Jacob’s Ladder is a fun and exciting board game you can play with your family & friends. Designed for 2-8 players with an approximate play time of 30-60 minutes. Be the first to build the scene surrounding Jacob’s dream from Genesis 28:10-22 and you’re the winner!
The information on this page will guide you through the process of playing the game. Pay close attention to the rules on how to claim points and bonuses as these are essential to a winning strategy.
How to Play
The goal of the game is to be the first player to place all their pieces on their gameboard and complete the Jacob’s Ladder scene. There are 10 parts to the scene, some of which have multiple pieces making up one of those parts. To place your pieces on the gameboard you must first buy them with points you earn from matching dice you have rolled with the play cards that have the corresponding dice numbers and/or numbers & colors. You can also earn points through bonuses.
At the beginning of the game each player rolls their color dice to set their bonus color for the entirety of the game and then rolls the small black and white dice to set their bonus numbers. Place these dice on the scoreboard in the White, Black & Color Bonus squares. The color and numbers that are rolled determine how you receive your bonuses. Bonuses are awarded to both active and inactive players. Only one bonus can be claimed per roll for your black bonus number and one for your white bonus number, regardless of how many dice come up with your bonus numbers. Bonus Rolls are made with the two white dice that are kept on your gameboard. These dice are not rolled with your normal game play dice. See the bonus rules section for bonus details.
Scoreboard
Use your score board and the marker cubes to keep track of your points and bonuses. Once you have purchased and placed all your pieces on your gameboard and are the first person to do so, you have won the game.
Claiming a Play Card
You can claim a play card in two ways. 1) If your dice match all the numbers on the play card regardless of color, you can claim the card and earn the point value that is on the card. 2) You can earn extra points on top of the cards printed value by matching the numbers AND the colors of the dice. For each dice that matches the color and the number you get an additional number of points equal to the card’s value. For example, if the play card has three dice on it, the card’s value is 10 points and if you only match the numbers and not the colors you would get 10 points for the card. If one of your dice matches the color and the number, then you get an additional 10 points making the card worth 20 total points. If you match all three dice with both colors and numbers, then you get 10 points for each match which adds an additional 30 points making that single card worth 40 points.
The image below shows an example of claiming a card with two dice being a color match which makes this card worth 30 points.
Change your Bonus #s
At the beginning of a player’s turn they can roll their dice for normal game play OR re-roll their bonus dice to set new bonus color & numbers which will take the place of the player’s normal roll. If you decide to change your bonus color & numbers, you still get to do the other parts of your turn, you just don’t get to roll any of your game play dice. See Turn Rules for more details.
Turn Rules
Below are the different steps taken during each turn. They can be done in any order so you may want to think for a moment to ensure you get the most out of your turn.
· Roll Dice
A player’s dice are rolled to try and match either the dice numbers or the dice colors & numbers on the play cards. A player can choose to roll some or all the dice they’ve set aside on their gameboard, but all dice they choose must be rolled together at the same time and you must roll any dice that were used to claim cards on your previous turn.
· Claim Bonus
After the Active Player rolls their dice, pause the round so all players can see the rolled dice and calculate their bonus. Once complete, the player can continue with their turn. Check the Bonus Rules to determine how the bonus structure works.
· Claim play cards
A player may claim any play cards in which they have matches and add those points to their scoreboard.
· Buy pieces
A player can buy as many pieces as they want, but they must buy them in the order according to the Build Order and only on their turn.
· Place pieces
A player gets to Place 1 piece on their gameboard during each turn for free. They can buy the right to place additional pieces, (up to 4 max) for 5 Pts each. Players must build their gameboard in the order listed in the Build Order section.
The turn is over once the above steps have been completed. The steps can be completed in any order.
Bonus Rules
Bonuses are available to both the Active Player and the In-Active Players. The Active Player’s rolled dice determines the bonuses. Each player assesses their own bonus from the rolled dice of the Active Player. Kept aside dice or dice that are not rolled do not get used for assessing bonuses.
· Dice # Match
If one of the rolled dice matches either your White Bonus # or your Black Bonus #, add 5 pts and advance the matching Bonus Line by +1.
· Dice Color Match
If the color of the dice that matches your Bonus # also matches your Bonus Color the player can advance the matching Bonus Line by an additional +1.
· Bonus Line
Once a Bonus Line reaches the trigger value at the end of the line, (2 for White and 4 for Black) the player can claim the associated Bonus. Once a Bonus is claimed the player must reset the marker cube back to the beginning of the claimed Bonus Line. Bonuses can be claimed at any time during the game, even if you are not the Active Player.
