Fantasy dice game, card game?

[Ry]

Tonk definitely looks cool, and it seems very much a soldier's game. I'm looking for something a bit more strategic (or at least seemingly so) for the noble game.

Ship, Captain, Bosun looks fantastic. Took me a few reads but I realize that it would only take seconds to demonstrate.

 

[Crothian]

In the Serenity module Out in the Black there is an old Miners card game that uses gambling. It might be out on the net somewhere and would fit D&D well.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Tonk definitely looks cool, and it seems very much a soldier's game. I'm looking for something a bit more strategic (or at least seemingly so) for the noble game.

Remember, one of the highest-stakes games around is Punto Banco Baccarat, which involves no strategy or skill at all.

The nobles can demonstrate their complete indifference to petty concerns like thousands of gp by playing a game of pure chance for insane stakes...

-Hyp.

 

[Contrarian]

As far as dice games...you could try Pirate's Dice, as featured in Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest. If you haven't seen it, every player rolls 5 standard dice in a dice cup, and then they start bidding on the number of X's (1s, 5s, etc.) in all the hands. High bid wins, but if you lie, you can be called out. If you call someone a liar and you're right, they're out. If you're wrong, you're out. I'd say it keeps going either until only one person is in and that person wins the pot.

There was a commercial version of this game released as a tie-in to the movie. It has rough-edged dice (to simulate hand-carved dice) and plastic dice cups sculpted to look (vaguely) like leather: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F0H80K

Myself, I usually just go with craps, because it's simple enough that it won't get in the way of in-character talk.

 

[Ry]

I think I"ll use Three-Dragon Ante for the noble game (and pick up a second deck for the custom cards), but say that the real cards in-game don't have ruels on them, so it's hard for in-character people to learn.

 

[DaveyJones]

aren't there some games in Tournaments, Fairs & Taverns? i can't remember

 

[Ry]

aren't there some games in Tournaments, Fairs & Taverns? i can't remember

Not much in the way of card and dice games. It focuses more on games like Drunken Daggers (take a shot, try to throw at a target past your opponent) or bear wrestling - things that are great for spectators.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

It's not a dice or a card game, but take a look at Witch Stones , from Blue Devil Games. It uses a chesslike board and glass beads or tokens. It's fun and very strategic. One of my players made a very cool board for me that I use for it (since it's a pdf).

There are also historic variants of both dice and cards. If memory serves, there's a company out there that makes custom dice. It might be cool to just get a set for the game. For example, Justin du Coeur (SCA out of Boston) has a nice page compiling many historical game rules here.

 

[ssampier]

I have vague memories of a card game in the FR - Finder Stone Trilogy, but I do not know if it was ever written down.

Remember, one of the highest-stakes games around is Punto Banco Baccarat, which involves no strategy or skill at all.

The nobles can demonstrate their complete indifference to petty concerns like thousands of gp by playing a game of pure chance for insane stakes...

-Hyp.

I am not very familiar with Punto Banco Baccarat, but in Vegas style Mini-Baccarat there is much ado about marking your card in attempt to predict the next cards. Statistically, it makes no different. I am sure the nobles would do something similar.

 

[cattoy]

I think there was a game called Diamondback used for gambling in Cerebus the Aardvark. I never learned the rules, though.