Maths Warriors | How to play
Maths Warriors is a game for two players with six dice each. You take your opponent's dice one at a time, either with a die that's at least as big, or by making a die's number exactly with arithmetic.
Learn by playing: the guided game
The dice
Each player has one die of each size. A die shows a random value in its range, and values re-roll after attacks, so the board changes every turn.
- D41–4
- D61–6
- D81–8
- D101–10
- D121–12
- D201–20
Who goes first?
Both players sort their dice from smallest to largest and compare them pair by pair. At the first pair that differs, the player with the smaller die goes first. If all six pairs are equal, both players roll again.
Going first comes with the first-player penalty on the very last capture.
Strength attack
Choose one of your dice and one of your opponent's. If yours is the same or bigger (≥), you capture it, and your die rolls again.
Your D12 shows 9. Their D8 shows 7. 9 ≥ 7, so you capture their D8 and your D12 rolls again.
Mind attack
Combine two or more of your own dice with + − × ÷ and brackets so the answer exactly equals one of your opponent's dice. Each die can be used once. Every die you used rolls again.
Their D20 shows 18. You have D6 = 3 and D8 = 6. 3 × 6 = 18, so you capture their D20.
The target is 7. You have D4 = 2, D6 = 5, D8 = 3. 2 × 5 − 3 = 7.
The target is 10. You have D4 = 3, D6 = 5, D8 = 6. 5 ÷ 3 × 6 = 10. The 5 ÷ 3 in the middle isn't a whole number, and that's allowed: only the final answer has to match.
Calculations follow the usual order: brackets first, then × and ÷, then + and −.
First-player penalty
If the player who went first makes their final capture (the one that would win the game) with a Strength attack, their die must be bigger (>), not just equal. A Mind attack already has to be exact, so the first player can still finish with one.
Winning
Capture all six of your opponent's dice to win. If the game clock runs out first, whoever has captured more dice wins. If both have captured the same number, the player who went second wins.
If you have no possible capture, your turn is skipped. You can also choose to skip.
Strategy tips
- Protect your D20. It's the hardest die to capture: it needs an equally high die or an exact expression.
- Use Mind attacks for big targets. A 17 might be out of reach for Strength, but D8 × D6 ÷ D4 could hit it exactly.
- Think about the re-roll. Your attacking dice roll again, so a strong die might come back weak.
- More dice, more options. Three or four dice give you many more possible answers.
- Mind the penalty. If you went first and only one of their dice is left, beat it outright or hit it exactly.
Keyboard
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| 1–9 | Pick your die with that number (type 1 then 2 for 12) |
| Alt / ⌥ + number | Pick their die with that number |
| + − * / ( ) | Build a Mind attack |
| Enter | Attack |
| Backspace | Remove the last piece |
| Esc | Clear |
| ? | Help |
Variants
Once you know the standard rules, there are eight variants to try, from Three Captures (first to three wins) to Recruit (captured dice join your side). They're unofficial and just for fun.