Zoinx! A Quick Dice Rolling Game Overview

School is back in session which gives us less time for the things we love to do, playing board games. The hardest part is getting the kids up from bed to start school on time. As we’ve mentioned before, we homeschool the kids with Lauren as their teacher. Our structure includes schooling in the morning and getting their work done afterwards. Luckily, it’s been so hot that the kids haven’t wanted to go outside as much or we would be fighting with them on that as well. 

Em started volleyball and we are teaching her the added responsibilities that come along with being a student athlete. Despite these new schedules, we still want time to enjoy games. There are games designed for various different circumstances that includes theme, player count, and time. We are focusing on short games due to the adjustment in our schedules. Luckily we were sent a quick short game by Gamewright called Zoinx! 

Zoinx! Is a dice rolling push your luck game that has worked great for both Ev (almost 6) and Em (8).  Each player takes a colored betting die. Place all other dice in the middle of the table to be used by each player on their turn. One player is the score keeper and will have the score pad for tracking. The player with the name closest to the letter “Z” begins the game.

The first step is for all players to make their own bet with their colored die. Each player tries to predict how many circles will accumulate on the current turn. As the active player, you can never bet zero, but all other non-active players can. Your bet then can be 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10. When all players have changed their bet die to the number they want, all players reveal this to everyone else.

The active player then rolls all four Zoinx dice. If a roll shows no circles, then the active player Zoinxs out, and their turn ends immediately. Otherwise, count the circles rolled and say the number out loud for all to hear. If your count is fewer than your bet, you will continue to roll the four dice again. Track the number of circles rolled and add them to make a running total.

If your total is at least as many as the number you bet, you have two options. You can end your turn and score, or you can continue rolling to try to gain more circles. Continuing carries risk but you can potentially gain a greater reward. If you continue and are successful, you score the number of circles plus the number of your bet. Or again, you can take the first option, play it safe and gain the points that match your bet. 

There are only two circles on each die, so you can try and figure out the probability of successful or not. Also, remember other players place bets on your roll as well. If a player chooses a 0, and the active player Zoinxs, then that player will score 5 points. And any players who bet a number that the active player reaches will score their bet. 

Once a player scores 30 points, there will be one last round for each player. The winner is the player with the highest score at the end of the last round. 

The game is quick, easy to get to the table, and keeps player engaged when all players are rolling the dice. Being the active player, you have a higher chance to score more points than when its another player’s turn. It’s also fun to place bets to see what other players do on their turn. The kids have beat us more in this game than a lot of other games we play. So they either have the best luck ever with their rolls, or might know a thing or two about who can roll the dice well and who can’t. Gamewright offers a lot of quality games, available online or at your local brick and mortar store.

Which short games do you incorporate into your busy schedule?