Cup Catch
Both roll. The higher number pushes the cup toward the other player. Best of 3 rounds.
Cup Catch is a two-player dice game where both players tap their own die at the same time, and the cup moves one circle toward whoever rolled lower. When the cup reaches your token you lose the round, and winning 2 rounds wins the match.
A tug of war you can't steer. You both slap your own die at the same time, the dice drop onto the paper, and a cup shuffles one circle toward whoever rolled lower. Let it reach your token and it slams down over it.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- Best of 3 rounds
- Length
- About 45 to 75 seconds a round
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Cup Catch: quick rules
About 45 to 75 seconds a round; 2 to 4 minutes for best of 3. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Tap your die.
- 2Higher number pushes the cup one circle toward the other player.
- 3Same number: nothing happens.
- 4Cup reaches your token: you lose the round.
- 5Win 2 rounds.
Cup Catch rules
Setup
- A paper strip of 9 circles runs between the players (7 or 11 are options). Each player's token sits in the end circle at their own end.
- A cup stands on the centre circle at the start of every round.
- Nobody goes first: both players roll every time. A 3-2-1 countdown starts each round.
A roll
- Both players tap their own die, in any order. A die that has rolled shows its number and waits for the other.
- When both dice are in, they drop onto the paper. The higher roll pushes the cup one circle toward the player who rolled lower.
- Equal rolls do nothing: "Tie" shows and the cup shudders.
- With Big win on (the default), beating the other roll by 4 or more pushes the cup two circles.
- With Ties charge the cup on, each tie stores a charge (up to 2) that adds to the next push.
Re-roll
- With Re-roll on, once per round each, the player who lost a roll may re-roll their die or keep the result.
- If the re-roll flips the result, the new loser may answer with their own re-roll if they still have it. Re-rolls refresh after every round.
Winning
- When the cup reaches a player's end circle, it slams down over their token: that player loses the round and the other scores a point. A push never goes past the end circle.
- Rounds can't be drawn; a round only ends when the cup covers a token.
- The cup returns to the centre for each new round. A match is best of 3 rounds by default, or best of 5.
Tips to win at Cup Catch
- 1With the default rules every roll is pure luck, so roll fast and enjoy the cheering; how you tap doesn't change the number.
- 2With Re-roll on, save it for the roll that would cover your token or leave the cup one circle from it.
- 3Spend a re-roll early and the other player may answer with theirs, so it is often stronger to re-roll after they have used up their own.
- 4Pick the 11-circle strip if you want more comebacks; on 7 circles every push hurts.
- 5With Ties charge the cup on, a tie is never wasted: the stored charge makes the next push longer, so a late tie can swing the round.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- Your die sits in your own dock at your end of the phone. Tap it to roll. Both of you can tap at the same moment.
- Nothing in the middle of the table is touchable, so neither player can block the other.
- With Re-roll on, the player who lost the roll gets their die with a Re-roll badge and a Keep button.
- The phone lies flat between you, with Blue's dock and dice facing Blue.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Strip | 79 (default)11 | Quick, Classic or Long: the number of circles, which sets how long a round lasts. |
| Rounds | Best of 3 (default)Best of 5 | Match length. |
| Big win | On (default)Off | Extra: beat the other roll by 4 or more and the cup moves two circles. |
| Re-roll | OnOff (default) | Extra: once a round, re-roll a roll you lost. |
| Ties charge the cup | OnOff (default) | Extra: ties store up to 2 charges that make the next push longer. |
Play Cup Catch against the bot
The bot plays Blue and rolls its own die without seeing yours. With the default rules there is no decision to make, so it is a single Bot with no levels. Turn Re-roll on and you can choose Easy, Normal or Hard, which differ only in when they spend their re-roll.
Easy
With Re-roll on, spends its re-roll at random, often on a harmless push.
Normal
With Re-roll on, re-rolls when a lost roll would cover its token or leave the cup right next to it, though it sometimes keeps when it shouldn't.
Hard
With Re-roll on, saves its re-roll for the moment that matters most, usually the roll that would cover its token.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- PlannedOnline play for Cup Catch is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on the same phone or the bot.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it plays the default options: 9 circles, best of 3, Big win on, Re-roll and Ties charge off.
- Hints
- No hints here: it has no single best move to point at.
Coming soon
- Online play. Play Cup Catch against someone on another phone, with the server rolling both dice.
How it feels
- A rattle and a clack as both dice tumble and drop onto the paper.
- Arrows point from the cup toward the loser, then the cup slides and squashes into place.
- A heartbeat when the cup is one circle from your token: your end circle pulses and your token trembles.
- A slow-motion slide and a heavy slam when the cup covers a token, with a little paper dust.
Accessibility
- Colour is never the only cue: Red's token carries a heart and Blue's a cross, and each dock shows how many circles the cup is from that player.
- The screen reader reads each roll and where the cup moves, for example "Red 5, Blue 2: the cup moves toward Blue".
- With reduce motion on, the tumble, squash, slam and shake are dropped, but every change still shows.
- One tap per roll on a large die; there is no clock against a friend or the bot.
Cup Catch questions
Both players roll a die at the same time. The higher roll pushes the cup one circle toward the other player, and whoever has the cup land on their token loses the round.
With the default rules it is pure luck: a cheer-and-groan party game. Turning on Re-roll adds one decision, when to spend your once-a-round re-roll.
A round takes about 45 to 75 seconds, and the default best of 3 about 2 to 4 minutes.
Yes. With the default rules you play a single Bot; with Re-roll on you can pick Easy, Normal or Hard.
No. Equal rolls just do nothing, and a round only ends when the cup slams down over one player's token.
Yes. Cup Catch in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Play Cup Catch on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
