Muzundrum: Basic Play

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MUZUNDRUM DEFINED

MUZUNDRUM VIDEOS

THE RULES:

GETTING STARTED
BASIC PLAY
BUILDING SCALES
BUILDING TRIADS
MISC. RULES
SCORING


	Muzundrum game in play. Click for details and larger view.

Basic Play

Play moves around the table clockwise, beginning with Player 1. The effect of this is that Player 1 rolls twice at the game's start... once for the “opening roll” as described in Getting Started and once again for their actual turn.

Each player’s turn involves rolling a single die, which they try to add to the game, either as part of a triad or part of a scale. If they're successful, they score and their turn ends. The number of dice that directly engage with the die they added determines the number of points they get (see Scoring).

If a player cannot see a way to add their roll to the game, they say “pass” and slide their die – leaving the same face up – to the next player. The next player then has a chance to play that die (in case the player who passed missed a possibility). If they are indeed able to play the die passed to them, they do so and score. They then draw another die and roll again. In essence, playing a passed die gives a player an extra turn. If they cannot play the die passed to them, they simply re-roll and take their turn as usual.

Extra Turns

Each player’s turn generally involves just one roll. There are two exceptions to this. If a player adds a die which completes a triad – that is, they add to its' third note – they get an extra turn: they draw and roll again. If they complete a scale – that is, they add to it its seventh note – they also get to draw and roll again.

In the rare event that a single played die completes both a triad and a scale, it still only earns one extra turn. Extra turns, however, can generate additional extra turns, if they result in additional completed triads and/or scales. In other words, completing a triad and/or scale always earns a single extra turn – and that can happen multiple times.

In a nutshell

Each player’s turn begins in one of two ways: they have a die passed to them, which they may play or re-roll, or the player before them has scored and they must draw and roll a new die. In either case, they try to add their die to the game. If they can, they score; if they can't, they pass their die to the next player. When a player completes a triad and / or scale, they get an extra turn. This continues until all the dice are played, at which time the game ends, the points are tallied, and the winner is decided.

Proceed to "Building Scales"