Cosmic Wimpout FAQ

COSMIC WIMPOUT

---------------------------

The Story

Cosmic Wimpout originated in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Two travellers came upon the game and liked it so much that they shared it with people everywhere they went. Many of these people liked it, played it, and wondered where on earth they could find it!

This is a Guide to the Cosmic Wimpout Experience. These small cubes will bring you and your friends hours of fun once you know how to use them. So pick them up and hold them while you read on.

Cosmic Wimpout is like life - the interaction of chance and strategy is contained in the play of the game. The more you play the game, the more you'll see that Cosmic Wimpout is indeed like life - sometimes you're in the Cosmos, and sometimes you Wimp Out! So have fun.

And remember...

Cosmic Wimpout is more than an Experience.....it's a Game!

OBJECTIVES

The object of the Game is to be the player with the highest total score at the end of the Game. Thus, the object of each turn is to accumulate as many points as you dare without Wimping Out.

SETTING UP

Any number of people can play. First, decide on a playing surface. (Cosmic Wimpout makes scoreboards for this purpose, but you can use any flat surface.) If you are playing with a scoreboard, each player needs a marker to designate their score. If you are just playing with the Cubes, you'll need pencil and paper, and a scorekeeper.

Next, decide who will go first. Each player rolls a "Common Cube" and the player with the highest roll starts the play. Of course, if there is a tie for highest roll, those player(s) must reroll. Once a starter is determined, play goes in a counter-clockwise direction. Each turn begins by rolling all five Cubes.

THE CUBES

Cosmic Wimpout is played with five Cubes - four Common Cubes and one Cube of another color with the wild "Flaming Sun" face on one of its sides (the 3 side). When the Cubes are cast, they score in the following ways:

 
.-------. .-------.
| .---- | | . .-. | These score 5 and 10 points respectively unless three
| `---. | | | | | | or five of them are rolled at once (see below).
| ----' | | ' `-' |
`-------' `-------'
 
Three matching faces rolled all at once scores a Flash, which is worth:
 
.-------. .-------. .-------.    .-------. .-------. .-------.
| @     | | @     | | @     |    | .---- | | .---- | | .---- |
|       | |       | |       |    | `---. | | `---. | | `---. |
|     @ | |     @ | |     @ |    | ----' | | ----' | | ----' |
`-------' `-------' `-------'    `-------' `-------' `-------'
          20 points                        50 points
 
.-------. .-------. .-------.    .-------. .-------. .-------.
|   ^   | |   ^   | |   ^   |    | *   * | | *   * | | *   * |
|       | |       | |       |    | *   * | | *   * | | *   * |
| ^   ^ | | ^   ^ | | ^   ^ |    | *   * | | *   * | | *   * |
`-------' `-------' `-------'    `-------' `-------' `-------'
          30 points                        60 points
 
.-------. .-------. .-------.    .-------. .-------. .-------.
| \   / | | \   / | | \   / |    | . .-. | | . .-. | | . .-. |
|       | |       | |       |    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| /   \ | | /   \ | | /   \ |    | ' `-' | | ' `-' | | ' `-' |
`-------' `-------' `-------'    `-------' `-------' `-------'
          40 points                       100 points
 
 
.-------.
| /.+.\ | The Flaming Sun Face is WILD!  It may be scored as 5 or 10
| +|*|+ | points, or it may be considered non-scoring and rerolled --
| \`+'/ | except in the following two situations:
`-------'

The FLAMING SUN RULE says that if the SUN is thrown in the same roll as a pair, those three Cubes must be scored as a Flash.
If the Sun is the only non-scoring Cube in a roll, it must be counted as a 5 or a 10 and set aside, to avoid Wimping Out.

 
Five matching faces rolled all at once score a Freight Train worth:
 
.-------. .-------. .-------. .-------. .-------.
| @     | | @     | | @     | | @     | | @     |
|       | |       | |       | |       | |       | = 200 points
|     @ | |     @ | |     @ | |     @ | |     @ |
`-------' `-------' `-------' `-------' `-------'
  
.-------. .-------. .-------. .-------. .-------.
| \   / | | \   / | | \   / | | \   / | | \   / |
|       | |       | |       | |       | |       | = 400 points
| /   \ | | /   \ | | /   \ | | /   \ | | /   \ |
`-------' `-------' `-------' `-------' `-------'
 
