How to Play Can’t Stop: Dice Pairing, Runners & Busts

ByBoardGame Archive

Can’t Stop is a push-your-luck dice game about climbing numbered columns. Roll four dice, divide them into two pairs, use the two sums to move shared runner markers, then decide whether to stop and bank the progress or roll again and risk losing everything gained that turn.

Goal of the game

Be the first player to claim three numbered columns. A column is claimed when you reach its top and successfully secure that progress.

Step 1: roll four dice

Roll all four dice. Divide them into two pairs. Each pair creates one sum from 2 to 12.

For example, with 1, 4, 5 and 6 you could form:

  • 1+4 and 5+6 → columns 5 and 11
  • 1+5 and 4+6 → columns 6 and 10
  • 1+6 and 4+5 → columns 7 and 9

Step 2: choose a legal pairing

Choose the pairing that gives you the movement you want. If both sums can legally move runners, use both. If the two sums are identical, that runner can advance twice when the move is legal.

Step 3: use the three runners

There are only three temporary runner markers. During one turn, you can therefore work on at most three different columns.

The first time you use a column during a turn, place its runner at your current saved position in that column—or at the bottom if you have no saved progress—and advance it according to the chosen sum.

Step 4: stop or roll again

After a successful roll you choose:

  • Stop: replace the temporary runner positions with your own permanent markers. That progress is now saved.
  • Continue: roll all four dice again and try to advance one or more of the same three active columns.

What is a bust?

If a roll has no legal pairing that lets you place or advance a runner, your turn ends immediately. Remove the runners and lose all progress made during that turn. Your previously banked positions from earlier turns remain where they were.

What happens when you reach the top?

A runner that reaches the top of a column cannot move farther. If you later stop successfully, you claim that column with your permanent marker. Once a column is claimed, it is closed for the rest of the game.

Reaching the top but continuing to roll is risky: if you bust before stopping, the unbanked claim is lost along with the rest of that turn’s progress.

How do you win?

The game ends immediately when a player has claimed three columns.

Common beginner mistakes

  • Rolling only two dice instead of all four.
  • Using more than three different columns during one turn.
  • Banking progress automatically after every roll. You bank only when you voluntarily stop.
  • Erasing progress from earlier turns after a bust. Only the current turn’s temporary progress is lost.
  • Trying to advance in a column that has already been claimed and closed.

Related Can’t Stop guides

See the Can’t Stop game guide for the overview. Continue with Can’t Stop Strategy for column odds and stop decisions, or Can’t Stop Dice Pairing, Bust & Column Rules for edge cases.

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