As many pledgers wanted to have an overview of the rules. Here they are!  The rules of the Crown of Gods game!

Warning: This is subject to change. This is hardcore technical stuff, all the more you don't have the dice in your hands, nor the good friend in front of you to give a try... And you're not a god yet!

.

The Crown of Gods

Once upon a long time ago...

You belong to the Gods that rule on top of the cosmos, over what mortals call Paradise, Inferno and Purgatory. You hold in your hands the ultimate might to create new planets, new dimensions, in their every detail from the infinitely small to the infinitely vast: your power is only limited by your imagination. You practiced combining energies; the positive, negative and multicolored. And at last, you have been chosen for the highest challenge: the Crown of Gods, the divine joust to the mastering of entropy and chaos. The competition will be tough, and you will have to summon up your most advanced creation skills. But you have a secret weapon: you control hazard!

.

.

Game setup:

This game is about mastering the universe, so please do not try to get all the rules right away!
If every player has his or her own Dice AgeTM dice set, skip to the playing area section below. If you play with one set only for two players (or more), do the following:

Dice distribution:

To determine the first player, each player rolls a regular six-sided die. The player who rolls the highest number distributes up to 20 dice and starts the game. To distribute the dice, the first player rolls all the dice of one color at the same time. Going clockwise, give each player the die that lands closest to him/her, one by one, until every player has at least one die of that color. Put aside the extra dice, if any, then distribute the next color. Finally, roll all the dice that have been put aside and distribute them in the same way until you cannot distribute the remaining evenly. At that point, every player should have the same amount of dice and at least one of each color. Remaining dice are put aside in Limbo (the pool of dice that are not be played in the game).

.

.

Playing area :

On your first games, use a playing mat to get familiar with the playing area.

Throughout the course of the game, each player has a Paradise of unrolled dice in front of him, an Inferno of discarded dice on his left, and a Purgatory of dice that have been rolled during the round, represented by the mat. The Purgatory is common to both players. It is the arena of the game: all your dice in Purgatory will go to Inferno if you lose the round.

In front of you, on the mat, is your part of the Purgatory. To play a die, take it from your Paradise, and roll it in the Purgatory. Most rolls will have an immediate effect on the game, but some rolls will provide a delayed or lasting effect on the game, like a joker you can keep for later. Put those aside, on the right part of the Purgatory. This is a procedure called Suspending the die.The Suspended die returns to the left part of the Purgatory once its extra effect has been used.

Limbo is the area outside of the game. Once a dice is in Limbo, it's very unlikely to return to the playing area.



.

.

Game overview:

Golden Rule:

“Thou Shalt not overshoot the current Number”

You win the game by:
- Eliminating the other players.

You get eliminated by:
- Not being able to play, because most of your dice are in Inferno.

.

.

The Colors:

Dice are divided by color families. Each color has its own character, its own powers and effects. Master them one by one, according to your preference.

Yellow dice embody the power of light. They are the dice of initial power, the big bang, the earliest times of the universe, where space had no meaning. They are the dice at the heart of the Sun, the stars, and all of creation. Their everlasting positive energy will bring you a good kick from the start.

Their special effects are the Double Arrow and the Smile. They share the Radioactivity with the orange dice.

Green dice are the dice of nature and lifecraft. Once there was light, laws where set. And from these laws and a multiverse of possibilities, the most skilled gods could create extremely refined reactions. Through gravity, control and choice, balance was. Lands emerged and on the lands, life appeared. No one can inpugn the great cosmic order.

Their special effects are the Square and the Blank side. They share the Gear with the red dice.

Red dice are the fullsome dice. The hard dice of fire and deathtraps. Might is right. Much is better. Turn legends to mayhem, stones into walls and life into monsters. Pricking, biting, cutting, the very essence of battling is what you find in these dice. Slaughter on and on: if it doesn't work at first, it will work at last!

Their special effects are the Chaos and the Roman Number. They share the Cannon with the orange dice and the Gear with the green dice.

Beware of the power of orange dice. They are the dreaded dice of warfare. When men, made in the image of god, lost their initial perfection, they began to argue. Spirit was stripped of all meaning and reason was lost. Weapons were designed, and after them, war machines--machines of destruction and sheer firepower. Through technology, man developed the power to destroy what gods created, giving way to the end of existence.

Their special effect is the Cross. They share the Cannon with the red dice and the Radioactivity with the yellow dice.

White are the dice of infinity. The uncanny dice of time itself. Chaotic and entropic, they cover what all universes have in common. They defy any rule. Each one is said to be unique, and there is an infinite number of them. They are the only dice destined to go to Limbo.