.-------. .-------. .-------. .-------. .-------.
| .---- | | .---- | | .---- | | .---- | | .---- |
| `---. | | `---. | | `---. | | `---. | | `---. | = 500 points
| ----' | | ----' | | ----' | | ----' | | ----' |
`-------' `-------' `-------' `-------' `-------'
 
.-------. .-------. .-------. .-------. .-------.
| *   * | | *   * | | *   * | | *   * | | *   * |
| *   * | | *   * | | *   * | | *   * | | *   * | = Instant Winner!
| *   * | | *   * | | *   * | | *   * | | *   * |
`-------' `-------' `-------' `-------' `-------'
 
 
                   .-------.
                   | . .-. |
                   | | | | |
A Freight Train of | ' `-' |'s is just too many points.  This is called a
                   `-------'
SUPERNOVA and if you roll this you are automatically out of the game.

Any time the Cubes are cast, and no Numbers, Flashes, or Freight Trains come up, you've Wimped Out, losing all points accumulated during that turn. (There is one exception....see Reroll Clause) The turn passes to the next player. If this happens when rolling all five Cubes, it is called a Train Wreck.

THE PLAY

You begin each turn by casting all five Cubes. Scoring Cubes must be counted and set aside. The remaining non-scoring Cubes can then be rerolled. You continue to accumulate points until either Opting to Stop and taking those points, or Wimping Out and losing all points from that turn. You have the Option to Stop and take all points after any roll except in three situations:

OPENING ROLL:
You need 35 points to get in the game. Note that once you have gotten in the game, this rule does not apply (i.e. you don't need to get 35 points each and every turn...unless you want to, of course).: YOU MAY NOT WANT TO BUT YOU MUST
If after any series of rolls you have scored with all five Cubes, you must continue your turn, rolling all five Cubes and accumulating points.: FUTTLESS RULE
After a Flash, you must continue your turn, rerolling all non-scoring Cubes. Furthermore, the REROLL CLAUSE stipulates that Flashes Must Be Cleared. That is, in order to Bring Home the points from a flash, you must continue to reroll the original non-scoring Cubes until you score without matching the Flash Face, or Wimp Out.
Anytime one of these three situations do not apply, then you have the Option to Stop and take your points. Unless, of course, you have Wimped Out.

ENDING THE GAME / LAST LICKS

Once a player's score has passed the previously agreed upon winning total (500 is recommended), then LAST LICKS begin. Each of the other players gets one last chance to try and pass the leader's score. Any player who fails to take over the lead is out of the game. Anytime a leader is passed, the old leader gets a Last Lick to try to pass the new leader. This continues until everyone has Wimped Out, leaving the player with the highest total score as the Winner.

Ed. Note: This seems to state a different method than just about everyone I know plays with. So I guess it is time for the Alternate Last Licks Interpretation section. For the record, the ones I use and everyone I know uses, are Variant B and C here. Variant A is what I THINK the above is actually saying. Other variants are totally made up for use by House Rule Proposal or whatever...

When a player passes the target score (if target score is 500, 505 is required), the following procedure occurs:

VARIANT A:
Any player now tries to beat the leader's score in one turn. The person challenging the leader may be determined any way desired, either by continuing the counter clockwise order, going by score in ascending or descending order, or alphabetically by name, or whatever you like. If the player fails, the player is removed from the game. If the player succeeds, then a one-on-one battle occurs, where the old leader tries to regain his post. These two players continue until one fails and is removed. Then the next player tries to pass whoever is the leader....and so on, until only one remains.
VARIANT B:
In continuing clockwise order, the next player up tries to beat the leader. If the player fails, the player is removed. If the player succeeds, the next person, counterclockwise, must now beat THIS new leader's score. The old leader is not immediately affected in any way.
VARIANT C:
All players try to beat the leader's score. Any who fail are removed. Any who succeed stay in. The player with the highest successful score is now the leader, and the rest of the players who are still in the game (including the old leader) must try to beat THAT score. When all players fail to beat a leader, that leader is the winner.
VARIANT D:
Same as variant B, mostly...but the old leader is removed from the game - no second chance! (This makes it VERY bad to create a Last Licks situation in a close game!)

Any other ideas on how to vary the endgame specifics?

THE GUIDING LIGHT - Rules for creating House Rules

In order for a Rules Change (adding or deleting rules, House Rules) to be valid in a game:

All players must agree - Unanimous Approval. Any player declining a new rule prevents the change.

