Gambling Games

[Mean DM]

Does anyone know of any gambling type games that I can use during game play? Dice style would be better, but cards will do. Could use Craps, but wanted something less familiar. I appreciate any suggestions, and my players will appreciate their lighter purses.

Mean DM

 

[Crothian]

We've found that black jack works the best. It's simple and easy and everyone understands it. The odds are in the house's favor enough that the PCs shouldn't win all the time.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I use traditional Roman dice games. Pick a number of dice (1-3), a number of "pips", and make a bet. If all of the dice are the number you picked, you win a certain multple of your money back. IIRC:
1 die - 4x
2 dice - 25x
3 dice - 150x

You can also make a combined bet, where you roll 3 dice and call a number; you win back your bet every time your number comes up. If your number was 3 and the dice come up 1, 5, 3, nothing changes; if 3, 3, 3, you get twice your bet back; if 4, 5, 2, you lose your bet.

*Wow* the odds are stacked, but the soldiers didn't have anything else to spend their money on...

 

[arbados]

I have played with a bunch of different dice games using the 6 dice which are normally used in Dungeons and Dragons. My players love them and it is a fun twist to the game. Here are a few:

1) DICE RACE: All players roll the D6. The object is the first to get to 20 is the winner. All dice rolls are cumulative. If there is a "house" they always get a +1 to all rolls. The highest roll in each round also gets a +1 to their total ( e.g. 3 players plus the house. players roll 2, 4. 6. house rolls a 5. The player who rolled the 6 has 7 because of the +1 for the high roll that round. The house also gets a +1 because they are the house, so they have a 6.) This would end round one and the players and house would roll for round two. The house could potentially get an 8 in a round if they also rolled a 6 (+1 for house, +1 for high roll). Everyone who beats the house wins, unless it is all characters playing then the first to get to 20 wins (unless of course a player wishes to play "house" and they would potentially pay all the winners!!

2) DRAGON SLAYER: The D12 is used. The player chooses to challenge either a young, adult or ancient dragon. The young dragon gets a +3 to the roll, the adult gets a +5 and the ancient gets a +7. The high roll wins with ties going to the house. I cant recall what the pay back is (I dont have the chart in front of me, but obviously the monetary rewards are greater against the more powerful dragons. Greater risk involved, greater winnings)

3) SPOTTLE DICE: D6 involved, plus a very big old Spottle Frog. The "house" always has a bunch with them. The players are actually playing with dice which the house sells them and are crafted using shiny metal which the Spottle Frog loves to "gobble" up. The player rolls the D6 as well as the house. The high roll wins, with ties going to the house. However, after the player rolls their dice their is always a 20% chance that the Big Old Spottle Frog gobbles up their dice. They lose the game as well as losing their dice. Of course the house always has a bunch of extra dice handy to sell to prespective players!! Sometimes I add that the % chance is dependent on the dice used. The Spottle Frog loves copper, then silver, then gold and isnt to fond of platinum. Of course the platinum dice are most expensive with the copper being cheapest. The % usually drops by about 2% lower dependent on the dice.

I have a few more and even some other types of games. My players love them, because it is gambling (without your real money) and doesn't have the usual "black jack feel which is too modern for the taste of the game!!

When we played 2nd edition we used the gaming proficiency to get bonuses to the players dice rolls. Now we use gaming as a "profession" with every 5 ranks gaining a +1 ( we havent gotten to high in ranks so it hasn't affected the games much. just makes some player better than others if they want to put ranks to this instead of the life saving spot..

Hope this helps.

 

[Hypersmurf]

3) SPOTTLE DICE: D6 involved, plus a very big old Spottle Frog.

That one's from a Dungeon Mag, right?

I remember the Spottle Frog...

-Hyp.

 

[arbados]

You got it. I myself couldn't even remember where it came from it was so long ago. I just tweaked it a bit. I have to check through my mags to see where it was again and how it was used

 

[Wippit Guud]

High/Low - Roll a d20. Place a bet whether the next roll is higher or lower.

In-Between - 3 dice, two of the same color. Win if the odd colored die is a number that falls between the numbers shown on the same-colored dice.

Dice Slots - 3d6, win if all 3 come up same number.

 

[Fast Learner]

Great Dice Site

Here's a page within an excellent dice site that includes a long list of games you can play with d6s, many of which would make great gambling games that would be unfamiliar to players:

http://members.aol.com/dicetalk/d6numb.htm

 

[Torq]

In-Between - 3 dice, two of the same color. Win if the odd colored die is a number that falls between the numbers shown on the same-colored dice.

Anyone know how to do the probability computation for this one? I'm going to have a game of dice going in one of the pubs in my games and I have no doubt that one of the PCs will want to get in on it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

How about Mason? Its not a gambling game, but its easy enough to use as one.

Mason Rules:

1. Roll 6d6.
2. Tally number of die which rolled a 4 or better.
3. Take those die which rolled a 4+ and re-roll them, tallying which ones rolled 4+.
4. Repeat until no die rolls 4+
5. Total number of die rolls over 4+. This is your score.
6. Compare scores, highest score wins.

(FWIW, in more than 2 decades of playing Mason, my best score is 21.)

You can use any die type you like, just tally those results that were above the die's average score. The d6s and the game's name came from rolling stats for games like D&D: "good die" for Mason would be ideal for "building" PCs.