How do you play the Ten Thousand dice game?

Roll six dice, set aside the scoring ones, then bank the points or roll the rest. A roll with nothing to score loses the turn's points. First to 10,000 wins.

When all six dice have scored in one turn, you pick them all up and roll all six again, keeping your points so far.

Do you need a minimum score to bank?

Not in our game. Some house rules want 300 or 500 on the first turn. We do not.

What is a straight worth?

A straight from 1 to 6 is worth 1,500 points, and three pairs are worth 750.

Why is it called The Vault?

Ten Thousand is a folk game with many names. Ours is set at a safe in the Locksmith's back room: you crack the vault by reaching 10,000.

Yes, and there is no app to download. It opens soon: put your email in the box on this page and we will tell you the day it does.

Ten Thousand Dice Game: Rules and Scoring

The Vault is our version of Ten Thousand, also called 10,000: the classic push-your-luck dice game. On your turn you roll six dice and set aside the ones that score. Then you decide. Bank your points and they are safe, or roll the dice you have left and chase more. If a roll scores nothing, you bust and lose everything you built up that turn. First to 10,000 wins.

How to play Ten Thousand

What you need

Six dice and something to keep score. Two or more players take turns in order. The target is 10,000 points. For a quicker game, play to 5,000.

Your turn

Roll all six dice.
Set aside scoring dice. You must keep at least one scoring die from every roll. Every die you set aside has to be part of a score: you cannot park a stray 3.
Bank or roll on. Bank your turn's points and your turn ends, with the points safe in your total. Or roll the dice you have left to try for more.
Bust. If a roll has no scoring dice at all, the alarm goes off. You lose the points from that turn and your turn is over.

There is no minimum score to bank. Your first turn can be a single 5.

Hot dice

Score all six dice in one turn, across any number of rolls, and you have hot dice: all six go back in the cup and you keep rolling with everything you have built up so far.

Scoring

A single 1 is worth 100. A single 5 is worth 50. Other single dice score nothing.
Three of a kind is the face times 100, except three 1s, which are 1,000.
Each extra die of the same face doubles the score.
A straight, 1 to 6, is worth 1,500.
Three pairs are worth 750.

Ten Thousand: sets of the same face
Face	Three	Four	Five	Six
1s	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000
2s	200	400	800	1,600
3s	300	600	1,200	2,400
4s	400	800	1,600	3,200
5s	500	1,000	2,000	4,000
6s	600	1,200	2,400	4,800

Scoring dice combine in one set-aside: 1, 1, 5 is 250, and 3, 3, 3, 1 is 400. You can also set aside only part of what scores, and keep more dice in the cup.

Ending the game

When a player's banked total passes the target, everyone else gets one more turn. The highest total at the end wins.

The risk of a bust

The chance that a roll scores nothing depends on how many dice you roll. That is the whole game.

Chance of a bust by dice left in the cup
Dice rolled	Chance of a bust
6	about 2 percent
5	about 8 percent
4	about 16 percent
3	about 28 percent
2	about 44 percent
1	about 67 percent

Ten Thousand strategy

Know your break-even. Weigh the points you could lose against what a roll usually adds. As a rule of thumb, keep rolling five or six dice whatever you hold. With four dice, bank once you pass about 1,100. With three, bank at about 400. With two, about 150. With one, about 40.
Do not take every scoring die. If you are rolling on anyway, setting aside just a 1 and leaving a 5 in the cup gives you five dice to roll instead of four. More dice means a smaller chance of a bust and a bigger chance of hot dice.
Always roll hot dice. A straight or three pairs uses all six dice, and so does any run of scoring that empties the cup. With all six back in your hand you bust only about 2 percent of the time, so roll them.
Take more risk when you are behind. Banking small turns while someone else is a long way ahead only loses slowly. Roll on and chase the big turn.
Know the end game. Once someone passes 10,000, everyone else gets one last turn. Work out the exact score you need and keep rolling until you have it.

Our Vault, coming soon

Our table is a steel safe. Every die you set aside turns a tumbler on the dial. Bank it and the door swings shut on your points. Bust and the red alarm lamp lights and the bells ring, and that is all: no sirens, no police and nothing staked, only brass keys on your keyring.

Solo, you crack the safe against the Locksmith's regulars, each with a style. Clem banks at 300. Rook rolls on with three dice or more, whatever the risk. Aunt Vera chases when she is behind. The Locksmith banks on the odds, leans into risk when he is behind, and always rolls hot dice again. On sharp, the regulars play the end game too: they know exactly what they need to catch the leader.

The daily Vault is ten turns on the same dice for everyone that day. Bank as much as you can; the highest total wins. One scored run a day, and practice as much as you like.

With friends, phones are the hands: shake to roll, drag scoring dice onto the safe, pull the handle to bank. The TV shows the safe, the dial, the alarm lamp and everyone's banked total. Free to play, no app.

Free to play, and coming soon

The Vault is free, solo or with friends, and there is no app to download. Put your email in the box and we will send one email the day it opens, and nothing else unless you tick the box.

The Vault