In Bare Bones, players each begin with an identical base set of 7 cards + 3 additional cards they choose. Cards come in two varieties, Dice Cards and Action Cards.

Dice Cards come in 7 colors. Every Dice Card played entitles the player to roll 1 die of the corresponding color. The different colored dice have different values representing points. White dice provide the currency needed to acquire new cards to build your deck.

Action Cards grant powerful abilities players can use to multiply scores and enhance other cards in their decks. There are many paths to victory through card and dice combos, but it all comes down to how you build your deck and the luck of the dice. Seven different Action Cards are used in each game, but 20 are provided.

After 12 rounds, scores are tallied to determine the victor.