Marble Drop

Marble Drop - based on the retro game Kerplunk!

The objective: To skillfully remove the sticks from the tower, while dropping the fewest marbles possible. 

The components:

• Plate 1 - The base
• Plate 2 - Panels and pins (print 2 copies)
• Plate 3 - Lid and 6-sided die
• Plates 4-9 - The sticks, marbles and die inlays

Assembly:

1. After removing the panels and pins from the build plate, flex the hinges to loosen them…be sure to do this for both sides of each hinge.
2. If they feel stuck, try sliding something narrow between the parts to separate them, like a palette knife. 
3. The bottom side of the print will become the inside of the tower - the panels will swing towards the inside easier than the outside.
4. Align the hinges from one panel with the slots in the other, and use the pin to attach them together. Ensure that the tabs facing the same direction.
5. The pins should slide freely into the hole at the bottom of the panel, through the hinges on the other panel. If there's any resistance, try sliding the pins through the hinges first, before connecting them to the panels.
6. Once the panels are assembled, attach the lid to the flat edge of the panels to form a hexagonal cylinder. You can use the cone shape of the lid to align the panels to the proper angles. 
7. Next you can attach the cylinder to the base. The tabs and pin tops fit into the slots and holes in the base.
8. Watch the animated gif to learn how to assemble the marbles.
9. Snap the inlays in the die - one or two may be a little snug but they should snap into place. They can be removed and reattached if you want to change the position of the inlays.

Game setup: 

1. Insert the sticks into the holes by placing one end of the stick through a hole and push it through to the matching hole on the other side. Choose the colors randomly.
2. When all the sticks are inserted, load the marbles by dropping them through the opening in the lid. The marbles will rest on top of the web of sticks. They may not all fit, so you can either remove the lid to allow all the marbles to sit on the sticks, or allow the ones that don't fit to sit in the funnel until there is space for them to drop into the cylinder.

How to play (2,3, or 6 players): 

1. Assign the colors:
   1. For a 2-player game, each player chooses three colors
   2. For a 3-player game, each player chooses two colors
   3. For a 6-player game, each player chooses one color
2. Choose the order of players:
   1. Option 1: by age, starting with the youngest
   2. Option 2: alphabetic by color - blue, green, orange, purple, red, yellow
3. On each turn: 
   1. The player rolls the die then removes a matching color stick
   2. Sicks must be removed from the top down, always choosing from the highest level
   3. If there are more than one stick of that color on that level, the player can choose which to remove
   4. If there are no longer any stick of that color, the turn is forfeit and play continues with the next player
4. As the sticks are removed, the marbles will eventually start to drop. Game continues until all the marbles drop

Completing the game:

1. Option 1:
   1. When a player removes a stick and marbles drop, the player removes the marbles from the base and sets them aside
   2. The player with the fewest marbles at the end of the game wins.
2. Option 2:
   1. When all of a player's marbles have dropped, they are eliminated, and the remaining players continue to take their turn.
   2. The color of the last marble to drop determines the winner.