How to play Hot Dice

Hot Dice is the six-dice game many families know as 10,000 or Zilch. On your turn you roll, set aside dice that score, and decide: roll the rest for more points, or bank what you have. Roll nothing that scores and you bust: every point from that turn is gone. The first player to 10,000 sets the mark, and everyone else gets one last turn to beat it.

A turn

• Tap Roll to roll all six dice.
• Tap the dice you want to set aside. You must take at least one scoring die after every roll. They move to the row below the tray.
• Tap Roll again to roll the dice that are left, or Bank to add this turn's points to your score.
• If a roll has nothing that scores, you bust and your turn ends with nothing.
• Set aside all six dice in one turn and you have hot dice: roll all six again and keep adding to the same turn.

Scoring

• Each 1: 100. Each 5: 50. Other single dice score nothing.
• Three of a kind: the number times 100 (three 4s = 400). Three 1s = 300.
• Four of a kind: 1,000. Five of a kind: 2,000. Six of a kind: 3,000.
• With all six dice: a straight 1 to 6, three pairs, or four of a kind with a pair: 1,500 each. Two triplets: 2,500.

Combinations only count within a single roll. A 4 you set aside earlier cannot join two 4s you roll later.

Tips

1. Keep few dice. Rolling 1, 5, 3, 3, 4, 6? Take the 1 alone and roll five dice. The 5 is worth only 50, and the extra die is worth more.
2. Know the odds. Six dice bust only about 2 times in 100, five dice about 8, four dice 16, three dice 28, two dice 44 and one die 67.
3. Bank with two or one dice left unless your turn total is small. With five or six dice, roll on.
4. On the last turn, play to win. If someone has reached 10,000, banking less than their score is the same as losing, so keep rolling.

Ten turns alone and today's dice

Play alone and you get ten turns to bank as many points as you can. The Daily Dice work the same way, and every player gets the same rolls in the same order. Your choices decide which dice roll next, so scores spread out fast. Your first try counts; the share shows one square per turn without giving the dice away.

Questions

Is it all luck? No. The dice are luck, but which dice you keep and when you bank matter a lot. The Sharp computer player works out the best choice for every roll and wins clearly more often than a player who keeps everything that scores.

Do I need 500 points to get on the board? Not here. Some families play that way; house rules are on our list.

Can friends play on one phone? Yes. Choose "Pass the phone" for two to four players. Playing with friends over a link, each on their own phone, is coming soon.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.