If put into effect in the middle of a game, the new rule must go into effect the -next- time the relevant situation arises, -not- affecting the current situation if it was the cause for the new rule.

Popular House Rules... BUMP Whenever you land on the score of another player, you send them back to the score you started at on that turn. Example: You have 40, your opponent has 115. On your turn, you get 75 points. This lands you on your opponent at 115, and on arrival, you send that opponent back to 40. Potentially nasty! This can be also used in Last Licks to make your job easier (by 5 points, and a whole lot more. :) ) This also has a flip-side if used in conjunction with the 1/3/5 and related rules. (See 1/3/5 for more info). Insurance Points The Insurance Point is an interesting little thing. Whenever you roll all 5 dice, and everything works, in addition to the points, you also get an Insurance Point [hereafter called an IP]. At any time later in the game, 2 IP's may be traded in to nullify your own roll (for example, you have 280 points, 3 cubes left. You roll, and get a 3 4 3. This would be a wimpout. However, you trade 2 IP's in, and that wimpout roll is instantly erased, and you roll those 3 cubes again. You get a 5 2 3, score the 5 and take the 285 points! Sometimes you spend the IP's and you wimpout again. Oh well....Such is life... But that's not all! You can also trade in 4 IP's to nullify an opponent's roll! Truly nasty if your opponent has 380 points, one common cube to clear a flash 10, and a 5 is rolled. That would save to 385 and YMNWTBYM...but you plunk the 4 IP's down and say, "That didn't happen. Try again. :)" Rolls a 3 and wimps out HARD. NASTY! NOTES: 1) IP's cannot be redeemed on the same turn they were issued. 2) If you earn an IP in a turn, but wimp out, the points are gone, but you get to keep the IP. 3) IP's cannot be earned in conjunction with another House Rule (e.g. Cosmic Sampler). 4) IP's may not be redeemed during Last Licks. Cosmic Sampler Whenever you get a 5 or 10, and one of each of the non-scoring faces on the other 4 cubes, on the same roll, you have achieved a Cosmic Sampler (derived from the Whitman's Sampler candy assortment) which is worth 50 points, and using all 5 dice (which brings the YMNWTBYM rule in. Note that this does NOT qualify for an Insurance Point (See IP), under the NBSAOOBS Rule (No Beneficial Specials Allowed On Other Beneficial Specials)...unless of course you invoke a house rule that allows this. 1/3/5 (Inspired by the Oakland Scoreboard) This makes the 100, 300, and 500 spaces the same space, with regards to any rule involving interaction of two or more player scores. (e.g. Bump, Eclipse1&2. NOTE: With Bump, this provides a bizarre twist: You have 260, your opponent has 100. You get 40 points, and hit 300. However your opponent has 100, which is on the same space as 300. Your opponent is bumped from 100 'back' to 260. I believe a 'thank you' is definitely in order? :) ) (n)TW Train Wrecks are tallied. If any player gets (n) Train Wrecks in the game, the player is immediately ejected! Three is a very common value (Three Strikes, yer out), but playing with 1TW makes for a very tense game! Note that if all players trainwreck themselves out of the game, the remaining player must get to the agreed number of points without getting ejected too! It is possible that there is no winner, especially with 1TW. Recovery At the beginning of the game, everybody is given a small circle above their scoresheet column (or if playing on a scoreboard, have a bunch of tokens/counters handy). This signifies being subject the 35 point requirement of the Opening Roll rule. When 35+ points is scored, the circle is filled in (or the counter is turned in). However, if a player Train Wrecks, a circle is added. This circle MUST be cleared by a roll of 35+ points. Note that if a player wrecks while subject to a circle, the player now has TWO circles to clear, individually. Only when the player has no unfilled circles are they exempt from the 35 point minimum. [NEW!] Extension1: If at any time a player has 4 unfilled circles, or has received 7 wrecks altogether, (8 circles total, counting the original one starting the game) the player is considered terminally wrecked, and ejected from the game. [NEW!] Extension2: Any player with any unfilled circles when Last Licks occurs cannot participate, and is ejected. NOTE: Having (n)TW and Recovery in the same game is NOT recommended. Eclipse Variant 1: A score that is occupied by another player is OFF LIMITS to any other player. The player MUST keep going to not land on that score. Variant 2: (Recommended only with scoreboard (except Oakland) based games, highly recommended on the Berkeley Board) A score that is occupied by a player, and all scores radiating out from it are OFF LIMITS to any other player. The player MUST keep going to not land on that score. Plus, if a player eclipses you from up the beam (by stopping on a score that puts them between you and the center (e.g., you have 220 on the Boston board and someone stops on 420), you must immediately lose 5 points (result 215) in order to escape the eclipse! If the score you escape to is also eclipsed by someone else - you guessed it - go back again. Of course, if someone is now eclipsed by you in your current position, they lose 5 points as well (a custom high-endscore board could have this happen quite a bit with many players in the game...) NOTE: This rule is INCOMPATIBLE with the Bump rule!! Full House This is a VERY wicked rule. Whenever 2 pairs and a sun are rolled (e.g. 2 2 4 4 *), the Sun matches BOTH pairs and BOTH Flashes are scored, PLUS you get an IP (see Insurance Point). That's the good news. The bad news is that BOTH Flashes MUST be cleared at the SAME TIME! This can be near impossible. Further, the Suspend(n) rule (below) is automatically added to the game with n=10. Particularly nasty is [10 10 5 5 *]... No 10's or 5's can be used, nor can suns be 10's or 5's. There are only two ways out: triples without 5's/10's, or a Freight Train, both of which still require you to keep rolling. Note that in this case, [2 3 4 6 *] is VERY interesting. There are two ways this can be interpreted: 1: DEATH! The sun is the only potential scorer, and the 10's and 5's are, by the full house, forbidden. Usind the interpretation that the sun must be used in whatever way works, this means it must be scored as a zero, non-scoring. Nothing scores, therefore it is a Wimpout. Also, since the Flashes Must Be Cleared rule overrides all others that do not specifically state that they have precedence, a Cosmic Sampler CANNOT be used as an easy way out. 2: Reroll from Sun Match The sun is the only potential scorer, and must be called as either a 10 or a 5 due to no other scoring opportunities. Since 10 and 5 are taboo due to the double-flash, either way, it's reroll time. CS still cannot be used as an easy way out, of course. Suspend (n) This rule states that if you are trying to clear a flash, you are granted (n) rolls to do it. if you have not cleared the flash after (n) rolls, your turn is suspended and play continues with the next player. When play returns to you, you continue where you left off, clearing the flash (or flashes, if the Full House rule was responsible)...or trying. The usual value of (n) is 10. Kill (n) Same idea as Suspend, but instead of suspending turn, the player simply automatically wimps out after n tries. Most common value of (n) is 5. Have fun with these variations!

