How to play Ship, Captain and Crew

Ship, Captain and Crew is a quick dice game from sailors’ taverns. Every turn is a little story: will you find your crew in time?

The rules

You have up to three rolls with five dice. You need a 6 (the ship), then a 5 (the captain), then a 4 (the crew), in that order. A 5 only counts once you have the 6, and a 4 only once you have the 5. Set them aside as they appear and roll the rest.

Once you have all three, the other two dice are your cargo, scoring their total. If you have rolls left, you can roll the cargo again to try to improve it. If you don’t complete the ship, captain and crew in three rolls, you score nothing.

Each round, both players take a turn and the higher cargo wins. First to three rounds wins the game.

When to re-roll the cargo

• The average cargo is 7. Below that, a re-roll usually helps.
• 8 or 9: keep it unless you need more to beat your opponent.
• 10 or more: keep it. It’s hard to beat.

Going second

If your opponent has already played, you know the target. Stop as soon as you beat it, and keep rolling if you haven’t, even with a decent cargo.

How likely is a full crew?

With three rolls, you complete ship, captain and crew in roughly half of all turns, so expect plenty of rounds where someone scores nothing.