Quick winning principles
- Bank at 3 brains unless you have 0 shotguns.
- Stop immediately at 2 shotguns — next blast ends your turn with 0.
- Red dice from the cup are dangerous — expect feet and blasts.
- Green dice are safe to push — 2 brains per die possible.
Ideal strategy
- 1
Bank at 3 brains: expected value of rolling again with 1 shotgun and mixed dice is negative. Three brains is the standard expert bank.
- 2
Shotgun tracking: 2 shotguns means 33%+ bust on next roll if cup has red dice. Always bank at 2 shotguns regardless of brain count.
- 3
Die color probability: green = 3 brains, 2 feet, 1 blast per 6 sides; yellow = 2/2/2; red = 1/2/3. Know what's left in the cup.
- 4
Cup management: after rolling, set aside feet and shotguns, reroll only brain dice plus 3 new from cup. Fewer dice in cup = more variance.
- 5
Race to 13: when opponent has 10+ brains, push to 4 brains on a turn if you have 0-1 shotguns — conservative play loses the race.
- 6
First player advantage: going first wins ~5% more games. Push slightly harder on opening turns.