How to play Cubilete

Cubilete is a Cuban dice game for two to six players. It is played with five dice and a dice cup (cubilete is Spanish for dice cup), traditionally for stakes: use chips at home. With ordinary dice the six counts as the ace, and aces are the most important dice in the game.

On your turn you shake the dice in the cup and slam it on the table. You have up to three rolls and may set dice aside between them. The goal is to collect as many aces (sixes) as possible and build the strongest hand.

Hands follow poker ranking: five of a kind beats four of a kind, which beats a full house, three of a kind, two pairs and one pair. Between equal hands, the number of aces decides, then the highest values.

Two rolls have their own names and rules:

• Carabina: five aces. Wins the whole match on the spot, whatever the standings.
• Carabinita: four aces. Wins the round immediately, and in many house rules everyone else pays an extra chip.

The hunt for these rolls gives the game its character: one cup can turn an entire match.

Every player takes a turn, and the best hand wins the round and the pot. Ties are replayed between the players involved. A match usually runs to an agreed chip total or a fixed number of rounds, unless someone settles everything with a carabina.

Cubilete is played in many house variants in Cuba and the Caribbean diaspora: some count only aces and skip the poker hands entirely, others let the opener cap the number of rolls. Agree on the rules before the first cup.

If you like cup-and-poker-hand dice games, also try Boss Dice or Poker Dice.

Cubilete is Spanish for dice cup, the very cup the dice are shaken in. The game is named after its equipment, rather like calling a card game The Deck.