| Recommended Age: | 8+ |
| Cost: | $10.99 |
| Players: | 2-4 Players |
| Play Time: | Roughly 15 Minutes |
| Company Site: | www.gamewright.com |
| Skills: | Reinforces(or teaches) Probability, Math, Strategic Thinking |
| Contents: | 2 White Dice, 1 Red Die, 1 Green Die, 1 Blue Die, 1 Yellow Die, 1 Score Pad, 1 Set of Rules |
GameWright has made some amazingly fun games but Quixx might just be my favorite. It involves 6 dice, a score sheet, a little strategy, some luck and a whole lot of fun. It is recommended for ages 8+ but my 5 year old son can play although he isn’t very good with the strategy part just yet. My husband and I have now included Quixx into our game nights and I take it with me for quick lunch time games.
Quixx comes in the best kind of box ever. Portable and with a flip top lid. Brilliant! I love games I can take with me…I may have mentioned that. The dice are standard dice except 2 are White and the other 4 are Red, Green, Yellow and Blue and the score sheets are just a pad of paper scoresheets. They are front and back though so that gives you more. The box can take a bit of water damage without showing signs…so that is a bonus.
Here is the part where I try to explain how to play the game without confusing you too much. Then I will explain how you can adjust for younger kids but be careful of anyone who puts things in their mouths. Dice are not for that of course. Also, if a child cannot make an X then you might not want to start them on the game until they have that part down at least a little.
Objective:
Score the most points by getting the most X’s. Each X is worth a certain number of points.
Setup:
Not really much to setup except make sure everyone has a Score Sheet and something to write with. There are a few things to know about the game before you play though. When you cross off the numbers you HAVE to go from Left to Right and cannot go back once you have crossed off a number.
If you cross off the Green 6 you can ONLY cross off numbers 5,4,3, or 2 and the 2 can ONLY be crossed off if you have 5 X’s in that row. Make sure you choose wisely because you have to get 5 X’s in order to cross off that last number in the row.
Play:
Choose who goes first. The game suggests the first person who rolls a 6 but we usually just roll to see who rolls highest. Each player on their turn (is the Active Player) rolls all 6 dice and adds up the white dice. Say that number out loud because all players get to choose whether they want to check off that number on their Score Sheet. They can choose ANY color to do so but they do not HAVE to check off anything. The Active Player (player who rolled) HAS to either choose to use the number from the white dice OR you can add 1 white die with with any ONE color die and then cross that number off in that chosen color.
Does that make sense? Let’s try this. If your roll is 2 white dice of 4 and 1 and Red 4, Blue 6, Yellow 5 and Green 1 you and all players have the option of choosing to X a 5 on any color but if you are the active player you can choose to do the 5 AND add one of the white die to any one of the color die to mark an X in that color. So if you choose (and are able) to mark the 5 in Yellow AND then add the Yellow 5 to the White 1 and mark the 6 in Yellow as well.
Now there is a chance you won’t be able to use any of the numbers. You either won’t be able to mark any X’s because they are either all checked off OR to the left of other numbers and cannot be checked off. There are those times when the numbers you roll are in the middle and you don’t want to mark them off.
In these cases you take what is called a Penalty. There are 4 check boxes with a Gray Die with a Red X on it and = -5 next to it. You would mark 1 X in a box each time you were not able (or choose not) to mark a number in one of the rows. Once 1 Player marks 4 Penalties the game is over. I’ve actually had that happen…I have no luck with dice.
If you have crossed out 5 X’s in a Color Row you can then Lock the Row. This means mark 5 X’s and then roll the number that is in the very last section of that row. Then mark it with an X and then you also mark the Lock symbol in that same Color Row. This Locks the Row which means no one else can mark any more X’s in that Color.
Locking a Row also means that you remove that Color die from the game. This really messes up your score when your 5 year old son LOCKS the Row on you when you only have 2 X’s in that Color…yeah he understands a little too well how that works.
Winning:
The game ends when a Player marks off the 4th Penalty box OR when 2 dice are removed from the game due to Locking their color. Once this happens you get your score by counting the X’s in each color row and writing down the number associated with your count. Then simply add up each color and subtract any penalties to get your total score. Player with the highest score wins!
