The five Cosmic Wimpout dice are referred to as "cubes". Four of the cubes have face values of "two swirls", "three triangular glyphs", "four lightning bolts", "the number 5", "six stars", and "the number 10" - the fifth cube, often a different colour, has a single "flaming sun" icon in place of the triangular glyphs. The general rules for the game have evolved since its inception and there have been various minor modifications made to the colors and patterns of the face designs on the cubes. The game is played by rolling all five cubes and adding up the player's score. Any fives or tens rolled are worth that amount. Rolling three of a kind of any number, or a pair and a "flaming sun", is a "flash" - the swirls are twos, the triangular glyphs are threes, the lightning bolts are fours, and the stars are sixes. A flash scores ten times the number of one of the dice in the flash. For example, rolling three twos is worth 20 points, and rolling three fives is worth fifty. When a player rolls scoring dice, they must set them aside, and may choose to either keep the points they have, or to roll the non scoring dice and try for more points. There are three exceptions to this general guideline, which force rolls in certain cases:
Whenever all five have been set aside as scoring, a player must reroll all of them. This rule is known as "You May Not Want To But You Must", or "YMNWTBYM."
When a player has fewer than 35 points overall, all non-scoring dice must be rerolled.
When a player rolls a flash, to keep the points, they must then "clear the flash" by rolling all remaining non-scoring dice, until none of the dice match the Flash.
If a player rolls 5 of a kind in a single roll, this is called a "freight train" and is worth 100 times the number on the dice. Five swirls is worth 200 points, five lightning bolts is 400 points, and five 5's is worth 500 points. Rolling a freight train of stars is an instant win for that player. However, rolling a freight train of 10's is called a "supernova." It is considered too much of a good thing, and that player has lost and is immediately out of the game. Game play continues for the remaining players, if any. If a player rolls the dice and no points at all are scored, that player has "wimped out". If the player rolled all five cubes and scores no points, this is a "train wreck". In any case, the player loses all points gained in that round. Herein lies most of the game's strategy: if a player keeps the points they get, those points are "safe" for the remainder of the game, and the player's score cannot drop below that value, house rules notwithstanding. In his 2007 essay on the game, game designerAndrew Looney described Cosmic Wimpout as the "single most influential game I've ever played" and that the game "has a clean, elegant set of rules that allows losing players to feel they still have a chance at a come-from-behind victory." Looney cites Cosmic Wimpout's influence from the French dice game Dix Mille and names other variations of the game including Bupkis, Greed, Farkle, and Zonk.
Variations
Cosmic Wimpout was created with the ability to modify or add additional rules while playing, known as the Guiding Light, given the consensus of all of the players. For example, some players use the Full House rule, which states that if a player rolls a flash, and rolls a pair with your remaining two die, they must roll again. Another variation is the Cosmic Sampler variation, which was featured in an electronic version for the Palm. A Sampler is when none of the dice on any roll match, similar to a large straight in Yahtzee. Scoring for a Sampler is 25 points.
