Games, casino or tavern
Lucky: A game typically played amongst friends, lucky is a casual and easy to pick up game completely based on luck. Of course, some casinos might capitalize on nostalgia and run a version where the house wins if nobody rolls a 7 or 12.
Rules: Every player buys in with at least 1 gp, then rolls 2d6. If the number is a 7 or a 12, you win! If nobody wins, you buy in again, raising the amount of money in the pot. If multiple people win, you can either split the prize or do a lightning round, where the previous winners double up their bets and roll again.
Dice Betting: 50/50 odds of winning twice the money you’ve put in, and a 1 in 20 chance of winning big. Not bad odds for someone willing to put their money down.
This is essentially a very simple dice roulette, and requires someone (PC or NPC) to act as the house. Place a bet on odd or even; high or low; or a specific number. For odds and evens, highs and lows, the house will raise your bet 2:1. For single numbers, they will raise it 19:1.
Drinking Game: A favorite the world over, what’s better than getting absolutely hammered with friends? Getting hammered with friends and winning money, that’s what. Put some money in a hat, and make Constitution checks. Start at DC 10, then each round, raise the DC by one or two.
Endmeet: A game of chance and risk, Endmeet is changing each round and constantly adding to the pot with every round lost. This game is easy to spend too much time and money on, but the payouts can be massive.
It’s blackjack, but with dice. The DM rolls 2d12. This is the goal number (ends) and also the amount of gold you need to put in the pot. Each person playing can roll up to 6d6 and attempt to get the end to win. If you go above the end, you’re disqualified for that round. If nobody meets the end, the closest wins. If everybody goes over, the money in the pot is added to the next round. And if two or more players get the end, they play an extra round by themselves.
Stone Skipping: Remember skipping stones as a kid? The fun, the memories, the good times shared by all. Maybe there are some children in a town wanting the PCs to skip stones with them. Show the little shits who’s boss by chucking that stone across the ocean. Revel in their shame and defeat. Become champion of skipping stones!
Each player takes a stone. They then make a Strength (Athletics) check to see how far they can throw it as well as a Dexterity check to see how many skips they get. Add both scores together to get the amount of feet and amount of skips. Total score is amount of feet x number of skips. Highest number wins.
Sal’s Favor: Can you hold your breath. I hope so. Cuz that’s all this game is. Each contestant puts their head underwater and holds their breath. Highest constitution check wins.
Horse Races: Want a more typical experience of crushing debt caused by poor gambling decisions? Horse racing has been around for generations to ensure that people the world over can use their child’s college savings to lose even more money. But hey, maybe you’ll win big this time. (note by OP: I turned this into a miniature horse racing game so that it was on a table the same size as a roulette table, made it easier for my players to imagine it being inside the casino).
Bet money on 5-horse racing. Each horse has a unique dexterity modifier which will remain hidden to the PCs and is determined by rolling 1d4 for each horse. When the races begin, each horse rolls a d20, adding it’s dex modifier to the total. Do this for 5 rounds. The highest total number at the end wins. This one is most fun if you narrate dramatically each round.
Weak Link: Mock those with inferior dice rolling skills by removing them from your table. If you’re the one with inferior dice rolling skills, prepare to be mocked.
Each player rolls a d6. Lowest number is out. If more than one player share the lowest number, they are both out. Last standing wins. You can substitute other dice for the d6 if you wish.
Orcish Roulette: This game is said to have been invented by a band of orcs who killed a wizard. Rifling through his belongings, they found a wand of magic missile. Taking turns trying to figure it out, one unlucky Orc…well, figured it out. A wand is put to your head. Roll a d6. On a 1, a flag that reads “bang!” pops out, bonking the player on the head, and they are out. Last person standing wins.
Alternatively, you can have it be a wand that does 200d10 damage if you roll a 1. Just be sure to tell your players which version they’re playing (note by OP: I told my players this was the version they played in the high rollers back room - only the half-orc barbarian was interested but not enough to risk it).
Arm Wrestling: Grab someone’s arm and slam it into a table. The age old contest of strength will always be a favorite! Just contested strength checks. It’s especially fun to have the participants roll so only they know the outcome and act it out, especially if a fair amount of money is on the line.
Archery: Good at shooting things? Try shooting things for prizes!
