Balut

History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(game)

Objective:

Balut is a Cricket style dice game, and can be played alone or with others. The main goal is similar to yacht in that each player is trying to achieve combinations with their dice, and score the highest amount of points after achieving the combinations. A Balut match can be played in a single game, multiple games, or with multiple games and a Jackpot. For simplified Balut, the highest "Total Score" determines the winner. For Jackpot variations, the highest "Total Points" determines the winner. It is recommended to start off with a single game of simple Balut and to incorporate the jackpot once players get the hang of the gameplay.

Materials:

• 5 standard dice per person.
• A scorecard or phone to keep track of scores.

Gameplay:

• Players can keep their own score, but there can also be a designated scorekeeper.
• Play starts with the winner of the previous round and the next turn is the player on the left.
• The scorecard lists the 7 possible combinations to score; Each combination has 4 entries to be filled.
  • Straight:
    • Small Straight (1-2-3-4-5): 15 points
    • Large Straight (2-3-4-5-6): 20 points
  • Fours: Sum of all 4s rolled
  • Fives: Sum of all 5s rolled
  • Sixes: Sum of all 6's rolled
  • Full House: Sum of all dice rolled
  • Choice: Sum of all dice rolled
  • Balut! (Five of a Kind): Sum of all dice rolled + 20
• Before gameplay starts, each player must guess the combined total of Baluts to be made by all players in the game. These guesses are to be recorded on the scorecard.

Rolling Dice and Striking Slots:

• In a turn, a player rolls all five dice at once, and they can choose to re-roll any number of those dice for two more rolls. The player scores their turn and fills a box on the scorecard based on the combinations showing on the remaining dice at the end of their turn. If a player gets a desired high scoring combination on the first or second roll, they may choose to pass their remaining rolls.
• If at the end of a players turn, there is no score combination to be made, a player must choose and strike off any remaining combination entry slot (including Jackpot slots).
• When a player has rolled all the fourth combination slot for a certain set, and they have chosen not to use that sets jackpot, they must strike off that sets jackpot slot.

Scoring, Jackpot, and Points:

Download: BalutScoreCard.pdf

• For each combination type, the player combines the scores and puts it in the "SCORE" column.
• The "JACKPOT" column is where a player can earn game points by meeting a minimum score value for that combination type. A player choosing to use the jackpot must also meet the minimum Incentive bonus for that combination set (excluding the jackpot roll). If the jackpot is played and the Incentive minimum is not met for that combination set, the player must deduct the Jackpot Bonus from their Total Points.
• If a player plays a Jackpot, they no longer receive the points awarded for the incentive. They receive or deduct only the Jackpot points.
• "POINTS" is where game points are awarded to players that meet incentives, hit jackpots, or have high overall total score.

Incentives
There are Eleven incentives listed on the scorecards, these must be met to acquire their respective game points. They are seen below:

1. 52+ score in 4's: 2 Points
2. 65+ score in 5's: 2 Points
3. 78+ score in 6's: 2 Points
4. All Straights: 4 Points
5. All Full Houses: 3 Points
6. 100+ score in Choice: 2 Points
7. One Baluts: 3 Points
8. Two Baluts: 8 Points
9. Three Baluts: 12 Points
10. Four Baluts: 16 Points
11. Correct Guess at total Game Baluts: 4 Points

Total Score Bonus

Players will add or subtract points from their total game points based on the where their total game score lands on the following table:

• 200-249: -3 Points
• 250-299: -2 Points
• 300-349: -1 Points
• 350-399: 0 Points
• 400-449: 1 Points
• 450-499: 2 Points
• 500-549: 3 Points
• 550-599: 4 Points
• 600-649: 5 Points
• 650-699: 6 Points

Winning the Game:

• The player with the highest number of game points after counting all jackpots and incentives wins the game.

Variations:

• If you would like to add a variation to these rules, leave an Amazon review with the variation in the review for it will be added to this section.