How to play Monkey Dice

The objective of the Game is to be the first to reach 7,500 points (Short Game) or 13,000 (Long Game). Monkey Dice is played in two stages.

TO START:
Like most dice games, each player gets the chance to be the first to throw the set of six dice (also known as a frame of dice) - and to determine the order of play - ie; clockwise, anti-clockwise. Initially each player throws only one (1) dice each and the player with the *highest scoring dice gets to throw the first frame.

NOTE: at this stage of the game, although the side #6 (six) is the highest number, in Monkey Dice - Side #1 (one) beats Side #6.

*If there are duplicate scores by players - continue to throw until someone is the clear winner.

The two most important numbers in Monkey Dice are the #1 (one) and the #5 (five).

STAGE 1:
The a player must reach either 500 points (Short Game) or 1000 points (Long Game) to advance to the second stage. In Stage 1 a player can only score with either a #1 (one) or a #5 (five). A player can only achieve the 1000 points by scoring it with consecutive #1s (ones) or #5s (fives). If a player fails to produce a one or a five in a frame, then that player must pass the dice on to the next player. A frame without a score is called a Missing Link (see below).

Example (Long Game): if a throw of 6 dice reveals 6,5,5,1,4 & 3 it would be worth 200 points (2 x 5 = 100 and 1=100 - total 200). Therefore, I remove the scoring dice - 1s and 5s - and throw the remaining three non-scoring dice again (sides 6, 4 and 3). If the remaining 3 dice reveal sides 1,1&2 the score would be now worth 400 (200 from previous throw and 200 from this throw) and I'd remove the scoring dice again and throw the remaining (non-scoring) side 2 dice. As there is only one dice remaining in the hand I must score with a one (1) or a five (5) or pass all six dice on to the next player. I throw the remaining dice and it reveals a side 5. That means my score is now 450 points and I am allowed to throw all six of the dice again. I throw the 6 dice to reveal 1,1,5,5,2,6 which equals 300 - so my total is now 750 and I need another 250 points to move to Stage 2. It's impossible to get those points with only two dice. I throw the remaining 2 dice and score 1,5 which equals 150 points. My total is now 900 points. And I can throw all 6 dice again. I only need 100 points ( 1 x 1 or 2 x 5) and I have 6 dice to get it with. I throw the 6 dice and score 1,1,5,2,4,4. The fours and the twos are worthless so the score equals 250 points which when added to the 900 points totals 1150 points. This means that I have achieved higher than the 1000 points consecutively and can now move into the next stage. I go to the next stage with 1150 points. A score of between 1000 - 1500 points is called a Gorilla.

STAGE 2:
In Stage 2 a player can score with all sides of the dice if there are 3 of a kind.

3 x Side #2 = 200 points
3 x Side #3 = 300 points
3 x Side #4 = 400 points
3 x Side #5 = 500 points
3 x Side #6 = 600 points
In STAGE 2, a frame revealing 3 x Side #1 (One) = 1000 points

In Stage 2 (but not in Stage 1), a player loses 1000 points if their throw reveals a Missing Link (see Missing Link rules for STAGE 1 above, and also "example of Missing Link" below). However, a player can only revert back to Zero (0) if they have less than 1000 points. In other words, if I am on 800 points and I reveal a Missing Link, although it is worth minus 1000 points, my score will be Zero (0), not minus 200. If my score had been 1200 and I revealed a missing link then my score would be 200.
Also, If a player reveals a Missing Link, although they lose 1000 points, the player does not revert back to Stage 1.

Illustrated Examples: The scrolling images show some possible combinations and total scores that a player might throw during the game. Notice the total scores on the right hand side. In Monkey Dice, only two of these dice sides (on their own) represent a scoring number. Those two important numbers or sides are sides the 1 and the 5. The one (1) equals 100 and the five (5) equals 50. All the others do not earn any points on their own. They can only earn points if three are thrown in one single throw. As the illustration above describes. In other words, throwing a number six (6) does not earn any points at all, while throwing three sixes at once (3 x #6 sides) could be worth 600 points depending on the circumstances. Those circumstances depend on what stage and what version of the game you are playing. More about that later.