How to Play Pyramid Shambo
Designed by Andy Looney
Introduction: This is tournament-style Rock Paper Scissors (aka Roshambo), with pyramids used as scoring chips. Pyramid Shambo is to RPS what a Texas Hold ‘em Tournament is to a single hand of classic poker.
Number of Players: 2-5 (or more, if you have more pyramids of di fferent colors)
Equipment: For 2-5 players, all you need is one Rainbow Stash. You can play with 6-10 people if you have a Rainbow Stash plus a Xeno Stash.
Setup: Everyone chooses a color and picks up the 3 pieces of that color. Unused colors are set aside. Players sit in a circle, either around a table or not, so that everyone can see everyone else,
and the pieces they are currently holding.
Optional Markers: It’s crucial that all players remember their starting color. Therefore, colored cue cards for each player can be useful. It’s also helpful to pass around an “It’s My Turn” token.
Establish RPS Protocol: Before starting, agree on whether your group will be using the "1-2-3!" or the "1-2-3-go!" combat styles.
Basic Action: On your turn, choose a player for a round of RPS. Winner takes a pyramid from loser.
Tie Escalation: If the RPS challenge is resolved on the first round, the winner gets a small pyramid.
However, if the players tie, the fees increase. If they tie once before one wins, the winner gets 2
pips worth of pyramids. If the players tie twice, the winner gets a 3 pip prize, and so on.
Making Change: The loser must always pay their fee using the pyramids they hold, if they can. If they must get change, someone at the table will provide it. The player being paid must make change if possible; if not, an uninvolved player must provide the required change.
Active Player Makes All Decisions: Any time a decision of any sort is required, the choice is made by the player whose turn it is. This means the active player chooses which players will exchange pieces as needed to make change, and what color of piece(s) will be used for payment.
Player Elimination: When a player loses their last piece, they are out of the game. Moreover, the three pyramids of that player's original color are also removed from the game. Those who held them get nothing in return.
Knock-Out Bonus: When someone knocks another player out, all remaining players must immediately give a small pyramid to the winner.
Cascading Knock-Outs: If a player is eliminated, not by losing a challenge, but from paying a Knock-Out Bonus or losing an exiting player’s color, that player’s pieces are removed as usual but no further Knock-Out Bonuses are paid.
Self Elimination: If it’s your turn, but you lose the challenge and get knocked out, the player who beat you becomes the acting active player. Play continues with whoever would have gone next.
Showdown Speedup: In a game with more than two players, payment amounts become doubled when all but two players have been eliminated.
Goal: The winner is the one player left standing!