How we score your games of Uckers

When you play the game of Uckers on a traditional board, there are five possible things of note:

1. You've won 😄
2. You've lost 😩
3. You've won by 8-pieces 🥳
4. You've lost by 8-pieces 😒
5. You've up-boarded 🤬

My name appears on the back of too many boards as a victim and as a perpetrator to know the pleasure and pain associated with the 8-piecer outcome!  However, nothing further comes of the game - mainly it's a win or a loss.

When Tim and I started planning how we were going to develop Uckers for the modern world, we thought about how we could make the game more engaging and competitive than it already was as a board game.  One of our solution was to create a scoring system that promoted good, fast play and rewarded individuals for the degrees of the win (i.e., the number of counters their opponents had left on the board).

Our aims are to:

• Reward winners, especially those that achieve the much praised 8-piecer
• Acknowledge the margin of victory
• Prize players who keep the game fast-paced; and
• Recognise that the loser did play in the first place.

In order to meet these aims, our unique scoring system is as follows:

If you win, you are awarded a set number of points plus you gain additional points depending on the number of counters your opponent has at the point of victory and how far around the board they have gone.  The further away from finishing your opponent is, the greater the number of bonus points you receive.  If you win by 8 pieces, your bonus is particularly beneficial. 

If you lose, you still get some points for playing, so its always worth fighting until the end! 

For that VERY special victory, if you get an ‘Eight-Piece All In’ (where you win with your opponent having all their pieces still in their home bases), your score is quadrupled to 2,000 points. 

Uckers is a game of excitement, passion and speed, so additional points can be gained if your average time per move is less than 15 seconds.  These bonus points are available regardless of you winning or losing and the faster you are, the more points you get. 

Your points are shown at the end of a game on the first game review screen. Just tap any of the scores to see an explanation.  Here's an example.

If you abandon a game for whatever reason, you will be deducted 1000 points.  You will also not receive any other bonus points. Your opponent will be deemed to have won the game and will receive winning points and bonus points depending on the number of counters you had at the point of abandonment. 

So as you can see, taking all the points and bonuses into consideration, there is always something to play for - right to the end!

Finally, as I've mentioned the review screens that are shown at the end of your game, I'll mention the final screen - that of game statistics.  Here you can see just how many of a particular number you and your opponent have thrown, average time between rolls, how many hacks you've both made, doubles thrown and successful blob challenges.  This way you can confirm just who is a six-thrower and/or a ludo player! 

As always, may your blobs never be mixed!

Paul Cooper

Co-founder