Silk Road forums
Discussion => Off topic => Topic started by: BoxofShapes on September 11, 2012, 01:18 am
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The game is called Zonk!
I am really not a person that ever liked games around vices, such as beer pong, because I felt it was just a waste. I have played a few games revolving around weed, but I didn’t find one that had enough interaction for what we were putting into it.
Then I was introduced to the game Zonk.
I have known and played this game for a long time. Over the years of introducing this to the people, I have kicked the depression out of close ones, derailed bad trips, and caused people that would never smoke to join in. Not to mention all the “just plain fun” times I have had playing this damn game. I felt these reasons were enough to want to spread the word and share it with you!
A few notes before I go into the how to.
The person that taught this to me brought the game to the table with a grand amount of respect for the rules and the process of playing. This isn’t a game of cards. I would put it more on the level of a ritual. I have a set of designated Zonk dice, table for playing, and pipe pieces, all of which are never used outside of the game. I feel people are more into it when I apply the same amount of strictness and care for the tools, as was taught to me. Friends have said they have tried playing their own games but have way more fun playing with me with the manor I approach the game. I can’t really show you what I mean by experiencing a game with me, but I stress this point, and I hope you find your own method to handle the game.
Secondly, Zonk has about a thousand variations and house rules. I am going to talk about the version that was taught to me. The biggest difference between my rules and the standard (if one can be claimed) is I use 5 dice instead of 6. I found out later the game had 6 dice but looking back I like the 5 because there is more risk, crazy rolls, and it seems to go quicker. I found an official site for this so you can see what I mean. In the end you will find the style you like.
http://www.zonkthegame.com/rules.php
What you need:
5 dice
A table. Preferably a small coffee table. Mine is about 2x4ft. See Additional Rules on why.
A gravity bong. (You can use a regular bong, but I feel the gravity bong has more of the “involved process” I was talking about. Something to make the person stand up to claim their reward, but for fuck sakes don’t use a pipe.)
Weed. Ideally everyone brings their own stash, but you can lend out what’s there to others if need be.
General Rules:
Each person rolls one die. Highest goes first. Reroll ties.
Game is played to 10,000 points.
Every 2000 points, that person gets a hit.
Bowl is packed by the person the right from their personal stash.
Dice are passed to the left.
Points are scored as followed:
[1]’s are 100 points.
[5]’s are 50 points.
Triples are multiplied by 100 by that number. I.e. [4][4][4] is 400. The exception is [1][1][1]which is 1,000
A run of [1][2][3][4][5] or [2][3][4][5][6] is 1,500
A roll of 5 [1]’s is an automatic win, and everyone must pack you one!
(Note the sets must be rolled all at once. Not individual die at a time)
How rolls are played out.
Player rolls as many times as they want until they say stop or they roll no scoring dice. When a player rolls they may keep any number of scoring dice, but they must at least hold one die. If all dice are scoring player must reroll. Points from all rolls are cumulative. If a roll has nothing scoring, all points are lost for the hand, and you lose your turn. This is called a Zonk!
I know it’s a bit confusing at first, but it isn’t when you see it work. The best way to learn is to grab 5 dice and play out a few hands. People usually pick up an understanding within 2-4 hands. I will also do some rolls in real time as an example.
1st hand. Rolled a [6][5][2][4][4]. The [5] is the only scoring die so I will keep that one on the table and reroll the rest. I have 50 points so far. 2nd Roll [4][1][5][2]. Both the [1] and [5] are scoring but I want to reroll 3 dice for a better chance at a 1 or a triple. I will keep the [1] on the table next to the [5] from the 1st roll and reroll the rest. So far I have 150. [1][3][5]. Keeping the [1] and rolling the other 2. Have 250 points. Rerolled [6][4]. There are no new scoring dice and this is a Zonk. Bye bye 250. My turn is over. Pass it to tha left.
