How to play Generala

Generala is Latin America's take on the Yatzy family. You need five dice, preferably rolled from a cup, and a score sheet with eleven rows that you draw yourself: ones to sixes at the top, then straight, full house, poker, generala and double generala. Two to six players is ideal.

On your turn you roll all five dice. Set aside the ones you want to keep and reroll the rest, up to two more times. After at most three rolls you enter the result in an open row on your sheet.

Each row is used only once. If nothing fits, you cross out a row and score zero there. The game ends when every player has filled all their rows.

The upper section works like in Yatzy: you enter the sum of the dice showing that number, but there is no bonus. The combinations have fixed values:

• Straight: 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6, worth 20 points
• Full house: three of a kind plus a pair, worth 30 points
• Poker: four of a kind, worth 40 points
• Generala: five of a kind, worth 50 points
• Double generala: a second five of a kind, worth 100 points

What gives Generala its own character is the servida rule. If a combination lands straight out of the cup, on the very first roll of your turn, it is served and worth more: a straight scores 25 instead of 20, a full house 35 and a poker 45.

A generala servida is the big one. In most rule sets, five of a kind on the first roll wins the whole game on the spot.

When all rows are filled, each player adds up their sheet and the highest total wins. The exception is the generala servida, which ends the game immediately with victory for the player who rolled it.

The game is often just called General, and the details vary from country to country. Some groups let an ace act as a wild card in the straight, so 1-3-4-5-6 counts. Others drop the double generala row, or let a served generala score 100 points instead of deciding the game.

If you enjoy this family, Yacht is the older relative, while Yatzy is the Nordic branch with a bonus and more rows.

Generala has fewer rows, no upper section bonus and fixed values for the combinations. The biggest difference is the servida rule, which rewards combinations on the first roll and means a single lucky throw can decide the whole game. Yatzy is steadier and more predictable, Generala has more drama.