Rules

How to play the game

Object of the game

Be the last man standing

Each game that is called will have 1 loser. In the event of a tie, those players who tied will play the same game again until a single loser is established. That loser takes a pencil. When you have 3 pencils you are out. The last player left without 3 pencils wins.

Variation

Some players will make an offer to split the pot based on the number of pencils each player has left.

Example

2 players remain:

  1. 👨Player A
  2. 👩Player B

The score:

  • 👨 has ✏️✏️ and the 🔨
  • 👩 has ✏️

👨 may offer to split the pot 50/50 with 👩 as it's likely he'll win the hand and there will be parity and 👩 will get the call to win.

 

Setup

What you need to do before starting the game.

Requirements

  • Have 2 or more players: 👨👨+
  • Each player must have 5 dice: 🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲 per 👨
  • A jar of pencils (or some way to record them): ✏️✏️ per 👨

Note: You don't need pencils, you could use sugar packets or any "token" but for the sake of this guide, I'll refer to them as pencils.

 

Ante

  • 💵 $5 per player

Playing for money is not a requirement, but it can make the game more fun.

Different groups have different ante amounts and when it's required to put in, but a typical ante is $5 from each player at the beginning of the game. Once everyone is in (they've paid their $5 to the pot) then players can roll to see who goes first.

Variation

Some groups of players will have everyone add an additional $5 when parity is reached. Parity is when ever player has 2 pencils.

Example

3 players remain: Player A, Player B, and Player C. Each player has 2 ✏️s so Player A calls out, "Parity!" and all the players put their ✏️s back in the jar.

 

Who goes first? (aka the "piddle")

  1. Each player rolls 1 die
  2. Highest value die wins

In the event of a tie: Players with matching highest die values repeat step 1 until only one player has the highest die

Example

There are 4 players: A, B, C, and D.

Roll 1
  • Player A rolls a 5
  • Player B rolls a 2
  • Player C rolls a 3
  • Player D rolls a 5

Player A and Player B are tied and roll again.

Roll 2
  • Player A rolls a 4
  • Player B rolls a 4

Player A and Player B are tied again and roll a 3rd time.

Roll 3
  • Player A rolls a 6
  • Player B rolls a 2

Player A wins the piddle and will be coming out (rolling first).

 

Gameplay

Roll, call game, accept or refuse, play game, award pencil, repeat until there's one player left.

Phase 1: Roll

Everyone rolls all their dice and hides the results from other players.

Variation

Some players will wait to roll their hands if they aren't the caller, first refusal or second refusal.

Phase 2: Select game

Whoever won the piddle needs to now look at their dice and call the first game they wish to play.

First Call

Aka "the hammer" 🔨

Whomever has the🔨 looks at their hand and calls out a game they wish to play first knowing that the player directly to their left has the right of first refusal.

First Refusal

First player to the callers left

The player to the caller's immediate left looks at her dice and determines if she can play the game or not. If she can, she should accept and say, "I'll play". If she cannot, she says, "No".

Second Refusal

Second player to the callers left

The second player to the hammer's left can "Accept" or "Refuse" the call. If she accepts, then everyone plays. If she refuses the hammer must call their second and final call.

Second Call

No refusal!

If the first call was refused, all players must play the callers second game.

 

Phase 3: Play game

All players must now play the game that was either accepted in the First Call or if the game was refused twice, then whatever the callers Second Call is.

Phase 4: Award a pencil

Whomever had the lowest hand in Phase 2 takes a pencil and gets to call the next game.

Repeat

Continue repeating phases 1-4 until only one player remains. That player collects the pot.