2nd hand. First roll [1][1][5][2][1]. Yay! 1050! (three [1]’s rolled simultaneously for 1000 and a [5] for 50) I would normally say stop but I’m trying to demonstrate! Lets make something fun happen. I am going to reroll the [2]. Reroll turns up a [5]. I now have [1][1][1][5][5] It paid off! 1100! Now I must reroll. Hope my luck holds up. Reroll is [4][6][5][1][6]. My current total is 1250. (1100 from the previous and 150 from the current.) I probably should say stop but I feel I can squeeze a few more points out of this. I’ll keep the [1] and reroll the [5] with the rest. Reroll is [4][4][1][5]. 1350! (1100 from before and 250 currently) I kinda wanna chance it, but I am going to say stop. I want a chance at my first hit after all.
3rd hand. [6][1][5][4][6]. Keeping the [1]. [5][3][5][6]. Keeping one of the [5]’s. Reroll is [1][4][4]. I want more! Keeping [1]. Reroll is [1][1]. I now have [1][5][1][1][1]. 450 points and I must reroll! [1][5][5][3][5]. 600 points! (three [5]’s at the same time for 500 with a [1]) I currently have 1050 points for this roll. Dare I chance it? My tutorial is telling me so. Reroll is a [2]. Damn you tutorial! You lie! My last roll is non scoring so I Zonk. All points are gone. Pass it to tha left.
4th hand. (staging this for demonstration) [1][3][3][3][4]. Reroll the [4]. I get a [1]. 500 total and rerolling. I get a [1][2][2][5][5]. I’ll say stop. I have 700 points for the entire hand. I now add that total to what I had. 1350 with 700 is 2050. Hey! Someone pack me one already! I got my first 2000!
Additional rules and terms:
Spatz: If one of your die rolls off the table when you release, it is called a Spatz, and you lose your turn. All points are lost for the hand. I say upon release of throwing them down on the table. Not if you are shaking them up in your hand and one accidently pops out. This is why I say use a small table, because it makes it so more intense. In addition, if a person gets 5 Spatz’s in a game, they must bend over the table in use and get slapped on the ass by all the others playing. You can change the punishment, but they must be punished damn it.
Bloatz: Not so much a rule, but an observation. If on your first roll you get all non scoring dice, it’s called a Bloatz. Say I rolled [2][3][6][6][2] out of the gate. I lost my turn and I didn’t even have a chance!
Especial: If you get a Zonk, a Spatz, and a Bloatz, all in a row, in any order. Person gets a treat, but it has to be non weed related. A shot, a cookie, a tab, a puppy. Who knows. Just make it special!
Full House: A full house is just like it is in poker. 3 of something and 2 of something. When you get a full house, you get a reroll. It does not need to be rolled simultaneously nor do they need to be scoring dice. Example: I rolled a [5][2][2][3][3]. I’ll keep the [5]. Reroll is [5][2][6][3]. Keep the [5]. Reroll is a [5][3][3]. I now have on the table [5][5][5][3][3]. This is a full house. It is worth 150 and I must reroll.
Sympathy hit: if you reach your 5th turn and still have not scored, you get a hit.
4200 and 6900: If your total score lands on exactly one of these numbers, you get a hit.
Break the Ice: a player must score at least 350 points to get into the game.
Standard Practices for a better game:
Players are not allowed to know their point totals!!! They can guess where they are at by how many hits they have taken, but that’s it. If they need like 50 points for their next hit, they don’t need to know that. 50 points for a hand is a cop out. Yes the score keeper will know the score, but that’s the advantage of being one. It is hard enough to have to do math in this situation. (I won’t bring myself to use a calculator)
Players must say out loud what their score is for the round. If they do not keep track, and say something like, “I wasn’t paying attention”, they lose those points. This keeps people sharp where otherwise they wouldn’t.
The game can continue even if a person is taking a hit. However, if it comes back to the person and they are still occupied, the game must wait on them to sit back down and take their turn.
When packing the bowl don’t go crazy. I know I said a gravity bong, which has all kinds of images of annihilation, but I am talking about tiny little bingers. You will have a very short game otherwise, and a rematch is out of the question.
