Bar Dice Drinking Game
Bar Dice is a great game to play at the bar and is popular in northern states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. The game may be played with as few as 2 people, but throughout the night others, including bartenders, want to join in and play as well. All you need is a Dice Cup, 5 Dice, and some money to buy shots.
The Game
This game is split up into rounds, which is dependent on the number of players. If there are 8 players, there are 7 rounds. 7 players will have 6 rounds. 6 players, will have 5 rounds etc… Each round has a winning player. The winning player of each round sits out for the rest of the game until there is only one player remaining. The remaining player at the end of the game is the loser, and buys everyone playing a shot.
Each Round
Each round, everyone gets a turn. The first person who shakes is ‘setting the score’. All remaining players try to set a new ‘high score’. The person with the high score wins the round and sits out of all remaining rounds (and gets to drink a free shot at the end of the game).
Each Turn
The first person to shake for the round has up to three rolls to set a high score. Each player thereafter must try to set a higher score in the same number of rolls or less.
Scoring
- 1’s are wild, and in order for your hand to count, it must contain a 1.
- All scoring is pair based where 5 of a kind beats 4 of a kind; 4 of a kind beats 3 of a kind; and 3 of a kind beats 2 of a kind. There are no straits, two pair, or full houses in this game.
- Scoring is also value based; three 5s beats three 4s, and so on.
- Scoring is also turn based; three 5s in two rolls beats three 5s in three rolls.
- After each roll, you are allowed to keep aside dice that you do not wish to re-shake for next turn (as long as you keep aside at-least a 1).
You cannot keep aside a 6-6 for example, but you can keep aside a 1-6. - Once you decide on keeping something, you must stick with it for the rest of your turn. Lets say you roll a 1-1-3-4-5 on your first roll and decide to keep three 5s (1-1-5, remember, 1s are wild). For your remaining rolls, you must always at-least keep a 1-1-5 aside.
Example
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In this example, we will show how bardice is played using four people. |
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In this example, Joe rolls a 2-2-2-3-4. Even though he has three 2s, his hand does not count because an ace was not rolled. He must now place all the dice back in the cup and roll his second turn. |
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On his second shake, Joe rolls a 1-1-3-4-5. So his score is “Thirty-Five In Two” meaning “Three Fives in Two Shakes” (1-1-5 is three 5s). Joe now has the option of keeping the score, or setting aside dice in attempt to get an even better score for his third shake. |
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He decides to roll again and sets the two 1s aside and shakes the three remaining dice. Using the dice he set aside, he now rolls a 1-1-3-3-6. So he now has four 3s (1-1-3-3), or “Forty Three All Day”. “All Day” simply means “In Three Shakes”. Since players are only allowed three shakes total, it is now Kim’s turn to beat his score. |
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Kim now shakes a 1-1-2-3-4 or “Thirty Four in One” which is “Three Fours in One Shake”. Because Three 4s is less than Joes four 3s, Kim must roll again. |
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She decides to keep the pair of 1s and put the three remaining dice back in the cup and shake again. Now she rolls again and, using the dice kept aside from last roll, end up with 1-1-3-3-5. So she has “Fourty Three In Two”. Because it only took her 2 shakes to get the same score as Joe, she now has the high score and the next player, Jim, must now beat “Fourty Three in Two”. |
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Lets say Jim takes his two shakes and does not beat “Fourty Three In Two”. It is then Jen’s turn and she ends up with “Fourty Six In Two”. Jen wins the round and now sits out for the rest of the game. In the Next Round, Joe, Kim, and Jim play. One of those players will win the round leaving only 2 players left. Once there are two players left, they play a “best of three” match. The first person to lose 2 games is the loser and must buy shots for all four players |
