ZILCH

These rules are here for your quick reference if you have lost yours!

RULES for the game of
ZILCH 5,000
A Wild Point-Building and Point-Destroying Dice Game for 2 or more players...
ALL Ages love ZILCH!

(c) 1980 TWINSON COMPANY
URL: http://www.infolane.com/twinson/

OBJECT: to out-score your opponent(s).

EQUIPMENT: dice cup, 6 dice, score sheets, and rules.

NAME OF THE GAME: ZILCH is defined in the dictionary as NOTHING; ZERO.
In the game of ZILCH, a roll of the dice without a 'counter' (see below) is a
ZILCH, zero points, and player must pass the dice.

Counter (on one roll) Points
One 5...................50
One 1..................100
Three 2's..............200
Three 3's..............300
Three 4's..............400
Three 5's..............500
Three 6's..............600
Three 1's.............1000
A straight............1500
A ZILCH (None of above)..0

PLAY: After determining a starting player (any method), each player
(clockwise) takes a turn at the dice. A turn consists of one or more rolls of
the dice, with points recorded only at the end of the turn.

All six dice are rolled to start a turn. If on the first roll (or any roll) a
player does not throw at least one counter, the player has ZILCHED, has zero
points for that turn, and must pass the dice. To continue a turn, at least one
counter must he rolled and held aside (frozen). More than one counter may be
frozen; however, only the frozen die / dice are counted and only the unfrozen
die / dice retained. A player may continue to re-roll the remaining die / dice
and accumulate points as long as the player rolls at least one counter and
freezes one. A player may stop any time he / she has accumulated at least the
required minimum points (see SCORING), pass the dice, and record the total
points for that turn.
Exception: If at any time ALL six dice are counters, the player must pick up all
six dice, retain his points, and continue the turn by starting again. This is
called 'turning the corner.' If a player rolls a ZILCH after turning the corner,
all accumulated points for that turn (before and after turning the corner) are
lost.

SCORING: MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS - A minimum of 5OO points on one turn must be
accumulated for a player to start scoring (to get on board). On following turns,
at least 350 points are required for a player to score.

WINNER: The first player to reach a total of 5,000 or more points must give all
other players one more turn to top his score. Highest score wins! In case of a
tie, tied players in turn each receive one more chance - high score wins!

AN ANALYSIS (of above): -not shown here for brevity, sorry...

A After roll 1, John Doe elects to freeze only one 5 In order to have five
remaining dice to re-roll. This gives player better odds for rolling three of a
kind, which he does. On roll 3, player rolls a 5 and decides to stop, scores a
total of 700 points, and passes the dice.

B John decides not to stop after roll 3 and takes a chance on rolling a 1 or 5
in hopes of turning the corner. However, player rolls a ZILCH, loses all his
points, and must pass the dice.

C John rolls a 1 on roll 4 (Instead of a 3) for 100 more points. Since all six
dice are now counters, player must pick up the dice, retain the 800 points and
start again (turning the corner). On roll 5, player rolls three 2's for 200
points and a 5 for 50 points. Player now has 250 points plus the 800 points
accumulated before turning the corner. Player wisely decides to stop, scores
1,050 for that turn, and passes the dice.

D John decides not to stop on roll 5, freezes Just the three 2's for 200
points and a total of 1,000 points. On roll 8, player rolls the remaining three
dice and ZILCHES, 0 points, and must pass the dice.

Before the game begins, be sure to establish the game of ZILCH (5,000, 10,000,
15,000) to be played, also if an optional rule(s) is to be incorporated.

TERMS:
DIE - the singular of dice
ROLL - to shake the dice in a cup and throw them onto the playing surface
TRIPLETS - three dice that have the same number
COUNTER - a 1, a 5, a triplet, or a straight (on one roll)
FROZEN - die / dice that cannot be rolled
UNFROZEN - die / dice that can be roiled
TURNING THE CORNER - after having rolled all dice as Counters, being able to
pick up all the dice and continue to try to score
ZILCH - no counters, zero points and loss of dice

VARIATIONS:
ZILCH l0,000 - same rules as ZILCH 5,000: however, two additional counters are
added and a total score of 10,000 or more required.
1. Any three pairs, 2,000 points (Example 2 2's, 2, 3's 2, 5's)
2. Any two triplets, 3,000 points (Example 3 3's, 3 4's)

ZILCH 15,000-same rules as ZILCH 10,000; however, three additional counters are
added and a total score of 15,000 or more required.
1. Any four of a kind, 4,000 points (Example 4 3's)
2. Any five of a kind, 5,000 points (Example 5 3's)
3. Any six of a kind, 6,000 points (Example 6 3's)

OPTIONAL RULES:

A. PYRAMIDING - This rule change gives the players the opportunity to 'pyramid'
counters. That is, a frozen die /dice may be used with a counter(s) of a
following roll.
Example: After freezing a 1 on roll 1 with a count 100, roll 2 of the five
remaining dice results in two more 1's. Combining the two 1's with the already
frozen 1 would result in three 1's and an additional 1,000 points or a total of
1,100 points, etc.

B. CHALLENGING - This rule gives each player the opportunity to use one or two
of his turns during a game as a 'challenge turn.' The player must announce
before rolling the dice his intention to challenge a player and which player is
being challenged. For that turn only, a player adds the total points to his
score and subtracts the same amount from the challenged player's score.
Challenge one may be used by a player only alter being on board and before his
score is 5,000 points. Challenge two may be used only after a score of 5,000
points. If a player rolls a ZILCH on a Challenge one turn, he / she must
subtract 600 points from his / her score. If a player rolls a ZILCH on a
Challenge two turn, he / she must subtract 2,000 points from his/her score.

C. SURPASSING- This rule change requires a player not only to have the minimum
required points to score, but the player must also top the previous player's
turn score. -fini-