Dead Man’s Dice
Ahoy there buccaneers ... a fast game of piracy for 2 or more scurvy seadogs! Pile up the doubloons with the roll of the bones afore the pirates plunder your hoard.
COMPONENTS: 6 Jolly Roger and 12 regular dice, rules, score pad, pencil.
OBJECT: pile up all your dice, before the opponent(s), to score points which count as doubloons.
The game is played to 100 doubloons (100 points).
SET-UP: pirates choose a colour to represent them, have 1 Jolly Roger and 2 regular dice each and keep their own score throughout the game.
PLAY: to begin, pirates roll any one of their 3 dice and, leaving the dice in place, the pirate with the lowest number rolls another die. If 2 or more pirates roll the same lowest number, all pirates roll again. Taking turns, play rotates clockwise.
A pirate may place their rolled die on top of their own die if: 1. it matches, 2. it is in ascending numerical sequence - or, 3. it totals 7 with the die currently on top.
PLUNDER: pirates must roll a die before they plunder and may then take an opponent’s top die - placing it on their pile if it meets either Rule 2. or 3.
Pirates may plunder any number of possible dice on a turn.
JOLLY ROGER: a pirate may mutiny and roll their special Jolly Roger die on any of their turns. This die only has special value if the skull & crossbones comes up.
If a special die is rolled and the Jolly Roger comes up, it is the 1 spot and always has a doubloon value of 7.
A pirate may place a rolled Jolly Roger on their own pile regardless of the top number.
A Jolly Roger may not be plundered.
If a pirate ends a round with the Jolly Roger on top, that player doubles the value of their pile.
A pirate caught red-handed holding their Jolly Roger die at the end of a round – Dead Man's Dice – is keelhauled and subtracts 7 doubloons.
If a pirate does not have a die in their pile, due to an opponent taking the die, that pirate must roll a die on their next turn - and may then plunder if possible.
A TURN is over when a pirate is marooned and cannot place a die on their pile.
A ROUND is over when a pirate’s pistol is empty and has no more dice to play.
Pirates then total the points on the tops of the dice in their pile o’ treasure.
A pirate who knocks their own pile overboard returns any plundered dice and starts again on their next turn.
A pirate who fires a broadside with their rolled die and blows an opponent’s pile to Davy Jones’ Locker, walks the plank and deducts 7 doubloons.
The victim returns any plundered dice and immediately starts again.
2-PLAYER EXAMPLE: Calico Jack rolls a 2 and Black Bart rolls a 6. It’s Jack's turn and he rolls a 5 … which he places on top of his 2 (Rule 3) and then plunders Bart’s 6 (Rule 2). Black Bart rolls a 4 with his second die … avast there, keep a lookout! Jack now has a chance to double his booty with his special die. He rolls a Jolly Roger, shows no mercy, puts the die on top of his pile and, before Black Bart can draw his cutlass - the round is over!
Total the points for the round: Jack has a Jolly Roger (7), a 6, a 5 and a 2 - totaling 20. Double the total as he ended with a Jolly Roger on top and Jack scores 40 doubloons in that round. Bart ends the round with a 4 and, still holding his Jolly Roger die – Dead Man's Dice – subtracts 7 points and scores -3 doubloons.
Lucky Seven
A game of competitive solitaire for any number of players played with 7 cards, numbered 1 through 7 – placed in 7 Positions – per player.
The goal is, turn all 7 cards number side up for the highest score. At the end of each round, players add up the numbers on their cards turned. The player with the highest total wins the round. Turn over all 7 cards and score 7 extra points.
To start a round, players shuffle and lay their 7 cards in a row … number side down.
POSITION
Players then turn over ANY one of their 7 cards and leave it in place … number side up.
The number on the card turned, denotes the POSITION, always reading left to right from Position 1, of the next card to turn over.
e.g. if the card turned displays 2 … the player then turns over their card (reading left to right from Position 1) in POSITION 2 … and leaves it in place number side up.
e.g. if the card in POSITION 2 displays 5 … the player turns over their card (reading left to right from Position 1) in POSITION 5 ... and so on.
However, if a player turns over a card that displays the POSITION of a card already turned number side up, the player is bust and their round is over.
Lucky Seven may be played for the best of each round ... or, an agreed number of rounds ... or, the first to reach a target score - e.g. 100.
Lucky Seven won the 2008 Major Fun Family Award and may be played by up to 4 using the ace through 7 from a regular card deck.
