Number Drop

• Designer: Florian Sirieix and Benoit Turpin
• Players:1-6
• Age: 10+
• Time: 20 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Says the publisher: “Number Drop  is a Tetris-style roll-and-write game played with shapes and numbers.Players use 4 number dice and 1 shape die to determine the way they must fill in their grid, by creating the shape with the numbers. Players also have 5 block tiles they can use to block the other players’ grid. In this game, you must drop shapes in the right places to create combinations of identical or consecutive numbers on your grid. You aim at being the most efficient and being able drop penalties onto your opponents ! As soon as a player reaches the Game Over line, the game ends and whoever has the most points is the winner. Will you reach the ultimate score of 100 ?”

To start the game, take the Block Board and place it on the table, and in the five slots, randomly choose five of the ten Block Tiles to use in this game.  Each player gets their own scoresheet, a starting player is chosen, and each player writes a number equal to their turn order slot anywhere in the bottom row of their grid.  

In each phase, the 5 dice are rolled by anyone. Four of the dice are pink, they are all different, having numbers from 1 to 7 on them, and two of them have asterisks.  The blue die is the shape die which has 5 different shapes and an asterisk on it.  If you really must know, the dice faces are printed on the back cover of the rules.

If anyone has an active Block Letter, the round takes a different direction.  Which I’ll explain later, because for now, you don’t even know how a regular round goes.

So, assuming this is a regular round, all players now look at the shape on the blue die (wild if it is an asterisk), and rotates/flips it in their head.  Then, they place the four numbers from the pink die (asterisk being wild, any number from 0 to 9) into that shape, and then they drop it from the top of their grid straight down.  

Unlike a video game that you will be surely reminded of – you cannot scoot the piece over when it hits something; the piece only goes one direction… straight down.  Drop it as far as it can go, and once it hits something, it stops, and then you transcribe the numbers in your shape to the spaces it occupies in the grid.

Now, each player can choose to circle one combo this round – though there is no obligation. Combos can be areas of identical number or of consecutive numbers – in sizes of 3 to 8.  If you choose to circle a combo, circle the grid spaces used and then circle the large number to the right of your grid that corresponds to your combo.   A grid space can only be used in one combo per game.  A particular combo can only be scored once per game.  If you have circled both combos of the same value, you circle the Drop Letter to the right – if it has not already been crossed off.

Finally, the round ends, and all players check to see if they have completely filled in a horizontal row in their grid (with numbers or X’s) – if so, they circle the +2 bonus to the right of that row.  Then see if the game is over, if any players have placed numbers above the GAME OVER line, the game ends.  Anyone who filled in a space in a GAME OVER row circles the -5 to the right of those filled in spaces.

But wait, that was only for a normal round.  What about the Block Letter rounds?  OK, so remember when we were doing combos, and I told you that you could circle a Block Letter if you had completed both combos of the same size?  Well, if anyone has a circled Block Letter, you must resolve it.   These special rounds happen only if someone has an active (Circled) Block Letter AND an Asterisk is rolled on one of the dice.  The highest circled letter is resolved this turn (so A first, then B…).   Anyone who does not have the matching Block Letter circled must take this turn to place the shape from the Block Board under the matching letter, and then place it in their grid.  But… instead of numbers, all the spaces are filled in with X’s.  These X’s cannot be used in combos, though they can still be used to complete rows.  Once everyone has placed this penalty block, all players X-through that letter on their score sheet; so that this Block Letter cannot be activated again in the future.  You then move to the normal end of round stuff (checking for completed rows and for game end).

So when the game ends, it’s time to tabulate the scores – you do this on the bottom of your score sheet.  You tally up the scores for completed rows (+2) and penalty rows at the top (-5) found next to your grid.  Then add up the completed numbers for identical / consecutive combos, adding a +10 point bonus if you were able to circle every number in a column.   Finally, if you were able to make a size 8 combo, score 8 points.  Add all those things up to get your final score; the player with the most wins.  There is no tie breaker.

