How to play Going to Boston

Going to Boston is played with three dice and suits three players and up. All you need are the dice and maybe something to note wins with. It is an old English pub game, simple enough to learn mid-roll.

On your turn you roll three times:

1. Roll all three dice and set the highest aside.
2. Roll the remaining two and set the highest aside.
3. Roll the last die.

The sum of the three dice you set aside is your result for the round. If several dice show the same highest value, you set aside only one of them.

Every player takes a turn, and the highest sum wins the round. Ties are settled with an extra turn between the players involved. First to an agreed number of round wins, five for example, wins the whole game.

Some play it in reverse and crown the lowest sum, setting aside the lowest die each roll. Another variant awards points by placement each round, so a full match can be tallied after ten rounds.

If you like simple dice races, also try Round the Clock or Fifty.

Yes, from around age five. Spotting the highest die and adding three numbers at the end is just the right challenge for the youngest, and a turn takes under half a minute, so nobody has time to get bored.