How to play
You and your teammate crew a river barge: one of you is the skipper, the other the mate. Together you bring her down seven reaches of river to her berth. The tide falls one mark each round, and after seven rounds it is out. You win or lose together, and nobody keeps a personal score.
A round
Each of you throws four dice in secret. Then you take turns to place one die at a time on the barge, until all eight are placed. A die goes in an empty socket of your own, or a shared one, that takes its value. You may never tell your teammate your numbers: read what they place instead.
- Trim. One die from each of you. The barge heels toward the higher die, by the difference. Three steps to one side, and she capsizes. Both trim sockets must be filled every round.
- Oars. One die from each of you. Their sum is the speed. Up to the low mark the barge stays; up to the high mark she moves one reach; over it, two. Both oar sockets must be filled every round.
- Horn. A die of value d clears one boat from the reach d − 1 ahead of the barge. A 1 clears a boat in her own reach.
- Fenders. Three skipper sockets that take 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6. Each fender lifts the low mark by one.
- Sail. Four mate sockets, filled in order: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 5-6. Each reef lifts the high mark by one.
- Lines. Three skipper sockets, filled in order: 2, 4, 6. The last filled line is the top speed for the berth.
- Brew. Three sockets for either of you, any value. Each die makes one tea, up to three in the pool. Before you place a die, each tea you spend changes it by one.
The river
Small boats block some reaches. If the barge leaves a reach that still holds a boat, she rams it. If she moves past the berth, she hits the quay. Either ends the trip at once. At the end of a round the trim, oar, horn and brew dice come back; fenders, reefs and lines stay set.
Lucky knots and the berth
The first and the fifth round each bring a lucky knot. On your turn you may spend one: you throw any of your unplaced dice again, and then your teammate may do the same. The barge must reach the berth by low water. In the last round she does not move, and you berth only if no boat is left, all fenders and reefs are set, the trim is level, and the speed is not over your last line.
At the online table
- Tap one of your dice, then a socket with a brass edge, then Set down. You can also drag a die to a socket. On a keyboard: 1 to 4 pick a die, the arrows move between sockets, Enter stages, T and E spend tea, K spends a lucky knot, and Space sets the die down.
- You see your teammate's unplaced dice only as backs. A die shows its face when it is placed. Chat is preset phrases only, and none of them names a number.
- Each placement has a 60-second timer. If it runs out, the table places a sensible die for you.
- An empty seat is taken by a bot, always marked as a bot.
Why it is fair
A secret seed decides who is the skipper and every throw of the dice. You see its fingerprint when the trip starts and the seed itself when it ends, so you can check it. Verify a game.
Playing online for the first time?
Our guide compares the ways to play online, with steps for each. Read the guide to playing online.