# Rules

Oops! is a game of skill and cunning, playable by up to four people. Each player has four pieces, and the ultimate goal is to get all four of your pieces into the home circle before your opponents do. Your pieces initially begin in the start circle.

Start circle
Home circle

You move your pieces around the board in a clockwise fashion. Each round you draw a card to determine how many spaces to move. There are 11 possible card values, as listed below:

- 1 Move ahead one space, or move one piece out of start.
- 2 Move ahead two spaces, or move one piece out of start. Also gain another turn.
- 3 Move ahead three spaces.
- 4 Move backwards four spaces.
- 5 Move ahead five spaces.
- 7 Move one piece ahead seven spaces, or split between two pieces.
- 8 Move ahead eight spaces.
- 10 Move ahead ten spaces, or move backwards one space.
- 11 Move ahead eleven spaces, or switch places with an opponent's piece.
- 12 Move ahead twelve spaces.
- Oops!Move one of your pieces out of start and replace one of your opponent's pieces. The opponent's piece is sent back to start.

If you draw a card and can't make a move (e.g., you draw an 8 but all your pieces are in start) then you forfeit your turn. However, if you can make a move, then you must make a move, even if it is detrimental to you. (The only exception to this rule is if you get an 11 and you can't move forward 11, then you are not required to switch places with an opponent.)

At certain positions around the board are slides. Landing at the start of one of these slides will automatically move your piece to the end of it. The only exception to this rule is that you can't perform a slide on your own color (e.g., a red piece on a red slide).

Slide

If at any point you land on a square occupied by an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece gets knocked back to start. Furthermore, if any pieces are currently on a slide when you perform a slide, they are all knocked back to start (including your own pieces). Sliding into your own pieces is the only time you can knock your own pieces back to start; you can't normally land on a square that is occupied by your own piece.

Each player's home circle has five colored squares that lead into it. These squares are safety squares, meaning that any pieces in inside of them can't be knocked out by an Oops! card and can't be switched out using an 11 card. Only matching color pieces can enter the safety squares (e.g., only red pieces can enter red safety squares). You can't move backwards into the safety squares; you must always be moving forwards.

Safety squares

In order for a piece to reach home, it must land on the home circle exactly. This means that if your last piece is five squares away but you draw an 8, then that piece can't enter home.