Dreamtime Sniff

MESSAGE

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Dreamtime Sniff

Assemble your crew, count the pips, claim the treasure.

For Dreamtime — BVI waters, cold Tings, warm company

Pirate Registry

Pirate Alias

VOYAGE: ----

Manifest & Log

Battle Log

The Articles of Sniff

Unified Maritime Protocol v95

Dreamtime Sniff is a high-stakes, server-authoritative multiplayer adaptation of the classic "All Fives" dominoes game. It combines tactical tile placement with social sabotage and real-time declaration mechanics.

1. The Fleet & The Deal

The Deck: A standard Double-Six set (28 tactical assets).

The Crew: 2 to 4 players, any mix of humans and AI Pirates. The Admiral controls crew size from the Lobby using the + and - buttons before setting sail.

Solo Voyage: Play against 1, 2, or 3 AI opponents. Starts with 1 AI in the Lobby — add more or set sail immediately.

Command Voyage: Host a game as Admiral. Share your Sector ID with friends to join. Add AI Pirates to fill empty seats, or play with humans only.

Join Fleet: Enter a friend's Sector ID to join their voyage as crew.

The Deal: 2 players: 7 tiles each. 3 players: 6 tiles each. 4 players: 5 tiles each. The remaining tiles form the Boneyard.

2. Setting Sail (Gameplay)

The Opening Move: The Admiral (or the first player in the manifest) sets any tile to the board to begin the chain.

Matching Pips: Tiles must be played by matching one end to an Exposed End on the board. If you have a [3:5] and the board ends in a 5, you may set your tile.

The Boneyard: If you cannot make a legal move, you must draw tiles from the Boneyard one at a time until you find a playable tile or the Boneyard is empty. A drawn playable tile must be played immediately.

Passing: You may only "Knock" (Pass your turn) if your hand is unplayable and the Boneyard is empty.

3. The "Sniff" (The Spinner)

The first double played (e.g., [4:4] or [6:6]) is designated as the Sniff (or Spinner).

While normal tiles only have one open end, the Sniff is a 4-way intersection. Pirates can "branch" off all four sides of the Sniff tile, creating four separate arms of the board. The board displays as a cross: the Sniff sits at the center with arms extending in all four directions.

4. Calculating Plunder (Scoring)

The goal of Sniff is to make the sum of all Exposed Ends on the board equal to a multiple of five (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.).

Exposed Ends: The pips on the very tips of every active branch of the board.

Example: Arm 1 ends in a 3. Arm 2 ends in a 2. Sum = 5. Plunder available! (5 points)

Example (Post-Sniff): Arm 1: 6 | Arm 2: 4 | Arm 3: 5 | Arm 4: 5. Sum = 20. Heavy Plunder available! (20 points)

5. Muggins: Declare or Forfeit

In Dreamtime Sniff, points are not automatic. You must Declare your Plunder.

The Window: After playing a scoring tile, a 7-second "Declare!" modal appears on your screen.

Claiming: You must click Claim Plunder before the timer expires to add the points to your Treasury.

Catch Blunder: If you fail to claim your points within 7 seconds, any rival pirate can click the "Catch Blunder!" button.

The Theft: A rival who catches your blunder steals your points plus a 5-doubloon bounty.

Tings: Each successful Claim or Catch earns you a Ting — a streak token displayed in the Manifest. Tings are bragging rights that track your declaration prowess across the voyage.

AI Pirates: AI players automatically claim their plunder without a Muggins window — they never blunder. Only human pirates face the 7-second gauntlet.

6. The Keelhaul (Sabotage)

Once your Treasury reaches 50 doubloons, you unlock the Keelhaul. Each use costs 5 doubloons from your score.

Execution: Open the Manifest (☰) and click the ☠️ skull icon next to a rival's name.

Impact: The target station is "Submerged" for 15 seconds.

Effect: A submerged player is blinded by a water overlay and is blocked from declaring plunder or catching blunders during this time. You cannot keelhaul a player who is already submerged.

7. Victory (Domino!)

A round (Voyage) ends in two ways:

Domino: A player plays their very last tile. They receive a bonus based on the pips remaining in their rivals' hands.

Blocked: No players can move and the Boneyard is empty. The player with the lowest pip count in their hand wins the round.

Target Score: 250 points with 2 players, 200 points with 3 or 4 players.

Next Round: When a round ends, the Admiral chooses: Next Round (reshuffle the deck, keep scores and crew) or New Voyage (reset all scores to zero and start fresh). Non-admirals wait for the Admiral's call.

Dreamtime Sniff

Pirate Registry

Declare!

Choose Your End

Keelhauled!

Round Complete!

Manifest & Log

The Articles of Sniff

1. The Fleet & The Deal

2. Setting Sail (Gameplay)

3. The "Sniff" (The Spinner)

4. Calculating Plunder (Scoring)

5. Muggins: Declare or Forfeit

6. The Keelhaul (Sabotage)

7. Victory (Domino!)