421 Dice Game – quatre vingt et un

421 Dice Game

The 421 dice game  (quatre vingt et un) is popular in France. It is played with three dice and it is not uncommon to find special porcelain boxes, marked with the dice numbers 4-2-1.

Play starts with the first player rolling the dice and then making a hand. The player can roll again to better his hand but if he only rolls once, all other players following only get one roll to make a hand. The player at the end of the round with the best hand gets a point. Typically this game is played 10 rounds and the highest score at the end wins.

Hands rank as follows:

4-2-1 (Scores double on first roll)
Three of a kind 6-6-6 highest to 1-1-1 lowest
Two of a kind plus a backer 6-6-5 highest to 1-1-2 lowest
no matches 4-5-6 highest to 1-2-3 lowest

 

Sources: //fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/421_%28jeu%29
//boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28068/four-twenty-one