, so only one shepherd ever crosses. The race has no second place and no shared fire, and the rules say so out loud.
The chase is a strategy
A tally behind rolls farther — when safe banking loses the race anyway, only a big pot wins it. Reading when the race demands nerve is most of the game.
Taught throw by throw
Six steps: the roll, the bank, the ace’s price, the chase, the crossing — and then a whole fire to yourself.
- Best at
- 2
- Kind
- Strategy
- Table
- Competitive
- Studio
- Board.game Originals
The opponents
The Lamb
Rolls once and banks whatever fell — one throw a turn, and the ace still takes 351 of its pots in four hundred fires. The Shepherd takes it 388–12: never rolling is nearly never winning.
The Shepherd
Rolls to a pot of eight, then banks — 2.2 throws a turn and a tally of 29.6 against the Drover. It takes the Lamb 388–12 and falls to the Drover 108–292: eight pips is patience the race cannot afford.
The Drover
Banks at twelve and chases — a tally behind rolls to eighteen, a tally ahead rolls shorter. 292–108 over the Shepherd, 2.9 throws a turn, 844 aces survived, a tally of 31.5 a fire: the highest on the ladder, and still not the best.
The Bones
The whole fire solved — every tally-tally-pot state carried to a fixpoint over the six faces, the exact policy read from the table. 246–154 over the Drover and 363–37 over the Lamb; it tallies least (27.8), throws most (4.3 a turn, 1039 aces taken) and wins most. The perfect read is the bravest one.
Achievements
0 of 5 earned
The Fire
Win a fire of Knuckle.
Aced and Ahead
Win after the ace took three or more of your pots.
The Long Carry
Cross forty on a single pot of twenty or more.
From Behind the Fire
Win after trailing by fifteen or more.
A Cold Fire
Win while the rival banks under twenty.
Key art
Key art — Board.game art system
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