Generala

Generala is an old Latin American dice game. It is the game that Yahtzee is based on.

Number of Players

The game may be played with two or more players.

Set Up

• 5 six-sided dice
• Something to write with and on

Players determine turn order in some fashion, preferably by rolling the dice and the turn order goes from highest to lowest or, alternatively, from lowest to highest.

Game Play

The acting player rolls the dice. They must roll some combination of dice listed in the “Results” section. They then select one or more scoring dice to be tucked away. At any time, all the dice or or the remaining untucked away dice may be rolled. If not, the player can pass and add the score from the tucked away dice. If you do not get any scoring dice on the roll, the player scratches. The player must get their optimal score in at most three turns.

Results

• Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, or Sixes (may only be taken once) is worth the summation of the individual faces (e.g. getting a 4-4-4 is worth 12 points)
• Straight (e.g. 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6) is worth 20
• Full House (three dice results and two of another dice result, such as 3-3-3 and 2-2) is worth 30
• Four of a kind is worth 40
• Generala (five of a kind) is worth 50 (alternatively, 60)
• Double Generala (rolling Generala a second time in a game) is worth 100 (alternatively, 120)

Winning Conditions

The player who either has the highest store.

Betting

Players may add a betting element to the game by placing tokens, usually money or poker chips, into a kitty using any mechanism agreed upon by the players (e.g. anteing or blinds). The winner takes the kitty. If there is no winner, the kitty stands for another round.