How to play Sevens Out

Sevens Out is played with two dice, paper and a pencil, and suits 2 to 8 players. The goal is to be the first to reach 500 points. The rules take less than a minute to learn, which makes it a good choice when you want to get going quickly.

On your turn you roll both dice and add up the pips. The sum is added to your score, and you roll again, roll after roll.

Doubles count twice: two 4s score 16 points instead of 8.

Your turn lasts until the dice add up to seven. The seven scores nothing, and the dice pass to the next player. The points you managed to collect are yours to keep.

The first player to reach 500 points wins. It is worth finishing the round so everyone has had the same number of turns; if several players pass 500 in the same round, the highest score wins.

In Norwegian the game is often called Sju ut, a direct translation of the name. For more tension, play that a seven wipes everything you have collected during the turn. Then you have to choose to stop in time, just like in Pig. With children you can set the target at 250 points for a shorter game.

Another simple game in the same spirit is Drop Dead, where the dice die one by one.

Seven is the most common total with two dice. Out of 36 possible combinations, six add up to seven, so on average it turns up every sixth roll. That keeps the turns short enough that nobody waits long, while the occasional turn still runs long.

Yes. The basic game involves no decisions, and all the adding is good arithmetic practice. It works well from around 6 years old, and an adult can help the youngest with the sums.