SHIP CAPTAIN AND CREW

OBJECTIVE OF SHIP CAPTAIN AND CREW:  Be the first player to earn 50 points or more

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: Two or more players

MATERIALS OF SHIP CAPTAIN AND CREW: Five 6 sided dice and a way to keep score

TYPE OF GAME: Dice game

AUDIENCE: All ages

OVERVIEW OF SHIP CAPTAIN AND CREW

One of the best things about dice games is that you don’t need any other equipment to play the game. Simply bring some dice with you, and you’ve got an endless supply of games to play. One of the easiest dice games to play is Ship Captain and Crew. 

The game is known by many different names, such as Clickety Clack, Ship of Fools, and Destroyer. Normally, you play this game in a bar to see who is going to buy the next round, but you can also play with money or even just for fun. Let’s take a look at all of the rules for Ship Captain and Crew

SETUP FOR SHIP CAPTAIN AND CREW

ship captain and crew

Before you can start the game, you need to make sure you have all the equipment you need. Luckily, in this case, it’s quite simple: you need five six-sided dice and a flat surface. Having a few friends to play with is also helpful. You can play with as few as two people, and there is no limit to how many people can play.

TURNS

You need to choose someone to play first. You can do this by having each player roll the five dice. The player who rolls the highest number is player one. If there is a tie, then the ones who tied roll one die to break the tie. Then, the gameplay continues clockwise (to the left).

HOW TO PLAY SHIP CAPTAIN AND CREW

Now, the game is all set up, and everyone should be quite eager to play. If you’re playing for money, now is the time to put in your initial stakes. When playing as a drinking game, you can wager drinks or have the loser buy the next round.

ASSEMBLING YOUR SHIP, CAPTAIN AND CREW

SHIP CAPTAIN CREW

On each turn, players get three rolls to establish the ship, captain, and crew, as well as roll the highest cargo total possible. Before you can collect cargo, you must assemble your ship captain and crew by rolling the following:

  • Ship – 6
  • Captain – 5
  • Crew – 4

It is important to remember that you only get three rolls, and you must roll the ship captain and crew in order.  For example, on your first roll, you roll 6-5-3-2-1. You can keep the six (Ship) and the five (captain), but you must reroll the rest of the dice to try and get a four (crew). Essentially, you can’t keep a five until you’ve rolled a six, and you can’t keep a four until you’ve rolled a six and a five beforehand.

If you can’t establish a ship, captain, and crew by the end of your third roll, your turn is over, and you score zero points. Pass the dice to the next player. However, if you can establish this before your third roll, then you can add the two remaining dice together to find out your cargo total.

CARGO

The cargo is the total of the last two dice after you’ve established your ship captain and crew. This is also your score for the round.

For example, on your first roll, you roll 6-5-4-1-1. You set aside the ship captain and crew (6-5-4), and your total cargo is equal to two (1-1). You still get three total rolls on your turn, so you can re-roll the dice two more times to try and improve your score. However, keep in mind that if you re-roll, you must count that total, even if it is less than your previous roll.

SCORING

SHIP CAPTAIN CREW CARGO

At the end of your turn, you will tally up your cargo total as your points. If you were unable to establish a ship captain and crew during your turn, your score is zero.

If there is a tie, then the players who tied play another round.

END OF GAME

The player with the highest total cargo score is the winner. If you’re playing with multiple rounds, then the first player to reach a predetermined score is the winner. The winner also wins the initial stake if playing with money, or gets to assign drinks if playing for drinks.

GAMEPLAY EXAMPLE

Let’s see an example of an action game with our three players, Tom, Lisa, and Fred.

Tom is first, and he rolls a 6-6-5-4-1. He sets aside the ship (6), captain (5), and crew (4). This means he has a total of seven for his cargo (6-1). He decides to try and get a higher score and rolls a 1-1. He has to keep this score of 2 (1-1) as his final cargo score.

Next is Lisa’s turn. She rolls 6-2-4-2-2. So, she is allowed to keep and set aside the ship (6) but not the crew (4) since there is no captain (5). She rolls again and gets a 6-5-2-2. Now, she can set aside the captain (5), and she has one roll remaining. She rolls 4-3-1. She can set aside the crew (4), and now that she has a ship captain and crew, her total cargo score is four (3-1).

Now, Fred rolls and gets 4-3-2-1-2. He is unable to keep anything and rolls again, getting 4-4-4-2-1. Again he is unable to keep anything, so he rolls one final time. Finally, he rolls 6-5-4-3-3. He sets aside his ship captain and crew, and his total cargo score is six (3-3).

The final scores are:

  • Fred – 6
  • Lisa – 4
  • Tom – 2

The winner of the game is Fred since his cargo was the highest. 

If you enjoy this one, check out Midnight or Poker dice.

Alan Lemus
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