Spots Board Game
Roll dice, fill the numbered spots on your dogs, and decide whether to keep pushing your luck or safely score completed cards before your yard causes a bust.
Spots is a light push-your-luck dice game designed by Alex Hague, Jon Perry and Justin Vickers, illustrated by John Bond and published by CMYK. You roll dice to cover corresponding numbers on adorable dog cards. Dice that cannot be placed go into your yard, where rolling too many spots triggers a costly bust.
The central decision is when to stop rolling. Completed dogs are not permanently safe until they are scored, but scoring normally uses an entire turn. Successfully filling all your unfinished dogs during a trick scores them instantly.
What makes Spots different?
The same roll can bring you closer to completing a dog or push your buried dice total above seven. Because you may score completed dogs instead of taking another risk, good play depends on assessing how vulnerable your unscored progress is—not simply rolling as many dice as possible.
Game at a Glance
Choose a Trick
Use a face-up action tile to roll dice or gain resources.
Fill Your Dogs
Match rolled numbers to empty spots; bury the rest.
Bank Progress
Score completed dogs before a bust erases their dice.
Win
Be first to score six dog cards.
How to set up Spots
- Put the six recommended starting tricks face up: Howl, Walk, Run, Roll Over, Fetch and Beg.
- Shuffle the dog cards and deal two to each player, gray side up.
- Prepare the common dice and treat supplies.
- Give each player one yard and one treat.
- Each player rolls one die and places it in their own yard; the player with the highest die goes first, rerolling ties.
Use the recommended six tricks for your first play. The box has additional trick tiles that you can substitute in later games.
How to play Spots
Players take turns clockwise. On your turn you choose one of two actions: do a trick or score your dogs.
To do a trick, choose a face-up trick tile, turn it face down, and follow its steps in order. Many tricks have you roll dice. You may place rolled dice on unfilled dog spaces displaying the matching number. Dice you cannot or choose not to place are buried in your yard.
Instead of performing a trick, you can score your completed dog cards, protecting that progress from future busts. You must have at least one fully completed dog to choose this action.
What do the trick tiles do?
The recommended opening selection is Howl, Walk, Run, Roll Over, Fetch and Beg. They create the main rhythm of gathering dogs, rolling and placing dice, managing previously buried dice, and securing treats. Read each tile’s individual instructions in sequence: not every trick produces a new roll.
Some tiles have repeatable steps. If the tile explicitly allows repeating, you may continue until you decide to stop or you bust. When a tile has two steps, failing to perform the first does not automatically prevent the second. Steps are mandatory unless they explicitly say you may skip them.
After gaining familiarity, choose six tiles by keeping Howl and Roll Over and selecting one from each of the other four color groups. The publisher also provides several preset trick combinations for variety.
Where do rolled dice go?
Suppose you roll a 2, 4 and 6. If one of your dogs has an empty 2 space and another has an empty 4 space, you can place those matching dice. If none of your dogs has an available 6 space, you must bury the 6 in your yard.
All dice from a roll must be handled before taking another roll: place them on matching dog spaces or bury them. A die cannot be kept aside to decide later.
Matching a spot does not automatically score the dog. A fully covered dog remains vulnerable until you use the scoring action or trigger an immediate scoring condition.
When do you bust in Spots?
You bust if the sum of the faces on your buried yard dice becomes greater than seven. Seven exactly is safe; eight or more causes a bust.
| Yard dice | Total | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 3 and 4 | 7 | Safe, but no buffer remains |
| 2 and 5 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 and 5 | 8 | Bust |
| 1, 2 and 6 | 9 | Bust |
When you bust, your turn ends immediately and you discard all dice currently on your unfinished dogs and all buried yard dice. Already scored dog cards remain scored.
That last distinction is important: a bust destroys vulnerable dice placement, not your previously banked score.
How do treats and rerolls work?
After rolling, but before placing or burying any dice from that roll, you may spend a treat to reroll the entire group of dice you just rolled. You cannot pick only the undesirable die to reroll.
You can spend multiple treats on successive rerolls of that same roll, provided you have enough treats. Once you place or bury those dice, that roll can no longer be rerolled.
Example: you roll a 2, 3 and 6 but can place only the 2 and 3. Spending a treat means rerolling all three dice, including the two that would have been useful. This creates a real risk even when part of your roll is good.
