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Home > Traditional Games (Parlour Games) > Dice Games > Balut

Balut
(a dice game)

Balut is a popular dice game which served as inspiration for the commercial game "Yahtzee".

Balut was invented at the end of World War 2 by an American soldier who lacked playing cards in order to play Poker. He thus invented Balut with the object of throwing successfull dice-combinations in order to earn points, with bonus points granted for each "Balut" -- a 5-of-a-kind die-throw. Incidentally, the name "Balut" is derived from a Philippine delicacy made of a fetal duck or chicken egg, which is a popular street food in the Philippines.

Widely popular among Danish businessmen who frequent Asia, this game has been travelled and introduced to various parts of the world, and enjoy a consistent following via its numerous gaming clubs and organizations established for the enjoyment of the game.

What's Needed to Play:

* 2 or more players

* 5 throwing dice

* Balut scorecards (1 for each player)

* Pens

Objective of the Game:

* To score the most points by rolling the best dice-throw combinations. The player who accumulates the most points through 28 rounds of play wins the game.

General Guidelines:

* Each player is given a Balut scorecard.

* Each player takes his turn to roll 5 dice (limited re-rolls are allowed according to the rules of the game) and record his score on the Balut scorecard.

* There are 7 categories of dice-combinations, and 4 attempts at each category, and so each game lasts 28 rounds.

How the Game is Played :

Each game lasts 28 rounds. Each round is played in this manner:

* The player rolls all 5 dice

* The player is given the choice to reroll any or all of the dice to arrive at a satisfactory combination. He may reroll twice.

* The player records the score of his roll on his Balut scorecard. To do this, he must choose in which category to record his final dice-combination. There is no option to pass.

Towards the end of the 28 rounds, it becomes more and more likely to get low scores.

No player is allowed to 'pass' his turn, since rolling a bad combination and being forced to record it essentially allows others to get ahead in points, which makes it possible to determine a winner.

Portion of the Balut scorecard where rolls are scored

There are 7 categories to which dice-throws can be assigned: Four's, Five's, Six'es, Straight's, Full House's, Choice, and Balut -- represented in the rows in the table above. The four columns represent Rolls 1 through 4, since each of the 7 combinations requires 4 rolls in order to complete the game.

Basic Scoring:(applied each round)

* FOURs .. Add the dots only on all Fours rolled

* FIVEs .. Add the dots only on all Fives rolled

* SIXes .. Add the dots only on all Sixes rolled

* STRAIGHT .. There are two ways to score a Straight:

** Small Straight .. A combination of 1-2-3-4-5 is worth a score of 15

** Big Straight .. A combination of 2-3-4-5-6 is worth a score of 20

* FULL HOUSE .. A Full House is a 5-dice combination of a 3-of-a-kind and a 2-of-a-kind. For example, 3-3-3-5-5. Simply add all dots on the face of the dice to arrive at the score

* CHOICE .. This category describes any combination of the player's choice. To score this roll, just add all the dots on the face of the dice.

* BALUT .. Balut describes a 5-of-a-kind dice combination. For example: 1-1-1-1-1. To score this roll, the player adds all the dots on the face of the die to 20. Thus, a roll of 1-1-1-1-1 is scored 25. And a roll of 5-5-5-5-5 is scored 45.

Score earns Points:(at end-game)

The total score earned during the game earns or loses points for the player.

In addition, points are awarded should the player meet the qualifying condition in each category, as follows:

Points decide the Winner:

The player who earns the most points wins the match.

Related Links:

Fun Free Party Games - Yahtzee Page

Fun Free Party Games - Free Printable Balut Scorecard: Download, Print and Play! [PDF] [GIF]

Fun Free Party Games - Microsoft Excel scoresheet for Balut: the worksheet automatically computes your score and awards points

Balut [dot] Org - A Free Balut Java Game

Free Printable Balut Scorecard (download, print and play!)
This is the necessary scorecard to play Balut. You may download, and print as many copies as you wish. [PDF format here]