POT Games 42

By Tony Fisher and Mohan Balagopal

Balut is a game of dice that is played for fun in teams or groups of players; it is usually played at tables of four persons each but the game can also be played with any reasonable number of players. The cbjective is to accumulate the greatest number of points over seven ‘rounds’ of play. At Singapore Cricket Club, the Balut Section plays the STC version of Balut, named after the Singapore Town Club where these rules were adopted in 1978, and is played across dozens of Members’ Clubs and bars across South-East Asia. (The International Balut Federation plays a different version).

• A cup or other receptacle for throwing the dice • Five standard dice • A mat or flat surface, and • A score sheet

At the beginning of every game, each player will place the die in front, with the six on top, and two facing him/her. Use a finger to flick the die, and the player with the highest number will be the first to start.

Begin the game by determining which player is the first to start.

Each player in turn throws the dice up to three times. After each throw the player may take one or more die out of play or return one or more dice back into play. Once a die has been put back in the cup, however, it may not be taken out. At the end of three throws, or earlier if the player decides, the pips on dice that remain (from the last throw and those out of play) are to be used for computing that round's score. The score sheet has seven categories and each category can be scored once in that game. If at the end of three throws the player has no score then one row must be 'scratched', i.e. deleted, will carry a zero score, and not be available for scoring in that game again. All scores are the sum of the pips on the dice, except for a Balut, which always scores 30 points. One player, designated as scorer, records the scores in a column on the score sheet. Play will proceed in a clockwise manner. After the first player throws, the second player throws and after the last player, the dice return to the first player and this continues until each player has thrown six rounds - each time scoring or scratching one of the rows - this leaves us with one vacant row against each player, or what we call ‘Half Time‘ where the sub-total is calculated.

The scoring categories are: • 4: Any combination of fours (4,8,12,16 or 20) • 5: Any combination of fives (5,10,15,20 or 25) • 6: Any combination of sixes (6,12,18,24 or 30) • Straight: A line of 1-2-3-4-5 (15) or 2-3-4-5-6 (20) • Full House: 3 of one number and 2 of another (e.g. Three 6s and Two 5s = score of 28) • Choice**: The sum of all the pips (3-4-5-5-6 = score of 23) • Balut: Five of any one number, always scoring 30

Player 1’s status after 3 throws

• 8 points on 4s • 10 points on 5s • 24 points on Choice

Player 1’s status after 3 throws

• 6 points on 6s • Cancel Balut • Cancel Straight • Cancel Full House