Beat the Odds

This is a Game Rules Guru original invented by Steve Wannall. It is a dice game of pure chance with no real skill involved, but is important to know what each roll of the dice means.


Number of Players

As many as you like.


Equipment

2 six-sided dice, paper and pencil (to keep score).


Play

Each player in the game rolls both dice once to determine who goes first (high roll wins). Players take turns rolling. Each player begins their turn by rolling both dice. Depending on what shows on the dice, different actions are taken as follows:

If one die shows an even number (2, 4, or 6) and the other one an odd number 1, 3, or 5), the player scores zero points for the odd number, and face value (2, 4, or 6 points) for the even number. The player then rolls again. Scores for each individual roll during a player’s turn should be kept separate from one another (they will be totaled at the end of the turn).

If both dice show even numbers but not doubles, the player scores the total of both dice and their turn continues.

If both dice show odd numbers but not doubles, the player scores zero points for the roll and their turn ends. They then tally up all the rolls they made to get the final score for their turn.

If a player rolls snake-eyes (a pair of 1s), the player’s turn ends and they lose any and all points they earned during their turn.

If the dice show a pair of 2s, the player first scores 4 points (for the even numbers showing), and then rolls again. The very next time that player rolls an odd number on any one die (regardless of what shows on the other die), they may re-roll that die.

If the dice show a pair of 3s, the player’s turn ends and they must cross out their highest single roll for the turn. All remaining rolls are tallied for the final score.

If the dice show a pair of 4s, the player’s turn continues and they may double any one roll they made thus far (including the 4s, which of course still score 8 points without being doubled).

If the dice show a pair of 5s, the player’s turn ends, their score for the turn is tallied, and then the total score is halved (so their final score is half of what the total would have been).

If a player rolls boxcars (a pair of 6s), the player’s turn ends, but they total their score for the turn (including the 12 points for the boxcars) and then double it.

Once a player’s turn is over and their score determined, the dice pass to the next player.


Object

Be the first player to reach 100 points. Once a player reaches 100 points or more, each other player will have one more turn to try and beat the high score. If more than one player end up over 100 points, the highest score wins (this rule must exist because it is possible, although not likely, for a player to surpass 100 points in a single turn).


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