TORVEN

A two-player strategy dice game.

A dark wooden Torven board with blue and white dice, with more dice beside the board.
20 dice. 16 spaces. Two players.

Torven is about strategically placing dice and predicting what your opponent will play. Your goal is to have the most dice on the board when at least one player runs out.

How to play

Setup

Put the empty 4 × 4 board between you. Each player takes a set of 10 dice and a dice shield.

Roll your dice behind your shield. Arrange them however you like, keeping them hidden from your opponent.

Turns

Each turn, both players choose one die from behind their shields. Move your chosen die out, keeping a hand in front of it so your opponent cannot see it.

Reveal your chosen dice at the same time. Then place them on the board in the order below.

Placing order

Higher number goes first

The player with the higher revealed number places first. The other player then places their die.

Blue’s 5 is higher than white’s 3, so blue places first.

Same number? Both players reroll.

If both revealed dice show the same number, both players reroll those dice until the numbers are different.

A tied reveal means both players reroll.

A 1 gives you an extra placement

Immediately after placing a 1 on the board, you may place one more die of your choosing from your set.

Only one extra die: if that extra die is also a 1, it does not let you place a third die.

A 2 counters a 1

If one player reveals a 2 and the other reveals a 1, the 1 is countered:

  1. The player with the 2 may change their die to any number they like.
  2. The player with the 1 must reroll their die until it shows a different number from the other player’s selection.
Reveal
Resolve
White’s 2 counters blue’s 1. Here, white chooses 6 and blue rerolls to 4. White places first.

Placement rules

Dice must be placed in an empty square.

When you place a die, remove all opponent dice directly next to it horizontally or vertically if their numbers are equal to or lower than your placed die.

Diagonal dice are not captured. Higher-numbered opponent dice and your own dice stay on the board.

Place a white 4
Capture the blue 1 and 4
The white 4 captures the blue 1 above it and the blue 4 to its left.
  • The blue 2 stays because it is diagonal.
  • The blue 5 stays because its number is higher.
  • The white 3 stays because it belongs to the same player.

Ending the game

Keep taking turns. When a player runs out of dice, finish that turn. The game then ends.

The player with the most dice still on the board wins.

Count the dice, not the numbers on them.