My thoughts on the game

Well, if I were Larry Levy, Florian Sirieix would be moving to the top of my candidate list for my personal Designer of the Year 2023…  Both Number Drop and After Us have been delightful to play this summer.  Number Drop scratches a lot of itches for me.  I like the Tetris-puzzle here, in addition to the roll-and-write challenge of getting the numbers in the right places, and the overall variance introduced by dice luck.  The game is a short game that is hard to predict, so you hold on tight, hope the dice go your way and see what happens.  I know that’s not for everyone, but I like it a lot.

One of the issues I’ve seen with other roll-and-write games is the tendency for players to do the same thing initially because a particular move seems ideal.  I really like the way that the designers have gotten around this by letting each player pick the location of their starting number – and the fact that the number is different for each player (as it is based on their turn order position).  I have found that the sheets quickly diverge as players find different uses for each roll – whether it’s shape placement, shape rotation, or the orientation of the numbers in the particular shape.  And, if there is an asterisk in the roll, especially for the shape, then all bets are off because everyone is surely going to want something different.  The great thing about this sheet diversity (for me) is that it makes the game more interesting – when people want different things.  There’s lots of cheering or groaning over dice rolls, and I feel like players end up more invested in the game.

The scoring rules give you plenty to think about.  I tend to concentrate on making my shapes fit because my brain really likes to have completely filled in lines.  Of course, this has the least scoring, so that explains why I don’t win a lot… But, even without a fixed rubric in your head, you’ll have to figure out whether you’re trying to complete a row versus finishing up a combo, or ideally both.  

The other thing to keep in mind is the race for Block Letters.  You’re probably not going to be the first to all of them; because while you’re working on filling in the A’s, someone else is probably working on the B’s or C’s, and you won’t have enough time to catch up.  I find that I like to look at the possible punishments at the start of the game and prioritize the one shape that I least want to have as a penalty shape.  If I can be first to that Block Letter and give the undesirable shape to everyone else, than I’ll be able to accept the other ones which I have to take as penalties.  

That being said, sometimes the dice change your plans, and you end up a combo that you weren’t planning on.  Sure, it’s always optional to take a combo – but you can only do one a turn – and there are times when you end up closing off a combo so that it can’t get any larger; and at that point, you might as well take it.  There are also some interesting decisions early on when you get your first size-3 combo.  Do you choose to take it now?  Or do you see what the dice give you and try to build larger sized combos?  As you can only take one of each size/type combo, if you’re in a good position to stretch to 6 or more, maybe you should take advantage of that when you can, as you’ll likely be able to get a size-3 at any point later in the game…

Though it seems like this would be a lot to think about, each turn realistically doesn’t take very long.  The most complicated turns come when there is an asterisk for the shape because you sometimes have to run through all 5 shapes to figure out which one you need most; but otherwise, it is never that long to ponder your options when the shape is fixed.   There are max 76 squares to be filled in before you are forced to cross into the Game Over area; so that’s 19 turns max in the game, though realistically 15 seems to be about the average.  That short game length brings this into the 15-20 minute range, which to me, is perfect for this level of game.  There’s enough to think about to keep it interesting, but it will definitely not overstay its welcome.

Like the other Sirieix game I adore, After Us, there is minimal player interaction – though the Block Letter obstacles make sure that there is at least some effect between players; and sometimes a single block of X’s can totally disrupt your strategy and cause you to have to rethink everything.  For me, this is a great mix of planning and dice luck, and I look forward to playing it again and again.

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Dan B. (1 play): I played this on BoardgameArena almost two years ago, and thought it was pretty good – better than most other Tetris-inspired games I have played (although not as good as Knizia’s FITS). So I’d certainly play it again. On the other hand, I haven’t played it again since then. (Partly this is a mental availability issue – if I had a copy on a shelf in front of me I would be more likely to think of it.)

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it! Dale Y
• I like it.Dan B.
• Neutral. Steph
• Not for me…