My son is 5 and can play by normal rules but he has learned to identify numbers and add using the dice. If your child can do this then he will have no problem playing as long as he doesn’t put the dice in his mouth. Making an X is also important since you can help with the scoring part afterwards. You can also adjust slightly and choose not to keep score but instead just count X’s and the person with the most wins.
My daughter is 3 and cannot play but she likes rolling dice. We let her use a score board sometimes (or a copy of one) roll the dice to check off a number. I am actually going to make my own “score board” with numbers 1 – 6 in all 3 colors so she can mark her X’s on each color using either the white dice or the proper color die. This will teach her how to read dice and play the basics of the game. You could also just use the score sheet as it is and give her options to check off numbers that you add up.
If you are looking for a new family game or a portable game or a game to bring your teens back to the table this is perfect for you!
Hi, we just started playing this game, last holiday.
I wonder though, does your scorecard need to be visible for the other players?
The rules don’t specifically say if the scorecard needs to be visible to other players. We have always played very openly and had our scorecards out in the open. For this type of game where everything happens in front of all the players the convention is normally to let other players see your scorecard but if you’d like to play more secretively that may make for an interesting house rule.
Does the active player have to mark his white dice total first and then consider whether to mark a white/color combo or can he mark the color combo first and then mark the two white dice?
If you want to score the white dice they have to be scored first by the active player and then they can choose to use one white die and one color die to score as well.
If I lock a row on my turn with the white dice combo and my opponent locks another row at the same time, does the game end then or can the active player finish with their white/color combo? (In other words, finish their turn). Thanks
I believe the game ends immediately once a player has locked the second row, even if it’s in the middle of a turn. Two players can lock a row at the same time if it’s both happening with the roll of the white dice but once that row is locked that’s it.
Who gets to lock the box and get the extra marked box if more than one player can use the 12 or 2 that is rolled and have 5 boxes already marked? for instance, I am the active player, I roll 2 white dice with 6’s. I have 5 blocks checked on red so I am using the 12 on red and locking that color. Another player also has 5 red blocks checked and is using the white dice with the 12 to finish his red row. Does he also get to mark the red lock box and count it in his total, or does just one of the players get to count the lock box and if only one person, who is it?
If multiple players lock the same row on the same turn using the same dice, everyone gets to mark the final number and the lock.
My husband and I are confused as to what you have to roll to “lock” the row. We understand that you have to have 5 x’s in that colored row before you can lock it but my questions is, do you have to have a “2” or a “12” by adding together a white die and a die matching the color of the row you are trying to “lock” or can you just make the “2” or “12” for any 2 dice? In other words, if you want to lock the red row and you have the 5 x’s in that row, do you have to then roll a red die with 6 and add to a white die with 6 to equal the “12” or can you have two random color dice that add up to “12”? Does this make sense?
Roberta:
In order to lock the row, the “2” or “12” that you roll needs to either come from the two white dice together or one white die and the colored die of the row you wish to lock.
So, if you have 5 x’s in red and you roll two white 6’s, you have your “12” and you can lock red. Alternately if you roll one white 6 and the red 6, you still have the “12” for red and can lock it. If you instead only roll a 6 with red and yellow, that won’t let you lock the red row since the “12” can’t include numbers from dice that aren’t red or white.
Also don’t forget if another player rolls “12” with both white dice and you have your 5 x’s on red, you can lock red on another player’s turn, which is always great.
Wonderful! That explains it perfectly, the instructions in the game didn’t explain it well enough! Also, let me ask one more question. Once you get 5 x’s in a row, is it ever possible that you can lock it on that same turn or do you have to wait. I just learned this game yesterday for the first time and ran out and bought it! So I have these questions!
Great, glad we could help! As for your second question while the rules aren’t 100% clear, the way we interpret them is that if you start your turn with 4 x’s in red and roll (for example) a 5 and a 6 on the white dice and a 6 on the red die then you could put an x on 11 in red using the white dice and then lock red with the 12 using the white 6 and the red 6. I hope that clears things up, let us know if you have any more questions!
If you roll all 12 numbers of the same color then you get to lock it that’s 13 x and there is no score for that. We just started playing thu as game and love it and this situation did happen.
You will never have a x13 because the number combinations start at 2 and not 1. There is way to roll a 1.