By RICK TEVERBAUGH

There are a couple of tests that really good, non-statistical sports games must pass.

The first is a repeat-play fun factor. The question is: When you finish playing one game do you find it hard not to play another?

The second is directed at the non-hardcore fan. Will that fan want to play anyway?

On both of these questions Mulligan Dice Golf gets very high marks.

Mulligan Dice Golf is a dice game that is the product of Kelly and Kirk Steingreaber.

Kelly Steingreaber is from the Chicago area and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in hotel management. She now lives in Albuquerque. N.M., working in the area of human resources.

“We are both avid golfers,” said Steingreaber. “The game really had its origins in a five-minute conversation. We had been playing other golf dice games like Golo and Koplow’s game.”

Mulligan Dice Golf is a game that uses six different 12-sided dice. Which of the six dice are used for each hole depends on whether the hole is a par-3, par-4 or par-5. Two of the dice that are always used are the “putting” dice and the “weather” dice.

Each die represents a shot or series of shots. All of the dice are rolled at once. Once the roll has been made, the golfer has two options. The first is to simply re-roll all of the dice. That is called a Hole Mulligan and can be used once every hole.

There is also an option to re-roll just one die. That is called a Shot Mulligan. There are only six Shot Mulligans available each round of 18 holes. The game comes packaged with the chips to keep track of those mulligans.

But it is forbidden for a player to use a Shot Mulligan and Hole Mulligan on the same hole. So there is a series of tough choices that need to be made on nearly every hole to try and post the lowest score.

Another innovative idea is the use of the Stymie. “We wanted there to be some interaction in the game,” said Steingreaber.

Any time a player has to settle for a double bogey (2-over-par) or worse, that player can use the Stymie on any other player. When a player has the Stymie, then his next roll on a hole must be kept. He can’t use a Hole Mulligan or a Shot Mulligan.