Dials — TNT Laser Works

In an age where steel and sorcery reign supreme, there are those who wield power not through brute force—but through the ancient ritual of the Sage Stones. So sharpen your wits, hone your strategy, and prepare to enter the world of Sage Stones—where tactics forge legends.

- Players: 2-6
- Ages: 15+
- Average playtime: 20-40m
- Game type: turn-based, piece-placement, strategy game
Victory is awarded to the first player with all 10 of their stones on the board. On your turn, roll 3d3. Place a stone in an unoccupied square in the column matching the dice total. Trapping an opponent’s game piece between two of your own allows you to remove your opponent’s game piece from the board. You may trap game pieces vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and by wrapping along the long, non-numbered edge of the board (not along the shorter, numbered edge). There may be more than one stone between your two. In this case, all of the in-between stones are removed.
Special Rolls:
- Triples: If your dice roll was 3 of the same number (a triple), play an extra turn. This can happen multiple times in a row.
- 1-2-3: If you roll a 1-2-3, your turn is lost.
Gameplay Situations:
- Game Start: First player is the oldest sage at the table. Play continues clockwise.
- Column is Full: If the column you rolled is already full, treat your roll as a “6”.
- The End of Days: If the column you rolled is already full, and column 6 is also already full, restart the game and begin again.
Example Dice roles:
1, 1, 3 1 + 1 + 3 = 5. Place a stone in column 5 in any unoccupied row.
1, 2, 3 Your opponent has distracted you! Place no stone, your turn is forfeit!
3, 3, 3 3 + 3 + 3 = 9. A stroke of genius! Place one stone in row 9 and take a second turn.
For two player game play, we like to play with two colors per player. We find that if you each only use one color, both colors can end up on opposite ends of the board, making it a game of “keep away,” and the first person to play is generally the one to win. With two colors, you can use one to win and one to attack. Treat the colors separately, the same way you would if you had 4 players. You can even remove your own pieces!
In this situation, your roll counts as a roll of “6.” You can place your stone in column 6 but you don’t get the extra turn like you would if you had rolled triple 2’s for a natural “6”. On the very, very rare chance that the 6 column is also already full, meteors fall and the entire board is wiped clean. Start the game over on a clean playing field.
Yes! Surrounded stones are only removed the moment the sandwich is made. It is perfectly legal to jump into open spaces between already placed stones on the board.
The game ends the moment any player places their last stone. The results of that final piece placement do not change the win. However, my family sometimes continues the game to see who is the second place winner or the third, and so on. In this case, if you had already won and your pieces are later removed by continued play, just ignore them and skip your turn. You won, no need to keep beating up the other players!