Kacklee Stones
No one knows how to play the original game of Kacklee, or even if there was one, but Kacklee stones are used in several modern games in Skye. They are basically six-sided dice with unusual marks on the faces, but for most purposes they can be replaced by ordinary modern dice.
A paid of Kacklee Stones has a total of twelve different designs on the faces, and the prevailing theory is that they were used in a contest where each die had an equal chance of rolling a winner, without the potential of rolling ties. This can be duplicated with ordinary dice, if they are different colors, by declaring that the lighter one (“day”) loses ties on 1-3, and wins ties on 4-6.
Souffer
The oldest documented dice game is Souffer, with several recorded versions dating back before the modern calendar. It’s likely that the name “Souffer” was an ancient word for “challenge,” and the word survives as “Suffer” in the modern game of Fouret.
Souffer is, quite simply, a contest of dice. Each player makes an equal wager and rolls one die, and the high number wins the pot. Because it is played with two normal six-sided dice, there is a chance of a tie, which leads to the one interesting decision of the game.
If a starting roll is tied, each player makes a secret choice, either by setting his die to a low side, between 1 and 3, meaning “surrender,” or to a high side, 4 to 6, meaning “play on.” If both players surrender, they retrieve their bets and the game is over. If only one player surrenders, his opponent wins the pot. If both players play on, they continue with doubled stakes.
Though it’s clearly sub-optimal to surrender in this game, the doubling of stakes can rapidly scare a person into surrendering. Many players make a show of rolling their die rather than selecting a move, to make it harder to discern their intentions, but this is sometimes a deception and the player knows exactly what he wants to do.
Tacit
Known in different regions as Tacit, Tasset, Set, or Rogue's Dice, Tacit is a well-known descendant of Souffer which gets is name from its pieces, a Cup and Box, or “Tasse et Boîte.”
One surmises that there were intervening games in which, after the tie condition listed above, players indicated one of six choices with the placement of their dice. But these games must have evolved quickly into this version, which discards the initial roll entirely in favor of beginning with the bid.
Again, the game is for two players. Spectators may also bet on the outcome.
Each player uses a six-sided die, usually one white and one black.
To begin, each player chooses a face of his die, hiding it beneath a cup (the “Tasse”). The value on the die dictates that player’s wager. For example, five lourdes for five pips.
Each player then casts his die into the box (the “Boîte”). The high roll wins the opponent’s bet, with the following additional rules:
- The player’s bid number becomes a “7” on his die. For example, if a player bids “2,” then a roll of “2” is treated as a value of “7.”
- The player who made the higher bid amount, if there was a higher bid, wins ties. So if the dice both show the same value but the bids were different, the higher bidder wins.
- If the bets were tied AND the rolls were tied, then the game is a draw and both players reclaim their bets.
When this game is played in a gambling hall, the house will bank certain bets on the players, including paying 30:1 on the “draw” bet. Confederates are often engaged, to give the house a stronger edge on this wager.
Strategy for Tacit: In a similar way as the children’s game Rum Roger, each initial choice has a perfect counter-strategy. Generally, for whatever number your opponent chooses, you should choose one rank higher. If your opponent chooses 6, you should choose 1. The choice is made in secret, as in Rum Roger, but there is more at play here, because certain numbers have higher values than others, which means they should be chosen with a slightly higher (but not predictable) frequency.
Cahier
Literally “The Book,” Cahier (“KYE-yay”) is an obscure but well-documented game descended from Tacit and other dice games. Cahier is also known as Nobles, Cañón, and Fermay, possibly based on a corruption of “Poing Fermé,” or Closed Fist.
Cahier originated somewhere along the South Coast and is still played in Martin and Seaside. The theory is that sometime in the fifth century, during the reign of Kend Sara, dice games were forbidden by decree, and were replaced with a ring-bound book of thirty-six pasteboards, containing all possible rolls of two dice. These boards later separated from their binding, to form the playing cards we know today.
The original Cahier was a set of 36 thin boards bound to rings, with no particular end pages, so that the book could be randomly turned to any page. Street players would throw their bets using fingers, with a closed fist signifying “six.” This explains the game being known as Fermay, a corruption of “Poing Fermé,” or Closed Fist.
Over time, this game expanded to include multiple players, and the core mechanic basically evolved into betting on the white die to win. A ‘house’ player took all bets playing as the black die, and kept a small fraction of the money for himself by winning all ties. Rather than fists, players in gambling halls could choose their bets either using a customized betting layout or, more typically, by playing with small hands of cards representing just the numbers 1 through 6.
The grand cahiers of 36 cards, and the player-sized packets of six betting placards, have evolved into the modern Ferat deck.
Ferat
The 36-card deck based on six-sided dice eventually grew into a 64-card deck, representing the rolls of two eight-sided dice. There is no eight-sided shape with cubes as its faces, but the 64-card deck has nevertheless caught on.
As in Cahier, Ferat uses a large custom table layout. Players can bet any number to win or lose, as well as other combinations of bets. All bets must be placed before the cards are dealt.
A number “wins” if it comes up as a white die first, “loses” if it comes up as a black die first. If the first card with that number is a Double (that is, both numbers are the same), then all bets on that number are “imprisoned.” Imprisoned bets are released on a white number (without winning additional funds from the house) and lose outright on a black number.
The “in prison” rule affords a slight edge to the House of 3.33%.
Ferat Dice: Ferat can also be played with 6-sided dice, with spaces for betting the numbers 1 to 6 to win or lose, as well as other number bets. This game runs constantly and does not require a shuffle.
Bets can be imprisoned as in Ferat, but while in prison they will double each time another set of doubles is rolled, until they are released. This rule affords the house an advantage of just 1.24% on each number bet.
The card game version is more popular with gambling houses because of its better odds for the house. Players as a group do not seem to have a preference, with each individual having her own tastes.
Fouret
Fouret, or Fouray, is a two-player strategy game using the 64-card Ferat deck. Players attempt to build their best hand by taking turns drawing and discarding to a central hand.
One player takes the role of black, the other is white. Each player is trying to build sets of numbers (in their color) without allowing their opponent to do the same. So you must watch both sets of numbers as you play.
(Full rules for Fouret are forthcoming.)
Seeds
This is a traditional game played with a bag of stones. The bag contains an even mix, usually 20 of each, of the four colors white, red, blue, and black. On your turn, you will always draw three stones from the bag, but before the draw you may "seed" your hand with no more than one stone of each color. Then, after drawing three, you keep all the stones of which you hold two or more, and replace those that are unmatched. Then stones have different point values, usually 1, 2, 5, and minus 3. The first player to reach 20 points wins.
Many regional variants exist, including the Split, where a player who draws two Black stones (negative three points each) without having seeded any may hand those stones to other players.
Rum Roger
In this familiar children’s game, each player makes a symbol with her hand. The symbols are a closed fist (Rock), a cupped hand (Rum), and a pointing finger (Roger). Each symbol beats the next one in turn, so Rock beats Rum, etc. The origins of the names are unknown, but there are plenty of fanciful tales describing the exploits of the drunken mountaineer Rum Roger.
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