Hazard

Hazard is a medieval dicing game which was popular in England. It is played with two cubical dice with a minimum of two people, although several people can play at the same time.

The caster is the person throwing the dice, all others are called the faders who can bet on the caster's game or make side bets among themselves. Bets are thrown into a "pot"; if the caster wins, he gets the whole pot; if the caster loses, the pot is split evenly between those faders who bet on the game. Side bets are between the bettors, and do not effect the pot.

First, the caster must establish two numbers: the Main Point and the Chance Point. The Main Point is rolled first and must be a number between five and nine. Failure to make a number between five and nine (rolling two through four or ten through twelve, for example) can be re-rolled, or can be an "out", thus losing the throw for the caster. This must be established at the start of the game.

Once the Main Point is established, the caster must roll for the Chance Point. The Chance Point must be a number between four and ten. If the caster rolls a match for the Main Point when trying for a Chance Point, he wins. If he rolls a two or a three, the caster loses.

While rolling the Chance Point, the caster wins automatically if the Main Point is six or eight and he rolls a twelve. If the Main Point is a seven, the caster wins automatically on a roll of eleven.

However, if the Main Point is five, seven or nine and the caster rolls a twelve, he automatically loses. If the Main Point is five, six, eight or nine, the caster automatically loses on a roll of eleven.

Once a valid Chance Point is set the above rules are no longer applied. The only outcomes that matter are duplicating the Main Point or the Chance Point, and the caster must roll and re-roll the dice until he rolls one or the other. If the caster rolls the Main Point, he loses. If the caster rolls the Chance Point, he wins.

A caster who wins remains the caster for the next game, unless he wishes to "pass". A caster who loses or chooses to pass, passes the dice to the left, and a new game begins with a new caster.