Dice games
Ship, Captain and Crew
- players
- 2–10
- minutes
- 15
- years
- 8+
In the box
5 dice
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
With five dice and three rolls per round, you must collect, in order, the ship, the captain and the crew: the 6, the 5, then the 4. The two remaining dice are the cargo, which you can reroll together with any rolls you have left, and their sum is your score for the round; without a complete ship, you score zero. After the agreed number of rounds, five by default, the highest total wins.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
5 dice and a cup, Rounds or stake agreed
- Five dice and a cup, for two or more players.
- Agree in advance on the number of rounds, or a stake per round if you are playing at the bar: each player puts one chip in the pot, and the best score takes it.
How to play
3 rolls per round, 6, then 5, then 4, Reroll the cargo
- Each player has three rolls per round, and may stop after any of them.
- You must first roll a 6, the ship. Once it is set aside, you look for the 5, the captain, then the 4, the crew.
- The order is compulsory: a 5 rolled before the 6 does not count and must be rolled again.
- Several of these dice can be set aside on the same roll, as long as the order is respected.
- Ship complete before your last roll: you may use the rolls you have left to reroll the cargo, always both dice together. The new total replaces the old one, even if it is lower.
Scoring
Cargo from 2 to 12, No complete ship: 0
- Once the 6, the 5 and the 4 are set aside, the two remaining dice form the cargo: their sum is the round's score, from 2 to 12.
- A player who has not completed the ship in three rolls scores zero.
- The highest score of the round wins; in a tie, the tied players take one more turn each until one of them comes out ahead.
End of the game
Agreed rounds, Highest total
- The Bicycle rules stop after a single round. In the University Games edition, you play five rounds, and whoever has collected the most chips wins.
- Without stakes, the counter adds up the cargoes over the agreed number of rounds, five by default: the highest total wins.
House rules and pitfalls
The University Games edition gives five rolls per turn, with the three-roll game as a variant.
- The University Games edition gives five rolls per turn, with the three-roll game as a variant. It also suggests dropping the compulsory order, or doing without the captain: the 6 and the 4 are then enough, and the cargo is counted on the other three dice.
- In a tie, the same edition carries the pot over to the next round instead of having a play-off.
- Two dice average seven. With one roll left, reroll a cargo below seven; with two left, reroll anything up to and including seven.