Buck Dice Dice Game Rules

Buck Dice is a dice game for 2-8 players. A game typically takes 10-20 minutes, and the recommended age is 8+.

Rules for Buck Dice: Roll three dice and count hits on the point number. Land on exactly 15 points to step out, and the last player left loses.

2-8 players
10-20 minutes
8+ years
3 dice

Setup

Buck Dice is played with three dice and suits 2 to 8 players. It is traditionally a stakes game, but chips or points with no value work just as well.

Everyone starts by rolling one die to decide the order of play: highest goes first. The player who rolled lowest then rolls the die once more, and the value that comes up becomes the point number for the round. If it shows a four, fours are what everyone will be chasing.

How to play

On your turn you roll all three dice. Every die showing the point number earns you one point. As long as at least one die shows the point number, you keep rolling. The first throw without a single point number ends your turn, and the dice pass to the next player.

Announce your total after every throw so everyone knows where you stand. The goal is to reach exactly 15 points.

Illustration for Buck Dice: How to play

Bucks, big and little

Three terms come up again and again:

  • Buck: reaching exactly 15 points. You are done and step out of the round.
  • Little buck: three of a kind of any value other than the point number. Worth 5 points.
  • Big buck: all three dice showing the point number. You are finished on the spot, no matter what your total was. This throw is also known as a general.

A throw that would carry you past 15 does not count. You simply roll again and try once more.

Winning and losing

Players drop out of the round as they reach 15 points, until a single player remains. That player loses the round. When playing with chips, the loser commonly hands one chip to each of the other players.

Before the next round you set a new point number the same way as at the start, and off you go again.

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