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Can't Stop

In this Sid Sackson classic, players must press their luck with dice and choose combinations tactically to close out three columns. The board has one column for each possible total of two six-sided dice, but the number of spaces in each column varies: the more probable a total, the more spaces in that column and the more rolls it takes to complete. On their turn, a player rolls four dice and arranges them in duos: 1 4 5 6 can become 1+4 and 5+6 for 5 & 11, 1+5 and 4+6 for 6 & 10, or 1+6 and 4+5 for 7 & 9. The player places or advances progress markers in the open column(s) associated with their chosen totals, then chooses whether to roll again or end their turn and replace the progress markers with markers of their color. A player can only advance three different columns in a turn and cannot advance a column which any player has closed out by reaching the end space; if a roll doesn’t result in any legal plays, the turn ends with that turn’s progress lost.

The rules are located within the mod for easy reference, along with the needed four dice for each player, three runner pawns, and refurbished colored backgammon pieces for the player markers.

Goal
The goal of this game is to “claim” three of the game board’s numbered columns. You claim a column if you can
move one of your Runners from the bottom of that column to the top, according to the rules of the game. As soon as
any player claims three columns, they win the game.

Setup
Each player chooses a color and collects all the Markers of that color. Set the Runners aside.
Players roll two dice to see who goes first. Reroll any ties. Highest total starts.

On your turn
Begin each turn by collecting the three Runners, placing them off the board and in front of you.
Your goal during your turn is to advance as far as you can up one, two, or three columns. You’ll use the Runners
to mark your progress during your turn. After every roll you’ll need to decide whether to stop and keep your
progress, or try to advance even further – at the risk of losing your progress.

Rolling
Roll all four dice, then combine them into two pairs, any way you wish.
Example
If you roll 3, 4, 2, 6, then you can make these combinations:
3+4 and 2+6 (7 and 8)
3+2 and 4+6 (5 and 10)
3+6 and 4+2 (9 and 6)
(Yes, if you roll doubles / triples / quadruples, you’ll have fewer combinations to choose from.)
Having thus chosen two sums between 2 and 12, advance a Runner in those columns, according to these rules:
If you have already placed a Runner in that column (on an earlier roll during this same turn), advance it one space.
If one of the Runner is not on the board yet, place it in that column:
If you have a Marker of your color in that column (from a previous turn), place the Runner one space ahead of it.
Otherwise, place the Runner in the bottom space of that column. Other players’ Markers, if already on a space, can share that space with a Runner.
Once you play a Runner in a column, it stays in that column until your turn ends. You cannot move a Runner from one column to another, nor can you remove it from the board during your turn.
As the game progresses, you’ll often find that you can only legally make one move, rather than two. This is OK.
However, you must always play to as many columns as your roll allows; you can’t choose to ignore dice that allow a
legal move.
If your roll allows it, you can play twice in a single column. For example, if you roll 2, 4, 4, 6, you could make two
moves in column 8 (4+4 and 2+6), if available.

Going bust
To continue your turn, you must place or advance at least one Runner on the board, according to the rules
above, after rolling the four dice.
If you cannot legally place or advance any Runners using your roll, you have gone bust. You do not get to
advance any of your Markers this turn. Pass the dice to the player on your left; your turn’s over.

Choosing to stop, or not
After you finish placing or advancing the Runners, you can choose to end your turn, or roll again.
If you choose to end your turn, replace the Runners with Markers of your own color. If you already have a Marker on
any of these columns, just move them up to their new positions. (Yes, several players’ Markers can occupy the same
space.) Then pass the dice and the Runners to the player on your left; it is now their turn.
If you choose to roll again, leave the Runners where they are, pick up all four dice, and roll! All the rules from the
Rolling section apply to this new roll. Each player can keep playing and rolling as much as they want until they either
go bust or choose to stop.

Claiming a column
If you have moved a Runner onto a column’s top (shaded) space when you choose to end your turn, then you
have claimed that column. Put your colored Marker into the colored space, while all other players’ Markers in that column get returned to their owners.
For the rest of the game, no player can place a Runner in that column. That goes for you, too! That column’s
number has effectively ceased to exist. Play accordingly.
If you end your turn with three columns claimed, you have won the game.
Good luck!

Variants

Columns+

When selected, the goal changes based on how many players are in the game.

2 players = 5 columns
3 players = 4 columns
4 players = 3 columns

Jumping

When a player would move their marker to a space which is already occupied, he instead moves it up to the next open space.

Forced Move

When a player moves their marker to a space which is already occupied, he must continue rolling until he can move it to an open space where he will get the option to stop or until he can't move, in which case he will lose all progress.

Steep Hill

When a player has a Marker in a column from a previous turn, and rolls the dice needed to place a runner there once more, they start on top of their marker instead of one space ahead of it.


Please let me know if you have any issues with the mod, or any questions. I'm always looking to better whatever mods I put out however I can manage.


Thanks to the folks over at http://boardgamegeek.com/ for the cool board texture, Jason McIntosh[jmac.org] for the rules and Tom Vasel for his review/explanationvideo.