Here is a game I created back in the late 1970's. I was running a Dungeons and Dragons game and I wanted a dice game to be a locally popular game in a town the characters would visit. I didn't want to use a gambling game like Craps, or anything else the players would already know, like Yahtzee. I didn't want them to automatically assume anything about the game because it was familiar or carried a familiar name. Since it was to be a local game, the players were supposed to have to learn about it and learn how to play it. The idea was that there would be a local player who was considered extremely lucky at the game. If one of the players challenged him and won, the group would be considered by the townsfolk to have strong luck on their side. It would also bring them aid from an unexpected source later on. If they lost, or never played (which is what actually happened), they would not get the favor of the townsfolk or the aid later on. They never knew what they missed.
As you might guess, that Dungeons and Dragons game is long since gone. I don't have anything left from it except the dice I bought, a few figures my wife painted, and the rules to this game.
This is a game of pure luck. There's no strategy. It's just a simple game to play when you want to pass some time, and maybe have a few chuckles at the twists luck can take. Please note: this game is not intended as a gambling game! It is intended only for family fun. Please do not gamble using this game.
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SIX BY 6
A Dice Game By: Michael Williams
Equipment:
Six standard 6-sided dice are needed to play this game.
Terms:
ROUND = One player's complete turn.
ROLL = One throw of the dice.
FACE = the number showing on a given die as the result of a Roll.
PAIR = Two of a kind (of a single Face).
TRIPLE = Three of a kind.
QUADRUPLET = Four of a kind.
QUINTET = Five of a kind.
SEXTET = Six of a kind.
POSTING = Setting aside any die with a Face of "6" prior to the next Roll.
CARRY # = Points earned by Posting dice and for certain other combinations.
POST # = The number of dice set aside at any point in a Round.
RACK = A successful Posting of all six dice to complete a Round.
LEAVE # = The sum of the Faces of all dice left un-Posted after a Round.
SET = One Round for each competing player.
GAME = A pre-agreed number of Sets, if more than one.
MATCH = A pre-agreed number of Games, if more than one.
The play of the game:
The object of a Round is to Post all six dice to complete a Rack.
Each player begins his Round with no dice Posted, and no Carry points.
The first Roll in a Round is free. All Rolls after the first must be paid
for with a Carry point.
After a Roll, any dice with Faces of "6" are Posted. They will not
be Rolled again during this Round. Carry points are counted as follows:
(a) Multiples of a given Face are worth a number of carry points equal to
the number of dice with that Face minus one. That is: a Pair equals one
Carry point, a Triple is worth two Carry points, a Quadruplet is worth
three points, a Quintet is worth four points, and a sextet is worth five
points (on a Sextet, see also (d)(1)).
(b) Posted dice are worth one Carry point each as they are Posted.
(c) If multiple dice are Posted on a single Roll, then Carry points are
scored for (a) as well as for (b). That is: four dice posted on one Roll
would be worth seven Carry points - three for the multiple result, and
four for the Postings.
(d) Special Carry Scoring Cases:
(1) On any Roll of all six dice (before any have been Posted), any
Sextet may be Posted, even if that Sextet's Face is not a "6."
(2) On any Roll of all six dice, if the result of the Roll is one of
each Face, "1" through "6," it may be Posted and scored as a Sextet.
(3) On any Roll of five dice (after one has been Posted), if the
result of the Roll is one of each Face, "1" through "5," it may be
Posted and scored as a Quintet.
Keep in mind that Posted multiples count both for the multiple and for the
Posting.
After each Roll, after Carry points are counted and added to the prior
Carry point total, one Carry point is deducted to pay for the next Roll. A
player can continue Rolling as long as at least one Carry point remains to
buy another Roll. If a player has "Carry 1" and scores no Carry points, the
deduction for the next round leaves that player at "Carry Zero," meaning
that more Carry points must be scored if the player is to continue - or the
player must successfully complete his Rack on the Roll.
If a player is successful at completing a Rack, the Carry points are
counted normally: but do not deduct one, as there is no next Roll to buy.
If unsuccessful, the Leave total is added up. Posted dice count six points
each (thus thirty-six points for a Rack), and the Carry or Leave points are
added to the Post score for a total score for the Round.
Scoring Examples:
Rack, Carry 1 = 37 Points (this is the minimum possible Rack score)
Rack, Carry 12 = 48 Points
Post 5, Leave 5 = 35 Points (This would mean that the Face of the die
after the last Roll was a 5 - this is the maximum possible non-Rack score)
Post 4, Leave 8 = 32 Points (the Faces of the remaining two unPosted
dice after the last Roll totaled 8 points - this would have been Faces of
"3" and "5". A Pair of "4's," would, of course, have scored a Carry point
and kept the Player going for another Roll, while a "2" and "6" would have
let the Player post the "6", again scoring a Carry point to buy another
Roll for the Player.
A Sample Round:
Roll: 1 2 1 3 3 4 Carry: 1 (2 for the two Pairs, minus 1)
Roll: 2 4 6 6 5 5 Carry: 4 (two Pairs, two Posted, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 4 3 5 1 Carry: 3 (none scored, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 6 4 4 4 Carry: 5 (one Triple, one Posted, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 2 3 6 Carry: 5 (one Posted, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 1 1 Carry: 5 (one Pair, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 6 5 Carry: 5 (one Posted, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 4 Carry: 4 (none scored, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 2 Carry: 3 (none scored, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 5 Carry: 2 (none scored, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 3 Carry: 1 (none scored, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 1 Carry: Zero (none scored, plus prior, minus 1)
Roll: 6 Carry: 1 (one posted, plus prior, no minus)
Score: Rack, Carry 1 = 37 Points.
In this Round, the player almost failed to score a Rack, succeeding
finally on the last possible Roll. Had the Roll after Carry Zero been any
Face other than "6," there would have been no Rack, and no further Rolls to
attempt one.
A Final Note: It is possible to run out of Carry after having Posted
only two dice. The lowest possible score would thus be a Post 2, Leave 10
(22 points) if the final Roll's Faces were "1," "2," "3," and "4." I've
never seen such a score, and hope never to see it - except as scored by an
opponent! The highest score I've ever seen was scored by my wife, Elaine,
who once had a Carry score totaling over 20 points after completing a Rack.
© 1977 by Michael Williams
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