Balut

Setup

• Players: two to six at a real table. Practice is solo, against your own best.
• Dice: five six-sided dice.
• Your sheet: seven rows, four boxes in each. A row can be scored four times.
• A turn: up to three rolls, then one box.

How to play

1. 1Roll all five dice. Every turn starts with a roll of all five.
2. 2Hold, then roll again. Keep any dice you like and roll the rest. You can do this twice more, three rolls in all.
3. 3Score one box. Pick a row that still has an empty box. Your dice score there, or the box takes 0 if they do not fit.
4. 4Straights and houses. A straight is 1 to 5 (15 points) or 2 to 6 (20). A full house is three of one number and a pair, scoring all five dice.
5. 5Balut. Five of a kind scores 20 plus the total of the dice. Five of a kind is not a full house.
6. 6Don’t burn a row too soon. A zero in Choice costs far more than a zero in Balut. Put weak rolls where they cost the least.

Winning

Fill all 28 boxes. The most incentive points win, and the total score breaks ties. In practice you play against your own best.

Scoring

Incentive points: Fours 52 or more earns 2, Fives 65 or more earns 2, Sixes 78 or more earns 2, Choice 100 or more earns 2, a straight in every Straight box earns 4, a full house in every Full House box earns 3, and each Balut earns 2. The total score adds or takes points: under 300 is minus 2, 300 to 349 is minus 1, 350 to 399 is 0, then 1 for each 50 up to 6 at 650.

Key terms

Box:

One space on the sheet. Each is filled once.

Row:

A category with four boxes, such as Fours or Straight.

Balut:

Five of a kind. It scores 20 plus the total of the dice.

Hold:

Keeping dice you like while you roll the others.

Full House:

Three of one number and a pair. It scores all five dice.

Straight:

1 to 5 scores 15. 2 to 6 scores 20.

Choice:

A row that takes any roll and scores the total of the dice.

Incentive points:

Points for strong rows and a high total. They decide the winner.