High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
d
ice-
p
lay
Howtoplay...
Dice Games
Games played solely with dice are often compelling and the suspense can be high.Luck plays a great part but strategy and skill may also be needed. Children oftenenjoy dice games because of their simplicity and because they are fast moving butadults will enjoy many dice games too.The games described require dice, but you may need pen and paper for some andothers require stakes, and for yet others a throwing cup is recommended. For stakes you can use counters, match sticks, chocolates, pennies or, to make thingsreally interesting, hard cash. Any mug or beaker can be used as a throwing cup.Some dice games are banking games. These games are played against anoperator who collects and pays out on bets made against him. If your going to playa banking game, socially, with friends, then each player should take an equalnumber of turns holding the bank. This is because, in all dice banking games, theodds are weighed in the operator's favour.The order of play, in a game, is usually decided by each player rolling a single diewith the highest number throwing first, the second highest throwing second and soon. If an equally high number is thrown by two or more players they throw again.Seating may be rearranged so that the dice are always passed to the left(clockwise). Alternatively the player with the highest throw starts and the other players take their turns in a clockwise direction, regardless of what number theythrew, without the trouble of reorganising players positions. Some games areexceptions to the rule and have their own particular method for determining order of play. These exceptions are described in the text.Unless otherwise stated the dice games explained are for any number of players.Strategy and tactics are on the whole left for you to develop for yourself.Should a die not land flat on one side, but tipped at an angle, then it is declared
cocked
and all the dice must be re-thrown.
Copyright © 2003 - 2006 Coherent Vision IP
The content of this page may be circulated and copied in its present original form and in its entirety with no alterations or omissions and for no commercial purpose or commercial gain or profit. Copyright is retained on all text and illustrations.
One-O-Five
A simple, fast moving children's game played with five dice each.
Play:
Each player in turn rolls their dice and sets aside those showing their targetnumber. The objective is to roll and set aside all five dice before moving onto their next target number. Target numbers are 1s up to 6s. Once all five dice show theplayer's target number they roll all five dice again, aiming for and setting aside thenext number in the sequence. The winner is the player who rolls all six sets of fiveidentical numbers (up to 6s).
The Three Dice Game
Also known as
Four-Five-Six
and
See-Low
. This is derived from a Chinesebanking game called
Strung Flowers
. As the name suggests it is played with threedice.
Play:
Players place their bets against a banker who covers them.The banker rolls the three dice first.The banker wins all bets if he throws three of a kind, any pair and a 6, or 4-5-6.The banker loses all bets if he throws any pair and a 1, or 1-2-3.If the banker throws a pair and any number other than a 1 or 6 then each of theplayers in turn throws the three dice. As before the player wins if they throw, anypair and a 1, or 1-2-3. The player loses if they throw three of a kind, any pair and a6, or 4-5-6. If a player throws a pair and any number other than a 1 or 6 then thenumber thrown with the pair becomes the point number. If the player's pointnumber is higher than the point number thrown by the banker the player wins, evenif the pair is of a lower value than the banker's. If both point numbers are the samethen it is tied and no one wins or loses any stakes.All other combinations other than the ones described are meaningless and both theplayer and the banker, in their turn, continues to roll the dice until a meaningfulcombination comes up.
Variations:StrungFlowers
(In Chinese:
Sz'ng Luk
) is played as described above but with thefollowing differences.The first banker is decided by a preliminary round in which all the players roll thedice, the player with the most fours becoming the bank. If players tie then theythrow again until a decision is made.Stakes must be made in multiples of three units. This is because players whohave thrown a point settle the bet according to the difference between their pointand the bankers. For a point difference of one, one third of the stake is won or
lost. For a difference of two, two thirds, and for a difference of three the wholestake.The banker changes when a player beats their point. The bank rotates (clockwise)at the end of the round.In a game of Strung Flowers the following terms are used. A throw of 4-5-6 isknown as
Strung Flowers
, 1-2-3 as
The Dancing Dragon
, and a pair and a 1 as
Ace Negative
.
Five Rolls
Played by bar room hustlers with one die and for stakes
.
Play:
A player rolls the die five times. If they roll an even number at least three timesthey win. If less than three even numbers are rolled they lose. A winner is paid atodds of 3 to 2.Many people miss the fact that the correct odds are evens (1 to 1). A hustler willtry to
shoot
(throw the die) as often as he can, changing the stakes to a lower valuewhen he isn't shooting, knowing that in the long run the odds will work in his favour.
Six-six-six
A simple game of bluff that requires three dice, stakes or counters and ideally athrowing cup.
Play:
The first player rolls the dice in the throwing cup and, keeping them concealed fromthe other players, takes a look at the numbers thrown. They then announce athree digit number representing the dice values, which may be true or a bluff. 6,6,6ranks the highest and 1,1,1 the lowest. The digits are called in descending order e.g. 5,3,1.The next player then takes the dice, without looking, and must either challenge thecall or take a look and roll 1, 2, 3 or none of the dice and announce a call of ahigher value. Players must honestly declare the number of dice they are rolling.Play continues until a challenge is made. Once a player is challenged all the diceare exposed. If they show a lower ranking three digit number than the last call, theplayer who called it pays a counter to the challenger. If the dice show the same or higher ranking number, the challenger pays a counter to the caller. Should aplayer call 6,6,6 the next player must challenge.You can play a fixed number of rounds or simply stop play on agreement.
Add a Comment
bradoatmanleft a comment
saintgideonsmomleft a comment
nettielpowellleft a comment
socialistaleft a comment