421
Zanzibar
Three dice, three rolls and a ranking of combinations topped by 4-2-1: whoever loses a round takes the tokens, and whoever sheds theirs first wins.
Three dice, and everything rests on the ranking of combinations. Highest is , which gave the game its name; then three of a kind, then a pair with an odd die, and at the bottom a scatter with nothing matching.
The round is built asymmetrically, and that is the point. The first player rolls up to three times, stopping when they like; everybody else gets exactly as many rolls as they used. Stopping early with a good combination denies the others the right to try again — and stopping early with a poor one hands them an easy round.
Whoever loses the round takes the . A game runs in two phases: first the stock is handed out, then it is passed back, and the winner is whoever is left with nothing.
Six-sided dice
Under these rules: Three dice between everybody.
Ordinary gaming dice, pipped from one to six.
The most widespread randomiser people have invented. Opposite faces add up to seven — not a rule of any game but a convention of manufacture, and the thing by which a die is recognised.
Rules of 421
What you need
Three dice and a stock of tokens — usually twenty-one on the table.
A round
The first player of the round rolls three dice. They may stop at once or reroll any of them — no more than three rolls in all.
The others roll after them, each getting as many rolls as the first player used, and no more.
The ranking
From highest to lowest:
| Combination | What it is |
|---|---|
| 4-2-1 | a four, a two and a one |
| Three of a kind | from 6-6-6 down to 1-1-1 |
| A pair with an odd die | from 6-6-5 down to 1-1-2 |
| A scatter | from 4-5-6 down to 1-2-3 |
The result of a round
The round is lost by whoever's combination was weakest. They take tokens — how many depends on the winner's combination.
Two phases
Handing out. While the common stock holds tokens, the loser of a round takes them from it.
Passing back. Once the stock is gone, the loser of a round takes tokens from the winner instead. A player who gives away their last token is out of the game.
End of the game
The loser is whoever ends up holding all the tokens.
Worth knowing
How many tokens a game uses and how many a lost round costs are counted differently from circle to circle; twenty-one on the table is the common figure. Descriptions also differ on what individual combinations are worth in tokens and on whether the second phase begins the moment the stock runs out.
Glossary of terms
- 4-2-1
- The highest combination in the game and its name: a four, a two and a one on three dice.
- The tokens
- A common stock, first handed out to whoever loses a round and then passed back to them. Anyone rid of their own is out of the game.