Since nobody volunteered to be first, Jack made everyone roll the dice to determine the playing order. John happened to roll the highest number, making him the first player. This would be followed by Paul, then Ellis, then Bob, and finally Jack in that order.
John threw the dice hesitantly, and moved his game piece across the board, landing on a minus space. He frowned. "So that means I get younger right? Aww man...". He peered into the black circle set in the centre of the board as a glowing white -5 appeared. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at John, waiting. "Huh, I guess the dumb thing's not magic after all" he uttered just a moment too early.
Without warning, he found himself shrinking several inches at once. He fell back onto his chair with surprise, watching as his limbs shrivelled up into his shortening body. Even his clothes changed to better fit his smaller body. Once the damage was done, everyone stared at John who could no longer see over the top of the table while sat down. He was now 5 years old and dressed in age appropriate clothing. Nobody said a word, all too afraid to break the silence. That is, until John cried out an ear-splitting "WHHAAAAAAT!?!?". He clamoured to his feet, standing on his chair with his hands gripped to the table to keep himself from falling over. "I hate this! Everything's too big. I don't want to be a baby again, can I re-roll?"
Jack stifled a laugh before shaking his head. "Sorry buddy, one roll per person per round, just like every other board game ever. You'll have to wait your turn"
John stomped his foot, crossed his arms, and pouted. Paul reached over and patted his tiny brother on the head. "Aww, you look so cute! I've always wanted a little brother." John whacked away Paul's hand and gave him the deadliest stare he could muster, which unfortunately looked more like a disgruntled puppy look. Paul grinned bigger, then reached towards the dice. "I guess it's my turn!" He made a decent roll and made it further up the board than his brother. He smiled a little when he realised he had landed on a plus space. He felt giddy as he looked into the circle, a bright +14 lit up in the centre. Upon seeing this, that giddiness he felt spread throughout his body.
Paul pushed his chair away from the table and hastily stood up. It wasn't his imagination, he really was growing taller! He wobbled uneasily as his growth spurt threw off his balance, barely managing to stay on his feet which were growing inch by inch. His arms were all over the place, growing long and gangly, then swelling up with strong muscle as dark hairs crept along their length. His legs followed suit, thickening into hair-covered trunks of power. His chest puffed outwards with rounded muscle, and an over-inflated sense of pride. Paul's face was last to change, as his cute baby cheeks slimmed and sharpened, sculpting into a man's face. As his square jaw and sharp cheekbones were dusted with several day's worth of patchy stubble, Paul's changes came to an end. He placed his fists against his hips and posed like a superhero, puffing out his chest with pride, much to the jealousy of his friends, and especially his brother.
Paul eventually returned to his seat, giggling to himself as he discovered his feet reached the floor while he was seated with very little effort, then passed the dice over to Ellis who looked eager to experience a growth spurt of his very own.
Ellis threw the dice across the board. His heart leapt to his throat when he noticed the roll. "Two fours... That's a double..." he muttered. He counted his spaces with bated breathe, sighing in relief as he landed on a plus space. The black circle shimmered as the words "CURRENT AGE: DOUBLED" appeared within.
He prepared himself for his transformation, getting out of his seat much like Paul did. Which wasn't the best idea as he thrust himself into a major growth spurt, losing his balance and falling back onto his chair. He decided to stay put as his legs slithered forwards underneath his seat. He watched as black hairs swirled across his beefy arms and legs, covering them with a dense layer. His round face quickly squared up, giving him a masculine jawline and a heavy brow. A thin moustache and goatee bristled into existence around his mouth, as well as sparse stubble across his cheeks, leaving him a fairly mature looking 18 year old. With his transformation finished, Ellis yanked on his shirt, still tight against his torso despite having grown with him, and pulled it over his head. A groan spread around the table as Ellis threw his shirt to one side. "What?" he asked with a cocky grin. "If I'm going to get older, I want to see how I look under the hood. It's not like I'm going to take everything off". Though he did silently note to himself that he certainly wasn't lacking where it mattered judging by the bulge in his jeans. He was in alright shape, with beefy pecs and a firm, flat stomach. A decent amount of black hair bloomed across his chest along with a thin happy trail down towards his belly button, making his tanned skin look a shade lighter in comparison.
Feeling emboldened by his friend, Paul decided to follow suit and tore his own shirt from his torso. He grinned proudly, rubbing a hand over his round pecs and down over his washboard abs. He had a sparse dusting of hair circling his nipples and covering the centre of his chest. He looked towards his fellow grown-up and felt a twinge of jealousy. "Hey, how come you're hairier than I am when I'm older than you?" he asked.
Ellis shrugged his shoulders and said "It runs in the family, I guess? All the men in my family are hairy, so it figures I am too. Have you seen my papi? He looks like a bear with his shirt off, muy velludos. Besides, you don't want lots of hair when you've got muscles like that."
Paul blushed and crossed his arms over his stomach, slightly embarrassed. "I guess... But I want chest hair like my daddy, where it sticks out from the top of your shirt"
"There's still plenty of time for more hair to grow. Believe me, I'm only going to get furrier from here on out myself"
There was a loud cough from the other side of the table. Ellis looked over to see John standing on tiptoes on his seat, with his arms leaning on the table. His squeaky voice dripped with irritation as he said "As fascinating as this conversation is, I believe it's Bob's turn to roll the dice".
Ellis blushed, he forgot they were playing a game. He handed the dice over to Bob who looked less than thrilled to accept them. "Here goes nothing..." he mumbled as he threw them. He landed on a plus space as well, making John fume. He nervously looked into the black circle where "+3" glowed into view. He didn't get up as he had a small growth spurt, a slight darkening of his arm hair, and a few pimples dotted his previously blemish-free skin. Just your typical 13 year old. "Huh, I guess that wasn't so bad" he mumbled, his voice cracking slightly. He passed the dice onto Jack without much fanfare.
Jack blew into his hand for luck, only to roll a low number that left him behind the others. He frowned as he moved his piece, grumbling as he landed on a minus space to boot. He looked in the circle and "-1" appeared, leaving him to cry out in frustration "Oh come on!". There wasn't any noticeable change as he lost a single year in age, down to 8 years old. It seemed almost worse than if he'd lost half his age, at least that would have been interesting!
At the end of the first round, John had shrunk to a particularly grumpy 5 year old, Paul had aged into a handsome 21 year old, Ellis had bloomed into a hairy 18 year old, Bob had crept up to a spotty 13 year old, and Jack had youthened to a disappointingly familiar 8 year old. Raring to keep the game going, and to regain his lost maturity and then some, John clamoured onto the table to grab the dice.