Cueuhe

The true worth of a man can be gleaned from a game of Cueuhe. If he cheats, he cannot be trusted. If he looks you in the eye and plays with a true, honest heart— he is a man of integrity.

— Tichan Zilopnou

Pieces of Wood, Mud & Stone

A standard set of Cueuhe includes a set of twelve six-sided dice called titli, and of course— a Cueuhe board.

Titli

Often wooden or clay in make, titli are cylindrical dice with rounded hexagonal ends. These ends are each twice as wide as the central cylinders. Each is around two inches in length, and an inch tall.

On the surface of the cylinder are dots— painted, or debossed— numbering one to five, coinciding with the hexagonal edges. In each set of twelve titli, four will be heavier stone or clay.

Board

The Cueuhe board is typically assembled or carved from pieces of stone or wood, most being somewhere around a foot and a half in length and nine inches in width, and four to five inches tall.

Three deep, wide grooves run along the length of the board with three shallower horizontal grooves in each— the central of which being slightly deeper than the rest.

Rules & Play

Cueuhe is a two-player game, and each player sits on opposing sides of the board. Each will be given six dice, and on each turn they will roll a single die along a lane of their choosing on the board.

The goal of the game is to try and land one's dice within the central grooves to score points, when all dice are expended, points are totaled— the winner is whoever ends with the most.

Dice must be rolled from the end of the board. Generally, players will aim for the innermost groove first, then the outermost. Some strategize by aiming to block their opponent's closest groove early on.


One can attempt to knock their opponent's dice out of a groove— or knock one of their own into a groove. As each player only has two heavy dice, they must use them sparingly. Once all dice have been rolled, each player is allowed to re-roll a single die that is not already resting within a groove.

Coo-ay-oo-hey

Variant rules

Single lane only.

The game is restricted to a single lane. This is a more fast-paced, chaotic variant popular with drunks and children.

Heavy & light.

This requires the players to either have, craft, or purchase specialized dice— half of the titli set will be extra light, being able to be rolled farther and faster.

The other will be harder, heavier dice— which can easily shove the lighter ones out of the way. This is a more adrenaline-filled variant, popular with soldiers, young adults, and some children.

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