Designed by:
Dead Man’s Chest is a push-your-luck game that combines chance with quite a large element of bluff.
The game comes in the form of a small wooden treasure chest that contains two dice and a bunch of gems. The players are given three gems each at the start of the game, and the goal is to be the last player (or the last pirate, to use the games’ vernacular) still holding at least one gem.
The starting player shakes the dice in the wooden chest and looks at them. They then make a ‘bid’ and pass the dice on to the next player. There are only two dice and the higher number always comes first in a bid; so a four and a three, for instance, will always be a 43, never 34. Thus the highest value of mixed dice will be 65 (a six and a five) and more valuable than mixed dice are doubles, in ascending order. There’s one hand that can beat a double six, and that is a one and a two – the Dead Man. Bearing all that in mind, they can completely ignore what they’ve rolled and simply bluff!
The next player has several options:
They can challenge. They look at the dice, and if the dice value is less than what it said it was, the player who made the bid loses a gem. If the dice match (or were higher than) the bid, the challenger loses a gem instead.
They can raise the bid. In this case they don’t look at the dice, but shake them instead. Having shaken, they can then look at the dice, and pass on with a new bid that must be higher than the previous one.
Having shaken the dice, they also have the opportunity to shake them again, but if they shake a second time they can’t look at the dice before making a bid.
Needless to say, the game encourages – and sometimes forces – a good deal of fibbing. And any time a player shakes the dice to raise the bid, they don’t have to look at the dice. In fact if they choose to raise the bid, they don’t even have to shake the dice at all. They can just pass the chest on with a new, higher bid. Sometimes not knowing is just easier!
Play continues until only one player has a gem left, and they are the winner.
The continuous stream of lies, nonsense, and the odd truth just keeps going in a circle, so nobody should feel targeted.
None. The game is best played fast.
The rules are simple, but the reading of your opponent and judging probabilities less so.
There's no variation in play really, but the dice are obviously random and Dead Man's Chest doesn't outstay its welcome. Best with more than three, we'd say.
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Players
8+
Years
20
Mins
Sam says
I don't know if I prefer this game to the equally psyche-out-heavy Perudo, but it definitely packs a punch for something that comes in such a tiny box. A great one for the pub, and the type of game that really seems to encourage cries of both delight and dismay.