How to play Five Dice: strategy for higher scores

Five Dice is more than luck. Good players score 50 points more than average, mostly by chasing the bonus and choosing their boxes wisely.

The rules

Over 13 turns, fill 13 boxes on your scorecard. Each turn, roll five dice up to three times, keeping any dice you like between rolls, then score them in one empty box. The top six boxes score the total of one number; the bottom seven score patterns like a full house (25), small straight (30), large straight (40) and five of a kind (50). Reach 63 in the top six for a 35-point bonus.

Chase the upper bonus

63 is exactly three of each number. Three 4s in Fours is “on par”; four 6s puts you 6 ahead, which can cover a weak Ones. The 35-point bonus is worth more than a large straight, so plan for it from the start.

What to keep

• With a pair or three of a kind, keep them and roll the rest for more. This feeds both the top section and the of-a-kind boxes.
• With four in a row, keep them and try for the large straight. Even if you miss, the small straight is often there.
• With nothing, keep high numbers early in the game, or the dice that fit an open top box.

Use Chance as a safety net

Don’t spend Chance on a mediocre roll early. Save it for a turn when nothing else fits, and aim to put 20 or more in it.

Where to take a zero

Sometimes you have to score zero. Ones costs you at most 5 points; Five of a kind is unlikely to be filled anyway. Avoid zeroing a straight early, since straights are fairly easy to make with three rolls.

What’s a good score?

Around 200 is solid, 250 is excellent and 300 or more needs a five of a kind or two. The computer averages about 225.