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Our House Rules:
Everyone rolls the dice once to see who goes first. Highest roll wins. Multiple roll-offs may be necessary in case of ties. Once the first player is decided, play proceeds to the left. A shooter's turn continues so long as they roll 'counters'. Multiple consecutive counter rolls constitutes a 'run'.
The first player to roll a three, either a complete sum of three or having a three on one or both dice is the first Three Man. This person passes the dice and takes a drink.
From this point forward, every time a three is rolled by another player, the Three Man, whoever that may be, must drink. If a 1 and 2 are rolled (Three The Hard Way), Three Man drinks twice.
When Three Man rolls a three (either or both dice, or Three The Hard Way) he/she is no longer Three Man and appoints the next Three Man.
Cracked Dice Rule:
If one or both dice are rolled off the playing surface, this is considered "cracked dice" or alternatively as "sloppy dice". The shooter takes a drink, passes the dice to the next shooter. The cracked dice shooter is now "Three Man Buddy". Three Man Buddy must drink every time the Three Man drinks, even if that drink was not caused by a rolled three. Three Man Buddy remains so until another person cracks the dice (thereby becoming Three Man Buddy), or he/she rolls out of Three Man Buddy by rolling a three, just as if they were Three Man. Three Man Buddy cannot appoint another Three Man Buddy by doing this. Three Man Buddy remains so even if the Three Man rolls out of Three Man and appoints another, simply becoming the new Three Man's Three Man Buddy.
Aside from the threes and how they apply to Three Man, every other roll has some meaning.
Counter Rolls:
Counter Rolls are rolls which allow drinks to be given out by the shooter and add to the Run Count. They are as follows:
7: Also known colloquially as 7-To-The-Left, a 7 means that the player to the left of the shooter must drink.
11: Also known colloquially as 11-To-The-Right, an 11 means that the player to the right of the shooter must drink.
3: Also known colloquially as Three-The-Hard-Way, Three Man takes two drinks.
A 3 on one die: Three Man takes one drink.
A 3 on both dice: Three Man takes two drinks. This also counts as doubles, so doubles rules are followed in addition to the Three Man drinking.
2: Also known round-the-world as Snake Eyes, a 2 causes the shooter to become Thumbmaster (see below). This also counts as doubles, so doubles rules are followed.
Any Doubles:
Shooter may pass out the dice in either of two ways: one die each to two players of his/her choosing, or both dice to a single player of his/her choosing.
Dice are rolled, either by both players in the first case, or by the single player in the second. If doubles are not rolled, each player takes the number of drinks rolled on his/her respective die if in the first case, or the single player takes the sum total of the dice in the second.
If doubles ARE rolled, the shooter must roll both dice and attempt to roll doubles. If the shooter fails, he/she drinks 2x the indicated total. If successful, the original chosen shooter(s) must again attempt to roll doubles, drinking 4x the number rolled. The multiplier doubles each time, so it goes 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, etc. In a house record, doubles were thrown (once passed) consecutively five times before an 11 was rolled, resulting in 32 x 11 drinks (for a single shooter no less), or 352 drinks. After a bit of consternation, this resulted in the creation of the Mercy Rule (see below).
If the original shooter fails to match doubles, he/she takes his drinks and passes the dice to the next player, thus resulting in a non-counter roll and ending his/her turn.
The Thumbmaster:
The Thumbmaster is assigned by a player rolling a 2, and remains so until another player rolls a 2 and relieves him/her from this responsibility. The Thumbmaster is the leader of the Thumb Game. At any time during the course of play, regardless if the Thumbmaster is the current shooter or not, the Thumbmaster may place his/her thumb over the edge of the table such such the thumb is placed on the table while the rest of the hand is out of view under it. Often, this is done surreptitiously such that the other players are not immediately aware that a round of the Thumb Game has started.
This act is the cue for other players who have spied the Thumb Master starting the game to also place their thumbs on the table in a similar manner, preferably also with some measure of stealth. The Thumb Game is over when all players except one have matched the Thumbmaster's act. The one remaining player must then perform a "significant chug", usually at least half a full cup of beer or equivalent. There is no limit to how often the Thumb Game may be played, nor restriction as to when.
Non-Counter Rolls:
A non-counter roll is any roll other than a counter roll. The shooter must, in every case, take a drink, pass the dice and end their turn. However, there are certain non-counter rolls which have additional meaning:
10 (6 and 4 only): Social Drink. All players must raise their cups, say "Social!" as though toasting, and take a drink before the dice are passed.
5 (1 and 4 only): Reversal of Play. After taking their drink, the player passes the dice in the opposite direction of play, i.e. to the person from whom they received the dice originally. Play passes in this direction until another Reversal is rolled.
The Run Count:
During each player's turn, they continue rolling so long as they roll counters. Each time a counter is rolled, 1 is added to the Run Count. Once the Run Count reaches 5, the shooter may make a Rule.
The Rule may be anything except changes to the fundamental dice rules of the game. For example, one cannot make a Rule that allows one to become permanent Thumbmaster because that would abrogate the rules for assigning the Thumbmaster.
Rules may otherwise take on any other form imaginable and may even be used to repeal previously created rules.
Common Rules are that you must drink with your left hand, or you can't use the word 'drink', any of its tensors, or any goofy made up word that sounds like drink. More esoteric ones have involved halving the consumption requirements of lightweight players to keep them in the game longer.
However, if a rule is deemed by a player to be in extraordinarily poor taste or harmful to a particular player or players, they may call for a Veto. A player wishing to veto a rule must state so before the shooter rolls again by saying "I motion for a Veto". Once a motion for a Veto has been issued, another player must second the motion by saying "I second the motion." If there is no second, the caller must perform a "significant chug". If it is seconded, a vote is taken. If a certain percentage vote for the Veto, (we play 2/3s majority) the Rule is declared dead, the shooter who made the Rule performs a "significant chug", and has the option of making another Rule or simply continuing play.
This Veto rule came about during a feud between two friends where one created a Rule forcing everyone to yell "<name withheld> is a fucking asshole!" every time someone drank. After a few rolls with this rule, the rest of us decided that this was quite enough and the Rule was repealed. This led to the codification of the procedure.
The Mercy Rule:
Any time a player accrues enough drinks due to an unfortunate outcome rolling doubles, where the number of drinks can be excessive, they may continue the game by consuming an agreed upon commuted penalty, usually at least a full beer, or they may bow out with an even lesser penalty. As stated earlier, the 352 drinks would be roughly equivalent (at a half-ounce per drink) to consuming 15 full beers at a single sitting, so we let him off with a beer and a half. The Mercy Rule was created in response to this to establish a maximum limit on any one-time drink penalty. During a doubles shoot-off, however, the shoot-off must continue until the person(s) to drink have been determined.
Winning The Game:
Like any good drinking game, the winner is the last one to pass out such that no one remains to cover their face with doodles with a permanent marker. The winner is usually found on the couch with a glazed look on their face, staring absently into the TV which is usually blaring some infomercial at 3AM. Winning is losing. Losing is winning. Drinking games certainly do reveal life's little ironies, don't they?
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