Bash – a game with dice
Bash is a simple game of dice played among any number of people using one (or several) iPhone/iPad. The two dices on the screen are thrown by shaking. A higher score than the previous must be announced, and others have to believe you! So, buffing will soon creep in. It is fun, it is social, and can be played whenever there is a timeslot for playing.
The thrown score is simply constructed from values of the two dices with the greater number coming first: e.g. 4&3 will make 43. Anyhow, your screen will show them in the right order. However, double numbers are special. They are called BASH (guess, where the name of the play is coming from), and they represent a higher score than any ordinary score. So, the lowest, Bash 1 (= 11) will prevail over the highest ordinary score, 65. Bashes come in order, the highest being Bash 6 (= 66). There is only one other score, that is higher than any ordinary score or Bash, and that is 21, called imaginatively ‘Twenty one’. This is the ultimate score, no higher can be thrown.
Any number of people can play the game. Throwing is done by first tapping the Clear button, then shaking the device. When shaking, you will hear the sound of rolling dices. When the numbers are settled (you have heard the sound), then further shaking will not change the score. The Clear button will delete the score, the dices will show “?”. Everyone throws once, then announces a score, and then it is the turn for the next player. Until someone’s bluffing is detected, every announced score has to be higher than the previous one. Say, you are the next player. When it is your turn, there are two options: either you announce your disbelief or you believe the previous score. (a) If you don’t believe the previous score, then the previous player has to show his/her screen. If the announced score was real, then you are out, if it was a bluff, then that player is out. If he/she is out, then it resets the score. You throw, but you can announce any score. (b) If you believed, then you have to throw, and you have to announce a higher score than the previous one. After each detected bluffing the scores are reset, and there will be one less of players in the round. The one who stays in as the last wins the game.
Technical tips: It is wise to agree beforehand about minor rules, such as how to handle equal scores. If you play in a situation where you do not disturb others, you can set the volume high enough, so that each player hears when you throw. After throwing and announcing your score, wait for the response of the following player and do not tap the Clear button yet. That way you can prove if he/she erroneously did not believe you. Otherwise, if the game is played with one iPhone/iPad before handing over the device it is wise to tap the Clear button, so that others will not know your bluffing habits. Inadvertent shaking when too vigorously handing over does not count, the new players should repeat the shaking.