Tally Up! is a fast-paced, push-your-luck dice game built around managing risk and timing your exit. The objective is to accumulate points from the rolls of the Tally Dice – six colorful dice each offering varying point values and risk levels (stars). Everyone plays and can score every round, with one player rolling each round. All players start each round IN. The core tension lies in the IN or OUT mechanic: after every roll from the active player, all players can choose to stay IN and risk it for a higher score on the current round's running total, or go OUT and safely bank the accumulated points.
The active player chooses three of the six dice to roll, selecting from Low, Medium, or High Risk dice. Low-risk dice offer smaller points but are safer, while high-risk dice boast bigger numbers but carry a greater chance of busting. If two stars are rolled in the main roll it is a Bust and everyone still IN scores 0 points for that round. Otherwise, the numbers rolled are added to the running total. Any circled numbers trigger rolling the Up Die, which can deliver a bonus or penalty to the running total, or extra dice rolls further escalating the risk. If two or more stars are rolled across the main roll and the Up die roll, it is a bust. A special bonus occurs if three stars are rolled on the main roll only. When that happens the first player to yell “Tally Up!” scores a bonus (even if they are OUT), and everyone else who is still IN scores a smaller bonus.
To win Tally Up!, you must be the first player to reach a score of 2,500 points or more at the end of a round. Victory hinges entirely on your nerves — knowing when to go OUT and bank the running total before the inevitable bust zeroes it out.