· White Bonus: Bonus Dice Roll
o Roll the two White dice together. Take the sum of the two dice and use the Bonus Chart on your gameboard to determine your bonus.
· Black Bonus: Draw a card from the Bonus Deck.
o If it is currently your turn and you draw a card that indicates waiting until your next turn, you must wait as instructed.
· Bonus Cards:
Pay attention to the details on the Black Bonus Cards. Some get used right away, some on your next turn and some give others a bonus.
· Bonus Limits:
When bonuses are assessed after the Active Player’s roll, only one dice counts toward each color’s bonus.
For example, if your bonus values are a White 3, a Black 2 and the color Blue, and the Active player rolls more than one 3 and/or more than one 2; you can only use one of the 3’s towards your White Bonus and one of the 2’s towards your Black Bonus. You don’t get multiples. If one of the 3’s or 2’s was rolled with their Blue dice, you would want to use that one to count towards your bonus since it is also a color match to your bonus color and gives you a better bonus by advancing your matching Bonus Line by an additional +1. (See Bonus 1 Example)
(Bonus 1 Example)
· Same Bonus #’s:
This is when a player rolls for their bonus #’s and color at the beginning of the game and both their White and their Black numbers are the same.
For example, if your bonus values are a White 3, a Black 3 and the color Orange, and the Active player rolls one or more 3’s in their roll; you can use any of the 3’s to count toward both your White and Black bonus. Even if there was only one 3 it can count towards both the White and Black bonus AND if the color of the dice is Orange that has the 3 on it, you get to claim the extra +1 advancement bonus for both the White and Black bonus lines.
Order Matters
The order you do things in matters. As you play the game you must buy pieces in a particular order, and you place them on the gameboard in a particular order. There is also an order when it comes to player operations. The Active player always has priority and if there is a tie between player actions the Active player’s actions count first. For example, If the Active player and one of the In—Active players reach for a Bonus Card, the Active player gets to go first. If two In-Active players reach for a Bonus Card at the same time the player closest to the Active player in the play rotation has priority.
Partially Completed Gameboard:
How to Win
Be the first player to place all your pieces on your gameboard to complete the Jacob’s Ladder scene. If multiple players place their last piece on their gameboard during the same turn, refer to the “Order Matters’ section. If the Active player is among the players placing their last piece, then the Active player wins the game since the Active player always has priority for player operations. If the Active player is not among the players that have placed their last piece on their gameboard then the player closest to the Active player in the play rotation wins the game due to the player order of operations.
Fully Completed Gameboard:
Card Tray Setup
· Play Card Tray
Shuffle the Play Cards and place them face up in the Play Card Tray in 3 equal stacks. These are the cards that you will be trying to match with your dice. Each player has 6 dice of different colors that are used to claim play cards. The play cards have pictures of dice in various # patterns and colors. When a player rolls, they can set aside dice to be used towards any of the play cards that are face up. A die can only be used towards a single card, but you can split your dice between different cards and possibly claim more than one card in a single turn. Once a play card has been claimed it gets taken up and placed in the Discard Tray and the next play card is revealed and available for play. Once the last cards are used, the discard pile then get shuffled and redistributed to the Play Card Tray.
· Bonus Card Tray
Shuffle the Bonus Cards and place them face down in the Bonus Card Tray in 3 equal stacks. These are the cards used to claim your Black Bonuses. You may choose a card from any pile. Used cards get placed in the Discard Tray. Once the last cards are used, the discard pile then gets shuffled and redistributed to the Bonus Card Tray.
· Discard Tray
Place discarded play cards on one side of the discard tray and the bonus cards on the other side.
You will need to assemble the discard tray dividers before starting the game and disassemble them when putting it away. Simply slide the two dividers in and out of the slots in the discard tray.
Pre-Game Setup
Before the start of the game, all players must setup their Gameboard and Scoreboard. As part of the setup, all players will roll their bonus black, white & colored dice to set their bonus color & numbers. This roll also determines which player goes first. Take the sum of your two dice and the player with the highest number gets to go first and starts the game.
Gameboard/Scoreboard Setup
When starting the game, use the image on the next page as an example of how-to setup your gameboard and scoreboard. This example shows everything setup from the point after the bonus color and numbers have been established. Make sure to place your clear marker cubes on all the spots indicated and are set at 0.
Start the Game
At this point the game is ready to begin, and the first player starts their turn by rolling their six colored game play dice. See Turn Rules for more details.
