How to play
On your turn, roll six dice. Set aside at least one die or set that scores, then choose: bank the points you’ve set aside this turn and pass the dice on, or roll the dice that are left to try for more. If a roll has nothing that scores, that’s a bust: you lose everything from this turn. Set aside all six dice and you have hot dice: pick all six up and keep going.
The first player to bank enough to reach the target (5,000 or 10,000) starts the last round: everyone else gets one more turn to beat them, and the highest total wins.
Scoring
- Each 1: 100. Each 5: 50.
- Three of a kind: 100 times the number (three 4s are 400), except three 1s: 1,000.
- Four of a kind: 1,000. Five of a kind: 2,000. Six of a kind: 3,000.
- A straight (1 to 6) or three pairs: 1,500. Two sets of three: 2,500.
Sets only count when they come up in a single roll. Every die you set aside has to score; you can’t set aside a lone 2 to roll fewer dice.
Tips
With six dice you’ll almost never bust (about one roll in forty), with three dice it’s about one in four, and with one die it’s two in three. So bank early when few dice are left, and keep rolling when many are. You don’t have to set aside every scoring die: keeping only a 1 from a roll of 1 and 5 leaves you more dice for the next roll. Near the end, check how far behind you are before you bank.