No smoking tobacco during the game! OK so you don’t have to follow this one, but I do. I am a frequent smoker and I do not violate this rule. I feel it adds to the “integrity” of the game. If you must, take a break at ½ time.
Keep your shit off the table!! The only things that should be on there are the gravity bong, a lighter, the dice, and the container the dice came in. That’s it. You will thank me later when you don’t see someone’s loose die get saved from going over the edge, because it bounced off of someone else’s beer or phone.
I really hope all of this isn’t too overwhelming. I promise you it’s easy to learn. You will catch on quick. Please, please, please let me know if I need to clarify anything! I want this game to live on! Put it in your pocket and take it with you wherever you go!
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Soooooo...it's Farkle with bong hits every 2000 points?
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From wiki.
"Farkle, or Farkel, is a dice game that has also been called or is similar to 1000/5000/10000, Cosmic Wimpout, Greed, Hot Dice,[1] Squelch,[2] Zilch, Zonk, or Darsh to name but a few."
I guess so. I've never heard of farkle until now. Like I said, zonk has a ton of different versions, including it being named something else.
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Post is long as shit but it looks legit from what I read so far. I'll note this for later reading.
Also: had to see that when I opened this thread I immediately thought of Jigsaw from the Saw series asking "Do you wanna play a game?" and then taking a huge ass hit.
Cheers!
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Yea. I know a wall of text isn't exactly stoner friendly. Learning the game is easier from an actual person, for sure. Take your time!
Also if my layout isn't good enough I looked at the wiki page for Farkle when Icculus brought it up. It looks a lot more organized than I threw together. However, it talks from the perspective of 6 dice (and they don't include a gravity bong as part of the equipment :P).
It really doesn't matter what version you take on. Just trying to encourage the laughs I've had with this game. I would at least take up some of the standard practices I mentioned.
I immediately thought of Jigsaw from the Saw series asking "Do you wanna play a game?" and then taking a huge ass hit.
Yea. That's a pretty good approximation for the demeanor I use when I play. When my friends come over to play, they know they are locked in and shackled for some shit.
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Haha! Shackles! Made me laugh which is no mean feat! I got plenty o dice so I'll see if I can't get a game of this together sometime: I may need to dedicate a weekend to it.
If anyone plays this (or the similar wiki version) I'd love to hear some tales--nothing entertains me more like some drug tales!
Cheers!
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Oh man awesome idea. I'll have to write a story soon that happened to me.
What I can add for now is mention the person I learned this from. From the day of his very first game (15 years?) he has kept a record of every single game he has played. Not just scores, but date, who, music playing, location, other vices involved, how much of that vice, along with win percentages (personal and for the season), and average rolls per game. I only wish I was this studious.
Looking through the "archives", on the surface it's just a bunch of numbers and statistics. However, if you look deeper, it is very telling of what was going on. It's almost a diary to him, where I can pick out a page, and it is instant recall of what happened.
One example in particular is a page where there was some kind of vile of acid involved. It was noted at the top the people involved took on a drop each an hour or so before. About midway through the game, someone hit an especial. To the side of that it was written "dropz". First off this is literally the only page I saw where how much was not quantified. Second, and more crazy, was the way the word looks. The entire score was written in a black ball point pen. Yet, when looking at the word "dropz" a couple things are really off. The z at the end trails off like a jogger casually going on his morning run and blindly runs off a cliff. It looks more like a paint brush stroke. Certainly outside the realm of a ball point. The other madness is the word looks almost prismatic, and holographic. It's black ink all over and undeniable the word was written with the same pen. But you see this word and you are like, "how does this exist?". It almost hurts to look at.
Anyway, record your games!! They are very telling of what happened, and great reminders when the fog gets too overwhelming! ;)
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Damn Box, that post makes me want to reschedule my whole weekend! You gotta get some more of your buddy's journal on here! I bet he could get that published as like a stoner's e-book or some shit!