Sat 4/26/14 1:37pm # | tweet this
Let's Go Surfing
Plastic dice in bulk - Boing Boing
source:
Jenn and I played this but it's mostly a game of chance so we modified the betting rules to add more of a skill element.
Here's the betting mechanic we added:
Each person starts with 10 coins for each opponent they face. (ie in a 4 player game, there are 3 opponents, so each player starts with 30 coins.)
1st person rolling in the round, makes an initial bet, 1 to 3, all other players match the bet on that players square.
1st player rolls
2nd player (clockwise from the first) has the option of increasing the bet (or not increasing) by adding coins to their square, which all other players then have to match. After the bet is increased or not, 2nd player rolls. Repeat for remaining players.
The player that wins the round goes first for the next round.
If a player does not have the coins left to match the bet, they can still take their roll when their time comes, but if they lose the round with no coins left they will be out for the rest of the game.
Winner is the person with all the coins, or with the most coins at the end of the game.
Example:

In the above. Let's say that player one goes first.
Player one puts 1 to 3 max coins into his square. All other players have to match that bet by also adding the matching number of coins in player one's square. In the above example the initial bet is one coin, and the other four players have each put in one coin.
Player one rolls, and it's a low combination. It's now player 2's turn to roll. Player two thinks he has a good shot of beating player one's roll, so he ups the ante by two more coins. All three other players are now required to match player two's bet and add coins to his square. Player two then rolls, and gets a so so, roll.
Player three's turn, (we're still in the same round) Player three thinks that he has a good chance of still getting a better combo that p1 and p2, so he ups the ante one more coin, which the other three players have to meet. Player 3 rolls and doesn't beat player one or player two.
Now it's player 4's turn. Player four has some options now, he has seen the other 3 players rolls, and he also knows that right now, player one and player 3 are both going to lose to player two (who currently has the best combo.) Player 4 could up the ante, and thereby force the other players to match him. This would guarantee that player 1 and player 3 would take heavier losses, because those two are already behind. Player 4 looks at the bets and figures he's already deep enough in on this roll so he doesn't up the ante any further and just rolls.
The round is now complete, highest combo takes the whole pot. And the winning player now goes first for the next round.
source:
Cee-lo – 2 or more players – 3 diceUpdate: 4/27:
Determine who is going to be playing and who is going to be the first player.
If betting, all players put in their bet.
The first player rolls all three dice until they get a recognized combination, or are otherwise disqualified
The combinations are, ranked from best to worst:
4-5-6
The highest possible roll. Instant win of the round for the player who rolled it. They take the entire pot, and the next round begins. This skips the turns of anyone who has not gone.
"Trips"
Rolling three of the same number is known as “trips”. Higher trips beat lower trips, so 4-4-4 is better than 3-3-3.
"Spare and a Pair"
Rolling a pair, and another number, establishes the singleton as a “point.” A higher point beats a lower point, so 1-1-3 is better than 6-6-2.
1-2-3
Automatic loss. Player forfeits turn, but the game continues.
Dice fall off the table
Automatic loss. Play forfeits turn, but the game continues.
Tie
Tied players roll again, best combo wins the round/pot.
Next round, the player to right goes first.
Jenn and I played this but it's mostly a game of chance so we modified the betting rules to add more of a skill element.
Here's the betting mechanic we added:
Each person starts with 10 coins for each opponent they face. (ie in a 4 player game, there are 3 opponents, so each player starts with 30 coins.)
1st person rolling in the round, makes an initial bet, 1 to 3, all other players match the bet on that players square.
1st player rolls
2nd player (clockwise from the first) has the option of increasing the bet (or not increasing) by adding coins to their square, which all other players then have to match. After the bet is increased or not, 2nd player rolls. Repeat for remaining players.
The player that wins the round goes first for the next round.
If a player does not have the coins left to match the bet, they can still take their roll when their time comes, but if they lose the round with no coins left they will be out for the rest of the game.
Winner is the person with all the coins, or with the most coins at the end of the game.
Example:

Player one puts 1 to 3 max coins into his square. All other players have to match that bet by also adding the matching number of coins in player one's square. In the above example the initial bet is one coin, and the other four players have each put in one coin.
Player one rolls, and it's a low combination. It's now player 2's turn to roll. Player two thinks he has a good shot of beating player one's roll, so he ups the ante by two more coins. All three other players are now required to match player two's bet and add coins to his square. Player two then rolls, and gets a so so, roll.
Player three's turn, (we're still in the same round) Player three thinks that he has a good chance of still getting a better combo that p1 and p2, so he ups the ante one more coin, which the other three players have to meet. Player 3 rolls and doesn't beat player one or player two.
Now it's player 4's turn. Player four has some options now, he has seen the other 3 players rolls, and he also knows that right now, player one and player 3 are both going to lose to player two (who currently has the best combo.) Player 4 could up the ante, and thereby force the other players to match him. This would guarantee that player 1 and player 3 would take heavier losses, because those two are already behind. Player 4 looks at the bets and figures he's already deep enough in on this roll so he doesn't up the ante any further and just rolls.
The round is now complete, highest combo takes the whole pot. And the winning player now goes first for the next round.
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