They can bear any effect or number. They must go to Limbo once rolled, unless they get suspended, new owned, or immediately sent to Paradise or Inferno. They are indistinguishable the one from the other: There can be only one white die of each shape in the Purgatory at the same time.

.

.

The Dice:

Welcome to a new age of dice. Dice AgeTM dice have strange shapes, some unbalanced and asymmetrical. Some sides are repeated on the same die. The chances to get one side or another are uneven. Be happy! The dice are already loaded. The results are not just random, and you'll want to play regarding probabilities and risks.

You'll find there are numerous effects at first and it can be intimidating. Don't worry, you'll know what each side means only after a few games, as you'll recognize each dice instantly. Refer to the Dice Compendium in case of doubts. It describes every die and every result you can obtain.

.

.

Game play:

The game is played in several rounds. Once a player overshoots the Number, all the dice in his or her Purgatory go immediately to Inferno and a new round begins (see below).

1 - The first player to go chooses a die to play from his or her Paradise (the pool of dice he or she has been distributed) or Purgatory (the pool of dice you already played in this round) and rolls it on the playing area.

2 - The die stops on one side.

- If it shows a number, it becomes the new current Number: Keep in mind the Number.

- If it shows an Icon, the player must do as indicated in the table of Icons

3 - The die just rolled belongs now to the Purgatory. The player can't play it on his or her next turn, nor other players: never play twice the same die in a row.

If the player overshoots the previous current Number, all the dice in his or her Purgatory go immediately (before any effect or combo) to Inferno. The dice from the Purgatory of other players go back to Paradise, and the player starts a new round. Back to 1 or Refer to 4.

If the player didn't overshoot the previous Number, it's the next player's turn. Declare the end of your turn out loud and back to : The next player rolls a die.

4 - The last player to be able to play is the winner of the game.

.

.

What if's:

- There can be only one: There can only be one type of each side (same number or same symbol) shown in Purgatory anytime, unless it is a player's last die. If you roll a side that is already in Purgatory, the owner of that side gets your die until the end of the game and puts it in his Purgatory. Your effect doesn't apply.

Furthermore, there can only be one type (same name, same color) of each die in Purgatory anytime, unless it is a player's last die (see “survival instinct” just below).

- Survival instinct: When a player has only one die overall, he or she is allowed to play it several times in a row, and even if another of the same kind is in Purgatory, except if that other die is also the last one of an opponent.

- The Notch: Each side of a Dice AgeTM triangular pyramid die has a notch. When you roll such a die, the side with the notch at the bottom in contact with the playing area is the playing side.

- Unfortunate Clumsiness: An effect is lost if a player applies it in a wrong way or forgets it.
Example: forcing a player to play a die he or she just played.

- A foot in both camps: When a die stops rolling in balance between several sides, you get to choose which side is to be played.

.

.

Advice for beginners:

First and foremost, do not try to get all the rules right away. On your first game, do not think about it too hard. Roll your first die and get on with it. You'll probably have to play through one game or two before you get the hang of it. Dice AgeTM is a game of careful choice-making and bold risk-taking. You'll see that the rules are simple; and it takes just a while before you know the dice and perform complex combinations.

You take risks by rolling a die with high numbers. If you overshoot the currentNumber, you lose the round and all your dice in Purgatory go to Inferno.

At the beginning of your turn, don't rush. First check all your dice. Then look at the numbers shown by dice in the summoned area and in Inferno. Choose wisely the die you will roll regarding these observations. Take your time. Also, announce clearly your choices as well as the end of your turn. Anytime in play, a player is allowed to ask for wait, but nothing is retroactive.

.

.

Legions:

Did you get the rules so far ? Congratulations. You are now an initiate. If you seek revenge, it's time to get it. You will get it by raising your own Legion!

Each player has his or her own dice. Before playing, each player will choose in secrecy his or her own selection amongst his or her dice, called a Legion. The nature of this selection depends on the taste and tactics of each player. Every die has a quotation in value points, depending on its power (refer to the Dice Compendium). Two Legions with the same total value can be confronted in a game, giving players the ability to play on even terms.

A total of 400 value points for each Legion is a good start, although larger values are also possible. If you have four dice of any one single color in your legion, the fifth can be purchased for free. You are not allowed to have more than four of the same die in your Legion.

.

.

The table of icons:

.

.

The Dice Age Compendium:

Maybe this early printed book was written by Aristotle, or maybe its pages are poisonous, but the librarian won't let you have access to it...

You'll have to fight the final boss.

Just kidding. It is revealed in the update #5 above.