To get a catalog from the manufacturer, write to:

Cosmic Wimpout P.O. Box 3199 Greenfield, MA 01302

Also, if you are interested...

This game is available on at least 2 different MUCKs, for those wanting to play online! All you need is telnet access (though anyone who is serious about MUCKing should have a M* client like TinyFugue, but one isn't absolutely necessary...), and the following addresses:

MUCK Name: Address & Port No. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SocioPolitical Ramifications (SPR) svansmoj.ctrl-c.liu.se 23 (Note: NEW Address! LAG FREE!!) 130.236.252.42 23 FurryMUCK 199.201.68.101 8888 (Note: NEW ADDRESS!!!) ray.atw.fullfeed.com 8888 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

On both of these systems, look for either Darynn (me, the one responsible for the ASCII dice representations that made it into the online version of the game), and/or Vision (the creator of the masterpiece of code itself!), and one of us will surely be able to help you get a set of virtual dice of your own, and probably even offer to start a game, if we aren't busy with another project at the time. More MUCKs have the setup, but these are the two I am active on, though I am working on stabilizing a third currently, on my own, and so is another person on yet another server. If either of us succeed, and the server proves itself stable, I shall post info here.

SocioPolitical Ramifications has been in the past, the best place to go if you are interested in C.W. Furry is WAY overcrowded, and proportionately lagged...delays of MINUTES for things to happen there during prime-time is not uncommon...rather the norm. With SPR's recent move to the new server, it is now a VERY lag-free place to play. The server is incredible! VERY useful for CW games. I will always be there playing if at all possible, unless I -have- to use Furry (like if SPR goes down for maintenance, which has been happening a bit lately).

We also have an Automatic ScoreHandler Device (again, mega-applause to Vision for yet another coding masterpiece) for your convenience!

NOTE: As of current, only the sequential method for Last Licks (Variant B) is supported in the online MUCK games...but this may change to an optional settings method (we already have a few optional settings) if we figure out just how the heck to do it...