Each participant makes an attack roll against a target (AC 10). The target consists of three concentric rings. The outer ring is hit with an attack roll of 10-15 and is worth one point. The middle ring is hit with an attack roll of 15-18 and is worth 2 points. The center bullseye is hit with an attack roll of 20, and is worth 5 points. The game is won either by a participant reaching a set number of points first, or by playing a set number of rounds with the winner being the participant with the highest score.
Dice Betting: 50/50 odds of winning twice the money you’ve put in, and a 1 in 20 chance of winning big. Not bad odds for someone willing to put their money down.
This is essentially a very simple dice roulette, and requires someone (PC or NPC) to act as the house. Place a bet on odd or even; high or low; or a specific number. For odds and evens, highs and lows, the house will raise your bet 2:1. For single numbers, they will raise it 19:1.
Drinking Game: A favorite the world over, what’s better than getting absolutely hammered with friends? Getting hammered with friends and winning money, that’s what. Put some money in a hat, and make Constitution checks. Start at DC 10, then each round, raise the DC by one or two.
Endmeet: A game of chance and risk, Endmeet is changing each round and constantly adding to the pot with every round lost. This game is easy to spend too much time and money on, but the payouts can be massive.
It’s blackjack, but with dice. The DM rolls 2d12. This is the goal number (ends) and also the amount of gold you need to put in the pot. Each person playing can roll up to 6d6 and attempt to get the end to win. If you go above the end, you’re disqualified for that round. If nobody meets the end, the closest wins. If everybody goes over, the money in the pot is added to the next round. And if two or more players get the end, they play an extra round by themselves.
Stone Skipping: Remember skipping stones as a kid? The fun, the memories, the good times shared by all. Maybe there are some children in a town wanting the PCs to skip stones with them. Show the little shits who’s boss by chucking that stone across the ocean. Revel in their shame and defeat. Become champion of skipping stones!
Each player takes a stone. They then make a Strength (Athletics) check to see how far they can throw it as well as a Dexterity check to see how many skips they get. Add both scores together to get the amount of feet and amount of skips. Total score is amount of feet x number of skips. Highest number wins.
Sal’s Favor: Can you hold your breath. I hope so. Cuz that’s all this game is. Each contestant puts their head underwater and holds their breath. Highest constitution check wins.
Horse Races: Want a more typical experience of crushing debt caused by poor gambling decisions? Horse racing has been around for generations to ensure that people the world over can use their child’s college savings to lose even more money. But hey, maybe you’ll win big this time. (note by OP: I turned this into a miniature horse racing game so that it was on a table the same size as a roulette table, made it easier for my players to imagine it being inside the casino).
Bet money on 5-horse racing. Each horse has a unique dexterity modifier which will remain hidden to the PCs and is determined by rolling 1d4 for each horse. When the races begin, each horse rolls a d20, adding it’s dex modifier to the total. Do this for 5 rounds. The highest total number at the end wins. This one is most fun if you narrate dramatically each round.
Weak Link: Mock those with inferior dice rolling skills by removing them from your table. If you’re the one with inferior dice rolling skills, prepare to be mocked.
Each player rolls a d6. Lowest number is out. If more than one player share the lowest number, they are both out. Last standing wins. You can substitute other dice for the d6 if you wish.
Orcish Roulette: This game is said to have been invented by a band of orcs who killed a wizard. Rifling through his belongings, they found a wand of magic missile. Taking turns trying to figure it out, one unlucky Orc…well, figured it out. A wand is put to your head. Roll a d6. On a 1, a flag that reads “bang!” pops out, bonking the player on the head, and they are out. Last person standing wins.
Alternatively, you can have it be a wand that does 200d10 damage if you roll a 1. Just be sure to tell your players which version they’re playing (note by OP: I told my players this was the version they played in the high rollers back room - only the half-orc barbarian was interested but not enough to risk it).
Arm Wrestling: Grab someone’s arm and slam it into a table. The age old contest of strength will always be a favorite! Just contested strength checks. It’s especially fun to have the participants roll so only they know the outcome and act it out, especially if a fair amount of money is on the line.
Archery: Good at shooting things? Try shooting things for prizes!
Each participant makes an attack roll against a target (AC 10). The target consists of three concentric rings. The outer ring is hit with an attack roll of 10-15 and is worth one point. The middle ring is hit with an attack roll of 15-18 and is worth 2 points. The center bullseye is hit with an attack roll of 20, and is worth 5 points. The game is won either by a participant reaching a set number of points first, or by playing a set number of rounds with the winner being the participant with the highest score.
Type
Guide, How-to
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