Dice have been used as game pieces for centuries. Depending on the time, you could use sticks, , cowrie shells, beans animal knuckles, and eventually stone and ivory.
Gamblers loved the small size, easily concealed, and used them to earn (or cheat) money from their opponents. Naturally, governments and religious institutions placed dice and cards high on their lists of sinful posessions.
This category only includes games in which dice are the primary component. Some use a board or diagram solely to keep track of player bets. Anything with tokens to move can be found under board games.
Common mechanics include accumulating points, achieving specific combinations, duplicating a previous roll, and avoiding a re-roll of an earlier number.
Bầu cua cá cop is a popular Vietnamese dice game played mostly during Tết – their Lunar New Year.
I first taught historic games at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site. Here are some of the tribal games I learned about.
The Libro de los Juegos, completed in 1283 for Alfonso X, included several dice games, despite their illegal status. Let’s learn a few!