Franky Rock'n Vegas: A Monster Making Las Vegas Dice Game

Frankenstein's monster has renamed himself Franky, and is taking Las Vegas by storm in this push-your-luck dice game.

Published by Funbot, Franky Rock'n Vegas has players rolling dice each turn, attempting to construct complete Franky’s bodies or collect heads in order to score the most points by the end of seven rounds.

Gameplay

The game is played over seven rounds, with each player getting one turn each round. On your turn you start by rolling all nine Franky dice, the eight-sided black head die, and the ten-sided high voltage die. You must then lock in at least one die (you may lock as many additional dice as you wish) and then reroll the remaining dice. Each time you reroll, you must lock in at least one more die, until all dice are locked in, including the head die and high voltage die. You then move onto the scoring phase, where you score points according to the combos you make. Each die can only be part of a single combo.

Each Franky die can roll lighting, purple head or body, green head or body, or a red head and body together. A head and body of the same color, paired with lightning is called a full Franky. Green and purple full Frankies are worth seven points. Lightning paired with a red head/body scores three points.

For the black head die, if you have set aside a number of Franky head dice results, equal to the number shown on the black die and do not use them to create a full Franky, then during the scoring phase you reroll the head die. If the number is greater than the number of heads you set aside, you score points equal to the number you just rolled on the head die. If the result is less or equal than the number of heads you set aside, you score points equal to the number of heads multiplied by the number you just rolled.

When you lock in the high voltage die, at the same time you must also set aside a number of Franky dice equal to the number on the high voltage die. During the scoring phase you reroll these set aside dice and for each full Franky you roll, you score points equal to the number on the high voltage die. Any dice that do not fit into a full Franky score you nothing. If when you lock in the high voltage die, you cannot lock in the necessary number of Franky die, your turn immediately ends and you score no points for this turn.

If you manage to score all your Franky dice in full Frankies, you score ten additional points.

The player with the most points at the end of seven rounds wins the game.

Review

Franky Rock'n Vegas is a simple, light dice game. There are similar games out there, but if you enjoy the genre it is worth playing in its own right due to a fun theme and the few extra elements that it brings to the table.

You’re rolling lots of dice on your turn, which is satisfying, but they also give you plenty of choices to make. We also liked that there is nothing you can roll that makes you bust and end your turn prematurely, except if you push your luck too much with the high voltage number. Even with the worst luck, you can’t bust on your first roll.

Both the high voltage die and the black head die bring interesting elements to the game, and add different choices to your turn and the press-your-luck elements. Both can be potentially high scorers but they can also end up making your dice ultimately less valuable than they would have been if part of a regular Franky, so you have to use them wisely.

There’s no player interaction in this game, however — and since you do roll a number of dice each turn, it’s better to play with a smaller number of people to minimize downtime between turns.

The dice are a nice quality and we liked the designs on the Franky dice. The game’s theme doesn’t come out too strongly in the mechanics, but it’s still unusual and quirky. The number of components is minimal, so this could be a very nice game to travel with, although the box is much too big for what is inside and makes the game less portable.

Franky Rock'n Vegas is a fun casual dice game, and if you like push-your-luck games, we found the scoring and choices presented in this one to be both interesting and a little different.

Pros: Additional dice bring interesting choices, you can’t bust on an initiator roll, lots of dice to roll

Cons: No player interaction, downtime with larger groups, larger box size than normal

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.