How to play Centennial

Centennial is played with three dice and a simple board you make yourself: a row of twelve squares numbered 1 to 12, drawn on a piece of paper. Each player needs a counter, a coin or some other easily recognised marker. The game works for two to six players.

Everyone starts off the board. Pick a starting player, then take turns clockwise.

The aim is to move your marker from 1 up to 12 and then all the way back down to 1, in order. On your turn you roll all three dice once. You may use the value of a single die, the sum of two dice or the sum of all three.

To enter square 1 the throw must contain a 1. Square 2 needs a 2 or two 1s, square 3 needs a 3, a 2 plus a 1, or three 1s, and so on up the row.

You can move several steps in one turn by using more than one combination from the same throw. Roll 1, 2 and 4 on your first turn, for example, and the 1 takes you to square 1, the 2 to square 2, 1 + 2 to square 3, the 4 to square 4, 4 + 1 to square 5, 4 + 2 to square 6 and the sum of all three to square 7. A single throw can carry you a long way.

This is the clever twist in the game. If a player overlooks a number in their own throw that they actually needed, any other player who needs that same number may claim it and move. The claim has to be made as the dice are passed on to the next player. So watch everyone's throws, not just your own.

The first player to complete the whole trip, from 1 up to 12 and back down to 1 again, wins the game.

Centennial is also known as Ohio and Martinetti. The names vary, but the game is the same. A common house rule gives a player an extra throw every time they manage to move their marker.

For a looser version, try Everest, where the numbers can be crossed off in any order. Another game built on numbers in sequence is Round the Clock.

No. All you need is a sheet of paper with twelve squares drawn in a row and numbered 1 to 12. Some players simply write the numbers on a line and use coins or initials as markers. That works just as well as a printed board.