Overview

Pickomino (also known as Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck) is a dice-rolling push-your-luck game where players roll 8 dice to collect barbecue worm helpings from a central grill. The player with the most worms at the end wins.

Components

• 16 barbecue worm helpings (tiles numbered 21-36, each showing 1-4 worms)
• 8 dice (faces show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and a worm symbol)
• Rules sheet

Setup

1. Place the 16 worm helpings in ascending order (21-36) in a row in the center of the table. This is the grill.
2. The youngest player begins; play proceeds clockwise.

Turn Structure

On your turn, roll all 8 dice, then repeatedly set aside dice and reroll until you stop or bust:

1. Roll all 8 dice.
2. Choose one symbol (a number 1-5 or worm) from the roll. Take ALL dice showing that symbol and set them aside. You may only choose a symbol you have not previously set aside this turn.
3. Optionally reroll all remaining dice and repeat step 2, OR stop and total your score.
4. Each worm die counts as 5 points when totaling your score.
5. You must have at least one worm die among your set-aside dice to claim a tile.

Actions

Claiming a Tile

When you stop rolling:

• From the grill: If the grill has a face-up tile matching your exact total, take it. If not, take the highest face-up tile on the grill that is less than your total.
• Snatching from another player: If another player has a face-up tile on top of their stack that exactly matches your total, you may snatch it instead of taking from the grill.
• You can only snatch with an exact match; you cannot snatch with a higher total.

Building Your Stack

Each new tile is placed face up on top of your stack. Only the top tile is visible and vulnerable to snatching. All tiles beneath are safe.

Failed Turn (Bust)

A turn fails if:

• You roll and get only symbols you have already collected (no valid choice)
• You end your turn without any worm dice among your collected dice
• Your total does not reach any visible tile on the grill or any opponent’s top tile

Penalty for a bust: Return your top tile (if you have one) to the grill, then flip the highest face-up tile on the grill face down (permanently removed from the game). Exception: if the returned tile IS the highest on the grill, it stays face up and no tile is flipped.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when no face-up tiles remain on the grill.

Each player totals the worm icons printed on all their collected tiles. The player with the most worms wins. Tiebreaker: the player with the single highest-numbered tile wins.

Shorter game variant: Returned tiles are also placed face down, even if they are the highest tile on the grill.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Each worm die is worth 5 points when calculating your total.
• You must choose at least one die after each roll; you cannot reroll all dice.
• You cannot choose a symbol you have already set aside in a previous roll this turn.
• If you can only take dice that match symbols you already collected, your turn is a bust.
• You must have at least one worm die in your collected dice to claim any tile.
• When returning a tile after a bust, if it becomes the highest tile on the grill, no tile is flipped face down.
• You can choose to stop rolling at any time, as long as you can validly claim a tile.

Player Reference

Worm Helpings	Number	Worms Shown
21-24	4 tiles	1 worm each
25-28	4 tiles	2 worms each
29-32	4 tiles	3 worms each
33-36	4 tiles	4 worms each

Die Face	Value
1-5	Face value
Worm	5 points

Turn summary: Roll -> Set aside one symbol type -> Reroll or stop -> Claim tile or bust