Many years ago in my early teens I was introduced to a dice game called Button Men, created by Cheapass Games. I became horribly addicted to playing it with my friends and family. It is simple fast and fun.
It was the games from Cheapass Games that inspired me to create my own. They are all for the most part short and easy to pick up and play games, as well as being cheap to purchase.
Well as the years went on and I still dipped out of button men from time to time, playing it online and later via the app on my iphone. This year I also taught children how to play it in maths using D6's and some cutesy characters that I had quickly drawn and photocopied.
Having played a few games of it yesterday I figured it was time to pay respects to James Ernest of Cheapass Games and use some of my favourite artwork of late, to create some button men of my own for you to enjoy.
The rules can be downloaded here
The cards below can be downloaded and printed, the same size as a business card, off of any standard printer and can be enjoyed for your own personal use.
Here are some basic fighters to learn the game.
Advanced Fighters
Twin Dice
Twin Dice appear as two numbers separated by a comma, and are played as two dice that add together. For example, a twin 8 is represented as (8,8) and treated as a single die. The two 8's are rolled as one, captured as one, and scored as one die worth 16 points.
Shadow Dice (Marked in blue)
Shadow Attack: Use one of your shadow dice to capture one of your opponent's dice. The number showing on the die you capture must be greater than or equal to the number showing on your die, but within its range. For example, a shadow 10-sided die showing a 2 can capture a die showing any number from 2 to 10. Take the captured die out of play, then re-roll the capturing die.
An X designated as a Shadow die is a Shadow Swing die. It is a Shadow die, and can be any size between 4 and 20 sides.
Shadow Attack: Use one of your shadow dice to capture one of your opponent's dice. The number showing on the die you capture must be greater than or equal to the number showing on your die, but within its range. For example, a shadow 10-sided die showing a 2 can capture a die showing any number from 2 to 10. Take the captured die out of play, then re-roll the capturing die.
An X designated as a Shadow die is a Shadow Swing die. It is a Shadow die, and can be any size between 4 and 20 sides.
Poison Dice (Marked in Green)
They are normal in all respects, except that they are worth negative points. If you keep a Poison Die of your own, subtract its full value from your score. If you capture a Poison Die from someone else, subtract half its value from your score.
