Thrift Treasure: Rolit
One game I think we’ve all played at one point in our lives is Othello. That frustrating 2-player strategy game that has you surrounding your opponents pieces, turning them into your color. This week’s Thrift Treasure is a variation on that game, uniquely converting it into a multi-player battle of color domination. Meet Rolit by Goliath Games.
This is actually the second time we’ve found this game at a thrift store. The first time we were disappointed to see that many of the pieces were missing, so we had to pass. This time not only are all 64 colored balls included, there was an extra! Not bad for only $1.88!
If you’ve played Othello, you already know the rules of Rolit. But rather than completely eliminating your opponents color, you have to last until all holes are filled and then the person with the most balls of their color wins. You capture the other colors by placing your ball in a position where your color is now on both ends of a line. Rolling the ball in the container turns it to your color.
You must make a play where you capture another color. If you cannot, you can play adjacent to any other color. This opens up some opportunities that you might not get in Othello – you could in theory capture a coveted corner by not taking any other balls at all! And just as in Othello, the corners and edges are the most powerful spots to hold.
Even if your color is completely eliminated from the board, you still get to play to the end. This makes the game more fun for younger kids who might get discouraged if they were defeated very early. They now have a chance for revenge!
The flexibility of Rolit means you don’t have to buy Othello, as when you have two players it plays exactly like the original. But the addition of a third or fourth player keeps everyone in the family involved and no needing to call “I’ve got next”!
Rolit was originally issued in 1997 but can still be found on Amazon and eBay. If you look at Goliath’s website, you’ll probably recognize a few titles already in your collection. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter to see what they’re working on next!
It looks like a fun game. I wonder why it didn’t go over? But then, there are a few other games that I got over the years that were never a big hit, yet we still like them.
I like playing these kinds of games, if somebody shows me how first. I am such a visual learner and absolutely abhor reading the instructions to learn how to play a visual game. Somehow, though, everyone in my family waits for me to read the instructions a!nd figure it out!
My kids and I are always looking for new games to play. This looks like a perfect family game. Thanks for the heads up.
This looks like a unique and interesting game. I would love to play it with my boys.
It looks like a mini cupcake tin. LOL I love thrifting for treasure, its one of our hobbies. I’ll have to see if I can find this on eBay.
This sounds like it would probably be fun to play with others. As a single-guess that leaves me out! Of course I could try and convince some friends to play with me.
Sounds like this was a great bargain! Thrift stores can be such fun. Shared your post on twitter, too.
Interesting!!
I love all your thrift store finds. I will have to check out my local thrift store for some game treasures.
Sounds like an interesting one! You are inspiring me to check out some games at our thrift store. I have always skipped them though because I have been worried that they would have some missing pieces.
I am just discovering your blog, and I will be back for your thrift treasures! This is awesome. I love seeing what I kind find in thrift stores.
I just love your Thrift Treasure posts, such neat finds! I’ve never seen this game, but it looks fun!
What a great bargain! I think this is one of those games I’d get sucked into!
That sounds like a fun game. Maybe almost like sorry meets trouble meets parcheesi?
What a fun game! Would love this for Game Night 🙂
This looks like so much fun! I thought it was a muffin tin at first lol!
Looks like a fun game. I think I do remember playing something like that when I was much much younger.
Looks like fun. I don’t remember ever playing a game like this, but I, sure my kids would love it!
You find the most interesting games to review! 😉 I’ve never heard of this one. It’s funny, because the base of it looks like a large mini-muffin tin! 🙂