Material: 5 dice and if you have, a dicetray - 1 inkpen ( decisions are final!)- a printout of Valyum scoresheet. - we also sell pads for $1.95.

Each payer throw one dice. The lower score starts

Each payer can throw the dice 3 times in his turn but can stop anytime. After the first throw, the player chooses the dice that he wants to keep aside and then throws the remaining ones. On the second throw, he can take back one or several dice or put more dice away or if it does not look too good, throw the 5 dice. After the 3rd throw, the player must register a score of his choice. The next player plays his 3 throws, etc...

The game is over when all the boxes are filled in. The points are added to determine the winner.

Combinations:

The top part:

1s - 2s- 3s- 4s- 5s- 6s
total of the number inscribed - ex.: 3 3 3 2 4 = 9 points for the 3s

if the sub-total of the upper part is 63 or +, a bonus of 25 is added (this represent a average of 3 of each ).

Lower part:

3 of a kind
total of all the dice which must contain 3 identical dice : ex.: 5 5 5 4 3 =22 points

long straight
5 consecutive numbers score 20 points: ex.: 2 3 4 5 6 or 1 2 3 4 5

full
3 of a kind and 2 of a kind score 25 points: ex: 2 2 2 5 5 - 5 identical dice are also accepted (don't laugh I've seen it)

chance
total of all dice - easy: ex.: 6 6 5 4 3= 24 points

even
score 15 points for a combination of 2, 4 or 6: ex.: 2 2 4 4 6

uneven
score 15 points for a combination of 1 3 or 5: e.x: 1 3 3 5 5

tiny 9
score 20 points for a total of 9 points or less: ex.: 1 1 2 2 3 1

Valyum
score 30 points for 5 identical dice: ex.: 3 3 3 3 3

The rules are simple but the strategy lies in the choice you make while throwing the dice and at the end where you decide to score. For ex.

while playing: after his first throw the player decides to try a straight. But on the second throw he gets a second 2. He can change his plan, and keep the 2x2s and throw the remaining 3 dice to try to get a third two, or to get 3xones for a total of 9 for Tiny9, or ...

while scoring: after his third throw, the player must decide where to put this combination: 6 6 6 4 4 He can decide to score in the X6 box - for a total of 18 points
or in the 3 of a kind box - for a total of 26 points, mmmm...
or a full - for a total of 25 points
even - for a total of 15 points
chance - for a total de 26 points (probably at the last resort)
Valyum - for a total of 0!

Valyum variant

Simple Valyum : each player uses one column

La Gaspésienne: the score of 3 games is added to determine the final winner. After the first game the player who has the most points starts the second game, Same goes for the start of the third.

The Balconny: each player plays simultaneously on 2 columns.

The Straight: the column is played in order. Ones first, the the X2, etc until the Valyum (a good way to learn the game)

The Down: same as the Straight except the other way round. We start with the Valyum, the Tiny9, etc...