How to Play Uckers

Getting Started 

Uckers is a 2 or 4-player game played against either a computer or online opponent. Each player plays with tokens or ‘bits’ of either red and yellow or green and blue. The aim is to move your pieces clockwise around the board and onto the respective final squares before your opponent does. 

You’ll need a 6 to get one of your pieces out of the home squares and then you’re free to move them around the board using one or both of the dice you roll. Each time you roll the dice, you must use both dice to move your pieces if you can. 

Important things to remember 

If you roll a 6 then you get another go. Rolling a double also gets another go if you have that rule turned on in settings. However, rolling a double 6 does not get 2 extra goes. 

In the event that progression is not possible with the resultant of both dice, then the value of the highest scoring dice is to be used, unless progression is blocked. If pieces cannot be moved with the value of either die, then that's the end of your turn. Press the green button with the white tick to continue.

Hacking off 

If your piece lands on a square with one of your opponent’s pieces on then you take (‘hack off’) their piece and send it back home. 

Blobbing up 

If you get 2 pieces of the same colour on one square (a ‘blob’) then your opponent cannot get past or hack off these pieces. This is the best way to slow down your opponent and stop them getting round the board. However, if you have 2 or more pieces of differing colours on one square then this is known as a mixi-blob. Your opponent can hack off all the pieces in a mixi blob if one of their pieces lands on that square and your opponent can pass these squares with impunity. 

Sixing-Off 

You can get your pieces past a blob by landing one of your pieces on the square immediately behind the blob and rolling a six on the first roll of your turn. You can then elect to ‘six-off’ the blob by tapping the ‘6’ over the square in question. You’ll need to roll a number of sixes in succession greater than the number of pieces in the blob (plus one extra six if your piece needs to get out of home as well). This will then allow you to send your opponent’s pieces all back home whilst moving one of your pieces forward onto the square. 

Finishing 

Once one of your pieces gets towards the end of the board, when it is on those squares of its own colour, it is safe and cannot be hacked-off by your opponent. 

The first player to get all their pieces onto the final squares with an exact dice roll is the winner. If this is done before their opponent gets any piece round the board, it is known as an eight-piecing. If the winner gets all their pieces in before their opponent has got any pieces out into play then it is known as an eight piece in the pen. 

Additional rules can be selected, check out the blog for more information. Happy Uckers playing!