Generala is a dice game similar to the English game of poker dice, the German game Kniffel, and the Polish game Jacy-Tacy (yahtzee-tahtzee).[1] The American variant of Generala, Yahtzee, is the most popular variant. Although it is sometimes played in Europe and the United States, Generala is most popular in Ibero-America.

Generala is played with five dice

Rules

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Generala is a game played by two or more players. Players take turns rolling five dice. After each roll, the player chooses which dice (if any) to keep, and which to reroll. A player may reroll some or all of the dice up to two times on a turn, making a maximum of three rolls each turn.

Scoring

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The following combinations earn points:

  • Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives or Sixes. A player may add the numbers on any combination of dice showing the same number. For example,       would score 4 4 4 = 12 points in Fours or 2 points in Twos, or even 6 points in Sixes. Once a player has taken points on a specific combination, they may not take points for that combination again during the game.
  • Straight, 20 points. A straight is a combination of five consecutive numbers (      or      ). In some variations of the rules, a Straight may "wrap around", so      ,      ,      , and       are also valid straights. Another variation allows a   to replace a   in a Straight, e.g.       or      .
  • Full house, 30 points. Any set of three combined with a set of two, e.g.,      .
  • Four of a kind, 40 points. Four dice with the same number, e.g.,      .
  • Generala, 50 or 60 points. All five dice showing the same number. If a player achieves a Generala on the first roll of a turn, the player immediately wins the game.
  • Double Generala (optional), 100 or 120 points. All five dice showing the same number for the second time in a game. A first-roll Double Generala is not an automatic game-winner.

A player may choose in which qualifying category to score a roll. For example, one need not enter       in Generala – it may also go in Threes or Four of a kind.

If a player achieves a Straight, Full House, or Four of a Kind on the first roll of a given turn, it is worth 5 or 10 extra points.

A player who fails to make any valid score, or chooses not to take any other score, may scratch (eliminate) a category, such as Generala or Twos. If a player scratches a category, that player cannot score on that category for the rest of the game. Specifically, if a player scratches Generala and subsequently rolls Generala on the first roll of a turn, it may not be used as an automatic win.

Winning

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The player who finishes the game with the most points wins the game, unless a player has achieved a Generala on the first roll of a turn. In that case, the lucky player instantly wins the game (an automatic win).

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References

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  1. ^ Heled, Joseph (2020-11-01). "Stay in Command: Optimal Play for Two Person Generala" (PDF). Recreational Mathematics Magazine. 7 (13): 53–70. doi:10.2478/rmm-2020-0004.