Two ways to score completed dogs
1. Slow and steady
Instead of doing a trick on your turn, score all your completed dogs. Remove their dice, flip their cards to the scored side, and draw a new dog for each scored card, up to the six-card total limit. You cannot score only one of several completed dogs while saving the others.
2. Fast and risky
If a trick causes you to finish all of your currently face-up dog cards, you score them immediately without taking a separate scoring turn. First finish placing or burying all dice from that roll. If the roll causes you to bust, you do not get the automatic score.
After successful automatic scoring, replenish dogs as normal and continue any remaining or repeatable steps of the trick.
Practical difference: slow scoring costs tempo but protects progress. Automatic scoring is quicker, but trying to complete the final missing spots may expose you to a damaging bust.
How do you win Spots?
The first player to have six scored dog cards wins immediately. No further tie-breaker or end-of-round scoring is required.
You may have at most six dog cards total, counting scored and unscored cards. When a rule tells you to draw new cards, stop as soon as you reach six cards in total.
What happens when the trick tiles run out?
Trick tiles flip face down when chosen. If you begin your turn with only one face-up trick tile remaining, place one treat onto that last available tile, then flip all the trick tiles face up. You can then choose any face-up trick for your action.
The treat remains on the designated tile until someone chooses it and collects the reward. This gives a small incentive to use an action that might otherwise be less desirable.
Does Spots have a solo mode?
Yes. The official solo variant pits you against an automated opponent called d0g. You play first. d0g begins with one treat, no yard and no dogs.
On d0g’s turn, roll one die to select a numbered trick. If that tile is face up, d0g flips it face down and takes any treat on it. If the selected tile is already face down, d0g instead scores the top card of the dog deck. When d0g holds at least two treats, it spends two and scores an additional dog.
Reset the trick tiles for d0g the same way as for a human turn. The first to score six dogs wins. Adjust difficulty by increasing or decreasing d0g’s starting treats. The publisher’s second-edition rulebook includes small solo-mode updates, so follow the version packaged with your copy when exact details differ.
What comes in the box?
Standard game listings identify 40 dice, 32 dog cards, 22 trick tiles, four yard tiles and 20 treat tokens. The artwork features many different dogs illustrated by John Bond. Despite its simple premise, the additional trick tiles allow you to vary the choice of actions between sessions.
Eight strategy tips for Spots
- Know your remaining legal faces. Before rolling, count which dice values still fit on your unfinished dogs.
- Bank vulnerable progress. If several dogs are complete but other spaces are hard to fill, a scoring turn may be safer than risking another roll.
- Look for automatic scoring. Finishing every unscored dog at once saves a turn and can create a powerful tempo swing.
- Consider your buried total. Six or seven spots already in your yard means the next unplaceable die can force a bust.
- Save treats for critical rolls. Rerolling the whole group can be useful when a bust is likely, but it can also discard good results.
- Use trick availability. Tiles chosen by others are temporarily unavailable, changing the action options you’ll see on your next turn.
- Watch for reset treats. A tile carrying a free treat may justify a different action than the one you originally wanted.
- Change pace near the finish. If a rival has five scored dogs, reliable progress may matter more than perfect efficiency.
These recommendations are strategic deductions from the published rules, not claims of personal playtesting.
Spots board game FAQ
How many players can play Spots?
One to four, including an official solo mode.
How long does a game last?
Typically 25–30 minutes.
How many dogs do you need to win?
Six scored dogs.
What number causes a bust?
A buried yard total greater than seven. Seven itself does not bust.
Do you lose scored dogs when you bust?
No. You lose dice from unscored dogs and your yard, not already scored cards.
Can you reroll only one die using a treat?
No. Reroll all dice from the most recent roll.
Can you score just one completed dog?
No. When taking the Score action, score all completed dog cards.
When can dogs score for free?
When you complete every face-up dog while performing a trick, after resolving the latest roll without busting.
Can you hold seven dog cards?
No. Your maximum is six total scored and unscored cards.
Do you need every trick tile?
No. Use the six introductory tiles, then swap alternatives in according to their color groups.
Is there a special solo opponent?
Yes: d0g, which progresses using dice to select trick tiles.
Sources and editorial scope
- CMYK: official publisher product page
- Spots official rulebook text hosted by RulesPal
- Spots second-edition official rulebook file
- BoardGameGeek: player count, credits, components and community information
Game information verified October 11, 2026. Editorial explanations, numerical examples and tips are original, and this guide does not claim hands-on playtesting. Refer to the official game rulebook for complete trick-tile instructions. Editorial policy and corrections.
