Bullet & Anchor

A dice game that became popular during the Great War, and is still popular today. Three six sided dice are cast. Of the six sides on each dice, four show the symbols for card suits. The other two show the symbols for a (sling) bullet, and an anchor.

The game is played on a game board divided into two rows of three boxes, one over the other (making six boxes). The upper and lower middle boxes contain the bullet and anchor symbols, respectively. The outer four boxes each show one card suit, black suits on the bottom, red suits on top.

The player places bets in one or more boxes of their choice. The caster then throws the dice. If a die turns up the symbol on which the player has placed the bet, the caster matches the amount(s) bet for one matching die (2:1), doubles it for two matching die (3:1), or triples it if all three dice come up the same (4:1), but gets to keep the bets sitting on squares no dice matched. Aboard ship, and in the military, the dice then pass to the next player, who becomes the caster. In casinos and taverns, the caster is usually an employee of the house. The dice do not pass.

(For the curious: Players typically win back 93% of their money; the house ends up taking 7%.)