Jokerball 2025

Jokerball is a luck infused soccer game. A size 6 hexagonal board (side length 6), comprised of 91 cells, is set up with 13 red men on Red's side, 13 blue men on Blue's side, and a green ball in the center. [Optionally, more or less rows can be filled. Alternatively, a size 4 board can be used. The more initial men for a given board size, the higher the ratio of skill to luck.] Red and Blue take turns moving their own men and the ball.

If the ball exits the board through your far side, on either player's turn, you win.

Walls and dicePieces can slide off the board through the nearest and farthest sides. But the four sides to the left and right are walled, or closed. More specifically, the farthest two sides of each cell in the farthest row are open. Similarly for the nearest row and nearest cell sides. All other outer sides of outer cells are closed.

There are two 6-sided dice. The purple die is the "distance" die. The green die is the "direction" die. [On a size 4 board, the distance die is 4-sided.]

PlayBegin your turn by rolling the two dice. First, move one of your men, as described below, if you can. Then move the ball, as described below, if you can. Passing is not allowed, unless you have no available moves.

For a non-capturing move, a man traverses a straight path of contiguous, unoccupied cells, forward left (left, away from the player on turn) or forward right. It travels the distance indicated by the distance die, unless its path is blocked short of that distance by a wall, or the ball, or a friendly man, in which case it stops adjacent to the block. A man can move off the board through the opponent’s side. For a capturing move, a man traverses a straight path, in any direction, of zero or more contiguous, unoccupied cells, terminated by an enemy man occupied cell, and captures that man by replacement. A man can only capture another man within the distance indicated by the distance die.

The ball makes a non-capturing move. It traverses a straight path of contiguous, unoccupied cells, in the direction indicated by the direction die (from the perspective of the player on turn), as explained below, any distance. The ball can move off the board through an open side. Direction Die Indicated Ball Directions: 1 - backward left. 2 - left. 3 - forward left. 4 - forward right. 5 - right. 6 - backward right.

Design notesI tried to maximize strategy and minimize luck. Stefan van der Heijden made a material contribution to the rules.