How to play Sequences

Sequences is played with six dice, a sheet of paper and something to write with. The game works for two to six players. Draw a column for each player on the sheet, and you are ready in under a minute.

On your turn you roll all six dice once. Then you look for the longest run of numbers starting from 1: first a one, then a two, then a three and so on. If several dice show the same number, only one of them counts.

Without a one you score nothing, no matter how promising the other dice look. The run must always start from 1.

The longer the run, the more points:

• 1: 5 points
• 1-2: 10 points
• 1-2-3: 15 points
• 1-2-3-4: 20 points
• 1-2-3-4-5: 25 points
• 1-2-3-4-5-6: 35 points

There is one trap: a throw containing three ones wipes out everything you have collected, and you start again from zero.

Scores carry over from round to round, and the first player to reach 100 points wins the game. Keeping the running total in your head is good arithmetic practice, since every score is a multiple of five.

Sequences is also known as Straight Shooter. A couple of established variants:

• A full run to 6 scores 30 points instead of 35.
• Drop the triple-one rule and reward sixes instead: five sixes score 35 points and six sixes score 70.

If you like games where the numbers have to arrive in order, try Round the Clock or One-O-Five.

Then you score nothing that round. With six dice it happens less often than you might think, but often enough that no lead feels safe until someone actually passes 100.