DUCKS IN A BUCKET

Welcome to Ducks in a Bucket! It’s an exciting dice game that can be played by 2 – 6 players. The goal is to collect the best dice combinations possible. The Boss die will determine which dice you can collect. Get ready for a thrilling game with your friends and family!

For a handy printable version of the rules, just click here. And if you’re interested in more free games from Crab Fragment Labs, check them out here!

WHAT YOU NEED

To play Ducks in a Bucket, you’ll need five regular white dice, one special colored die, and a scoring system to keep track of points. It’s also helpful to have a token to decide the first player for each round.

HOW TO PLAY

When it’s my turn to play, my goal is simple: I want to create the best hand possible by rolling the dice. But here’s the twist – the Boss die determines which numbers I can actually keep. Let me explain how it works.

My turn starts with rolling all six dice, and then I have two options to decide which dice go into my bucket. Let me break them down for you.

MATCHING

If any dice matches the Boss die exactly, I can put those matching dice into my bucket. Simple as that.

ADDING

The other option is to form a set of dice that adds up to the value of the Boss die. Let’s say the Boss die shows a 5, and I roll a 1-1-3-4-5. In this case, I have a few choices. I can keep the 1-1-3 set, the 1-4 set, or just take the 5 on its own. The goal here is to meet the requirements for Matching. So, it’s up to me to decide which set I want to keep.

Once you choose and move dice to your bucket, they cannot be rolled again. They are locked in place. After adding dice to your bucket, you have the option to roll again or end your turn. If you choose to roll again, the Boss die is also rolled.

If you fail to add any dice to your bucket, you will be penalized by removing one of the white dice from the batch. You must then roll the remaining dice again, but with one less die.

Now, let’s talk about the wild ducks. When you add 2’s to your bucket, they become wild. During the scoring phase at the end of the round, the 2’s can be used as any other dice value to form the best hand. The only way to add 2’s to your bucket is if the Boss die is a 2.

Lastly, let’s discuss losing your bucket.

If you push your luck too much (or don’t have any luck at all) and run out of white dice because you didn’t match the Boss die, you’ll lose all the dice in your bucket. Unfortunately, you won’t get any points for that round.

After you finish your turn, write down the dice you kept on the score sheet. At the end of the round, those dice will be scored. The game goes to the left and continues until everyone has completed their turn. Then the round is over.

To start the next round, pass the starting player token to the left. That person will go first in the next round. Keep playing until every player has had a turn.

SCORING

After each round, compare the hands that each player made and assign points based on their ranking.

The hand rankings, from highest to lowest, are as follows:

Three of a Kind

When you have tied hands, the one with the higher valued dice breaks free. To determine the winner of the tie, we look at if either hand has a “kicker” – an extra dice in the bucket, but not part of the hand. If there is a kicker, it is used to break the tie. Even if both hands are exactly equal, the player who went first in the round will win the tie.

For the highest ranking hand, you earn points equal to the number of players. The second highest hand will earn one point less, and so on down the line. If you either lost your bucket or ended your turn with an empty one, you won’t earn any points.

WINNING

At the end of the final round, the player with the most points wins the game.

At the end of the final round, the player with the most points wins the game.