Tag Archives: press-your-luck

BANCE!

Introduction
BANCE! is, according to @tableflipsyou:
‘It is a Victory word…like “Bingo!” or “Huzzah!” or “Yahtzee!”‘
http://twitter.com/#!/tableflipsyou/status/249316385287729152

It was coined by @Jared_Hunnefeld while playing “Lingo,” in which players need to figure out five letter words based on limited clues. Jared was presented with “B_NC_” The word was “BENCH,”but because the game is timed and you only have a few seconds to guess, he hastily wrote down “BANCE.”
Flip the Table Podcast Ep #4
http://tableflipsyou.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/episode-4-lingo-dvd.html

@tableflipsyou says ‘The rest is Flip the Table History.’
http://twitter.com/#!/tableflipsyou/status/249315810571587584

The challenge
Flip the Table regularly disparage roll-and-play and press-your-luck games, but @tableflipsyou actually likes Monopoly! We’ve had something of a feud going on Twitter (search for #MonopolyWar)

So, I agreed to make the game that BANCE! (I’ve added the “!” to distinguish the game from the word) so clearly deserves; all the worst bits of bad games:
1) roll and play
2) press-your-luck
3) Monopoly
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The Game
Take a Monopoly board, playing pieces, and $200 currency per player (see special rule regarding denomination).

The aim of the game is to land exactly back on the Start or GO square with exactly $200.

Order of Play
Order of play is determined by a bidding phase: whoever bids highest pays this fee to the next highest, who pays their bid to the next and so on down to the lowest. For help in transactions, see Being a Git!

Roll and Move
Each player chooses between 1, 2, 3 or 5 dice; never 4… no… never 4! Not after last time. Ideally there should be at least 2 different colours, and 3 of one and two of the other for completeness.

Dice combinations, chosen IN ADVANCE PLEASE are as follows:
1) this simply represents 1-6 (N00b!)
2a) this represents 2 numbers added, 2-12
OPTIONAL
2b) player can choose to subtract 1 die from the other, -5 (backwards) to 5 inc 0 (no movement) for doubles.
3) 2 dice of one colour represent numbers, the 3rd represents + (1,2), – (3,4), or x (5,6) [x is multiply!] player chooses order (i.e. 5-6 or 6-5), -5 to 36
5) Same as 3 but must be arranged [num][+/-/x][num][+/-/x][num], -10 to 216! If using a calculator (wimp!) press = (equals) after the second to get the “correct” answer.

Are you still with me here? There WILL be a test!

Once you have your number of moves, count out that number; if a player gets 6x6x6 just ignore them, pretend they aren’t there until they’ve finished, and carry on playing as if they weren’t there; you, discerning player that you are, never wanted them here anyway. This ignoring includes bidding phase for future turns.

BANCE!
If you land on another player’s piece at the end of your move, the first player in that square to shout “BANCE!” (including the “!”) gets to take half of the other’s money, rounded down, to the nearest number of notes they are actually holding. For example, Flip holds a $10 and a $20 (he’s losing as usual), and Jared lands and BANCE!s him. He should take $15 (half of $30), but only gets $10 because Flip never buys a round.

If you are landed on and say “BANCE!” before the moving player, you are a “Bloody sod!” Either way, winning could be a good/bad thing…

Play continues in bidding order from highest to lowest. If no one has died/given up/won then a new bidding phase begins, and play continues. Rinse. Repeat.

Denomination
The currency in Monopoly, aka Monopoly Money is one of the worst parts, notably because it often triggers the worst joke in board gaming. If you don’t know of this horribly obvious attempt at humour, I envy you. But actually you DO know it. We’ve all thought it, even if we haven’t said it. Now you’ll curse me for reminding you…

Each player’s $200 should be distributed as follows:

Player 1: 12x $5 bills and 40x $1 bills
Player 2: 20x $10 bills
Player 3: 10x $20 bills
Player 4: 4x $50 bills
Player 5: 2x $100 bills

All the other “spare” money should be burnt in creative ways:

20120922-211711.jpg
It will become clear that some players will have more change than others. How do you decide who gets to be player 1? Well, remember that bidding phase… yup, you have to bid to get it. Highest gets to be player 1, and receives that money, but must then pass on their bid to Player 2, and so on..

Being a git
NOTE: at any time it might be necessary to negotiate change with whoever has it – need to pay $3 but only have a $50… oh dear! – and this is allowed at any time. However, players are not obligated to swap currency, and can charge what they like for the service of providing change. No player is under any obligation though, and can attempt to issue IOUs in lieu of payment; these can be bought and sold and used in payment.

For this, I’d suggest using those spare notes (with a line drawn through the printed side to prevent “confusion”), as writing on the back is the most use they’ll get any… What’s that? You set them on fire! Put them out now!

Oh, well I guess you could always use the banks of Chance and Community Chest cards. Throw the Mortgage Deed cards on that nice fire you stamped out earlier. Didn’t you KNOW Property is Theft! …Bastard!

And there you have it, BANCE!
I thoroughly expect no one to ever play this game. However, if you do it will have saved you from using the board to play Monopoly at least!

BANCE!