CW is a dice game, in a similar vein to games such as Yahtzee. It involves 5 dice, one of which is a different color than the others.
What makes Cosmic Wimpout unique are the oddball rules it employs. One such is that if you score on all five dice, you *must* roll again and keep going. There are also special rules for rolling three of a kind, 5 of a kind, and a special symbol on the odd die called a 'Flaming Sun'.
Wimpout is an appropriate title, because the game really is about how far you want to push your luck. Do you weasel out early with a few safe points, or do you try for a higher score? If the wrong symbols come up, you get no score.... no matter how high you'd racked it up. This is a pretty good game because it scales well. Any number of people can play, and the game is wonderfully portable. You can get a set of just the dice for around $5, or you can spend $15-$20 (depending on where you look) to get the dice in a nice suede travel pouch with a scoring mat.
Otherwise just use pencil and paper to keep score. It takes about 5 minutes to teach the rules, and is suitable for a wide range of ages and types (even parents can play this one *grin*). The average game (to a full 500 points) can take between 5 and 15 minutes. The game can be made to go longer or shorter by adjusting the target score.
Chad Bergeron
