User:Tekau Mano

Tekau Mano is a fun family game where the goal is to score 10,000 points by rolling winning combinations using 6 dice.

To play, all you need are 6 dice, paper, a pen, and at least 2 players.

The Game
Tekau Mano is played by taking turns in rolling the dice and picking out any winning combinations that earn you points.

Winning combinations are three-of-a-kinds, straights, or ones or fives. The combination and point system is detailed in the scoring section of this article.



1. Decide who goes first by having everyone roll a die, if desired. This works well if you have 6 or fewer players. Give each person one of the dice and have them roll. Whoever rolls the highest number goes first, and then the game will continue going to the left.

If there’s a tie for the highest number, roll again.



2. Roll all 6 dice when it’s your turn. Whether you’re the first player or it’s your turn to go next.



3. Recognise scoring dice such as ones, fives, and three-of-a-kind. The only numbers that earn you points when you roll just one or two of them are 1 and 5. Rolling a 1 earns 100 points and a 5 earns 50 points. A 3-of-a-kind is worth 100 times the number on the dice, with the exception of 3 ones, which is worth 1,000 points. For each number over 3-of-a-kind that you roll, you earn double the amount.

For example, if you rolled the 6 dice and got a 2, 1, 4, 1, 6, 5, your score would be 250 because you rolled 2 ones and one 5. 3 twos is worth 200, 3 threes is worth 300, and so on. 3 ones is the only one that doesn’t follow this rule and is worth the most points at 1,000.

If you roll 3 twos you earn 200, 4 twos would be 400, 5 twos is 800, and 6 twos is 1,600 points. You have to roll the 3-of-a-kind all in 1 roll.



4. Score 1,500 points by earning a straight or 3 pairs. A straight means you rolled a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and this is worth 1,500 points. If you roll 3 pairs of dice all at once, this is also worth 1,500 points.

For example, if you rolled 2 threes, 2 fives, and 2 sixes, that would be worth 1,500 points.

If you roll 4-of-a-kind and a pair in one roll, this is worth 1,500 points.



5. Look to see if you have scoring dice and set at least 1 aside. Scoring dice include things like a 1 or a 5 as well as 3-of-a-kinds or any other point-earning combinations. If you rolled 1 or multiple dice that earned you points, set them aside. You need to set at least 1 aside to keep rolling, though you can set as many aside to score as you’d like.

Any dice you set aside won’t be rolled again on that turn and will be counted as part of the score.



6. Earn at least 1000 points on your first turn to get “on the board.” Getting 1000 points is how you essentially earn your way into the game. If you don’t earn 1000 points on your first turn, you’ll need to wait until it’s your turn again and attempt to earn 1000 points then.

For example, if you roll as many times as possible during your turn but you’re only able to earn 450 points, this isn’t enough to get you on the board and you’ll need to start over again next time it’s your turn.

Each person will need to earn 1000 points when it’s their turn to begin officially scoring. Players only need to earn 1000 points on their first turn. For any other turn, you can keep as many or few points as you’d like however your score in every turn must be equal to or greater than 500.

500 points is the minimum amount required in every turn to validate your points. If you roll less than this ie. 450 your turn is over with no score recorded and it is the next players turn.



7. End your turn if you don’t have any scoring dice. If you rolled single or double numbers of twos, threes, fours, or sixes, you haven’t earned any points for that round. This applies even if you’ve put scoring dice aside earlier, and now you’re rolling 5 or fewer dice. Once you roll dice that don’t amount to any points, your total for that round returns to zero and it’s the next player’s turn.

For example, if you set aside 3 twos on your first roll, and then rolled a 2, 4, and 6, your most recent roll is worth zero points, so the points you earned on your first roll no longer count.



8. Keep rolling until you're satisfied with your score or you roll with no score. Continue rolling the remaining dice and setting aside at least one to be scored for each roll. The first player’s turn ends when they either decide to keep their score, or they roll dice that aren’t worth any points.

For example, if you first rolled 3 sixes, you would set aside the sixes that are worth 600 points. Say you rolled the remaining 3 dice and got 1, 5, and 4. This brings your total up to 750 points. You could either keep this score or roll the remaining die to see if you could earn even more points (though this would be very risky).

If you set aside 4 dice that earned you points and decide to roll the remaining 2 again, but you get a 4 and a 6, your total score for that turn is 0 because neither of these numbers earn points, and your turn ends. If you set aside all 6 dice for scoring, you can roll again and continue scoring.



9. Calculate your score and pass the dice to the next person. Either have each person keep track of their own score or appoint someone as the scorekeeper to add up everyone’s points for them on one piece of paper. Once you've calculated your score for that round, pass the dice to the player to the left and continue playing.

If you earned 800 points during the first round and 500 points during your next turn, your total would come to 1,300 and you would keep adding on to your total score each round.

The Strategy


1. Choose which scoring dice to keep to put others back in the game. If you have multiple scoring dice, you don’t have to set them all aside. Many players like to keep as many dice in the game as possible so they have more opportunities to score higher point amounts.

For example, if you rolled 2 ones and one 5, you might decide to put the 5 back in the game to help your odds of rolling a three- or four-of-a-kind.



2. Avoid taking a risk by accepting a good score. Sometimes it's smart to stop while you're ahead—if you roll scoring dice and are pleased with your score, stop rolling the leftover dice and just take that score to avoid the risk of losing all your points.

Remember, it's not necessary to keep rolling even if you have extra dice.



3. Keep rolling your extra dice if you have a strong lead. If you're not worried about losing potential points, feel free to take a risk and keep rolling to see what you get.

If you keep rolling and have 4 or 5 scoring dice, this is a good time to keep your score.

Rolling the last sixth die is a bit risky, so only do this if you're feeling really lucky or don't mind losing the points.



4. Win the game by earning at least 10,000 points before the other players. When a player reaches 10,000 points the remaining players in the round get one more turn. If no one else reaches 10,000 points, the player who earned 10,000 points first wins. If someone else earns at least 10,000 points during their final turn, the person with the most points wins.

The Score
These are the base methods of scoring:


 * Single fives are worth 50 points


 * Single ones are worth 100 points


 * Three of a kind are worth 100 points times the number rolled, except for three ones which are worth 1000 points


 * If four, five, or six of a kind are rolled, each additional dice is worth as much again as the three of a kind score


 * This makes the highest possible score in a single roll 4000 for six ones (1000 for three ones, after that player gains 1000 points for each additional one in that series of rolling.) The ONE is the only dice you ever count in the thousands.


 * A straight from 1 to 6 is worth 1500 points. If a player fails to roll a straight they may make one attempt to complete the straight. If the desired number(s) does not turn up on the next roll your turn ends with no points recorded and it is the next players turn.


 * Three pairs are worth 1500 points. For instance 2+2, 4+4, 5+5. This rule also applies if you roll a quadruple and a pair e.g. 2+2, 2+2, 6+6


 * If a player fails to roll a three pairs, they may make one attempt to complete the three of a kind. If the desired number(s) does not turn up on the next roll your turn ends with no points recorded and it is the next players turn.

Typically each roll scores separately, with dice scored at the time they are rolled, so that three or more of a kind must be rolled simultaneously, and dice from later rolls cannot be added or stacked to the previous roll to form scoring combinations.

For example: Player 1 rolls all six dice, and chooses to score three fours for 400 points. She rolls the remaining three dice for a 2, 4, 5; the additional 4 does not multiply the previous three of a kind and she can only score 50 points for the additional 5. If she rolls two more 5's with the remaining dice they too are calculated singularly, will not form a three of a kind with the other 5 and will only score 50 points each.

The Sources
References and sources