How to Play Balut

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Balut is a five-dice scoring game for two to eight players in which each person tries to complete seven specific categories over seven rounds of play. Each turn offers up to three rolls, with the player deciding which dice to hold and which to reroll, making every turn a small exercise in probability and nerve.

The game earns its following through a satisfying blend of luck and decision-making. It plays quickly, travels easily with nothing more than five dice and a score sheet, and scales well from two players at a kitchen table to a full group of eight. It is especially popular in social clubs, pubs, and family gatherings across parts of Europe and Southeast Asia.

A little history

The precise origins of Balut are unclear. It is widely documented as a popular pastime in the Philippines and in Denmark, and it has been played in both countries for well over a century, but which nation can claim the original form of the game remains uncertain. The name and its scoring structure appear in multiple independent traditions, and it is best described as a game that emerged and evolved in parallel across different cultures rather than having a single traceable inventor or point of origin.

Setting up

1. Seat all players around a table where everyone can see each other's dice.
2. Give each player a score sheet containing the seven scoring categories: Fours, Fives, Sixes, Straight, Full House, Choice, and Balut.
3. Agree on how many rounds will be played. The standard game is seven rounds, one entry per category per player.
4. Decide the turn order. A common method is for each player to roll one die; highest roll goes first, then play proceeds clockwise.
5. Place the dice and a shaking cup or flat rolling surface within reach of the first player.

How to play

1. On your turn, roll all five dice. This is your first roll.
2. After the first roll, examine the result. You may set aside any dice you wish to keep and reroll the rest. You are not obliged to keep any dice.
3. Roll the remaining dice a second time. Again, set aside any keepers and decide whether to reroll.
4. Roll any remaining dice a third and final time. After this third roll, you must score the result in one of your uncompleted categories.
5. You may stop after the first or second roll if you are satisfied with your result and wish to score immediately.
6. Choose one open category on your score sheet and record your score. You must fill exactly one category per turn. You cannot leave a turn unscored.
7. If your roll does not qualify for any genuinely useful category, you must still choose one open category and enter a zero in it. This is called a bust.
8. Play passes clockwise to the next player, who then takes their turn in the same fashion.
9. Continue until every player has filled all seven categories. The game ends at that point and scores are totalled.

Winning and scoring

The player with the highest grand total wins. Scores are calculated per category as follows: Fours scores the total pip value of all dice showing four (e.g. three fours scores 12); Fives scores the total pip value of all dice showing five; Sixes scores the total pip value of all dice showing six. A Straight (1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6) scores 20 points plus a 5-point bonus for a total of 25. A Full House (three of one number and two of another) scores the total pip value of all five dice plus a 5-point bonus. Choice scores the total pip value of all five dice with no bonus, and accepts any combination. A Balut (five of a kind) scores 30 points plus a further 20-point bonus for a total of 50. Some groups add an additional bonus of 2 points per Balut achieved across the whole game, recorded separately. The player with the highest combined total across all seven categories is the winner. Ties are broken by a single sudden-death roll of all five dice, highest total winning.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a player must declare which category they are scoring before their second or third roll, or whether they can decide after their final roll. The standard ruling is that no declaration is required until all rolls are complete; a player may keep their options open until they choose to score. A second frequent argument arises when a player forgets to set dice aside between rolls and accidentally picks them back up. The accepted ruling is that any die that has been clearly and visibly set aside is frozen for that roll; if a player picks it up in error and rolls it, the result of that die stands and cannot be rerolled again on that same turn. Regarding the Balut bonus: in competitive play the 20-point bonus is always applied on top of the 30-point base, giving 50 total. Some casual groups omit the bonus entirely; agree this before play begins.

A player who fills all categories except Balut and has never rolled five of a kind may still enter a zero in the Balut box and continue. There is no penalty for leaving Balut as a late entry, and no rule requires any particular category to be filled before others.

How to win more often

• Prioritise filling Sixes early. Six is the highest-value pip and three or four sixes in a single turn represent strong guaranteed points that compound well across the game.
• Keep the Balut box open as long as possible. Because a Balut is worth 50 points including the bonus, leaving that category available gives you more turns in which a lucky five-of-a-kind can be scored at full value rather than having to bust it.
• Use Choice as a rubbish bin only as a last resort. It is your most flexible category and can absorb a high mixed roll of 25 or more points; wasting it on a mediocre total of 15 or less hurts your final score significantly.
• When chasing a Straight, stop after your second roll if you have four of the five needed numbers. The odds of hitting the fifth on one remaining die are one in six, which is worth the risk given the 25-point payoff.
• Track what categories your opponents have already busted. If a rival has taken a zero in Full House, you can be more aggressive in chasing one yourself without fear of falling behind on that line.

Variations

Danish Balut

In the Danish tradition, the scoring categories and dice count remain the same but the bonus system differs. A Balut rolled on the very first roll of a turn (no rerolls taken) earns an additional 5-point premium on top of the standard 50, rewarding players who commit immediately to a five-of-a-kind result. This variant also commonly uses a formal scorecard printed with columns for each of the seven rounds, making it easier to track cumulative progress across larger groups.

Team Balut

Two teams of equal size (two to four players per side) take turns as a unit. Each team member rolls in sequence on the team's shared turn, but only one player's result per turn is chosen and recorded by the team captain. This format introduces a layer of collective decision-making and is well suited to larger social occasions where eight players might otherwise find a solo game slow.

Speed Balut

All players roll simultaneously on each round rather than taking individual turns. A caller announces when to roll and when to stop; players have a fixed time limit (typically 20 seconds) to complete all three of their rolls and circle their intended category on their score sheet. Once the caller moves on, any uncompleted turn is automatically busted in the category of the caller's choosing. This variant is chaotic, fast, and best suited to experienced players who already know the scoring well.

Extended Balut

The seven standard categories are retained but each category may be filled twice, effectively doubling the game to fourteen rounds. Scoring rules are identical for each entry. The extended format rewards consistent rolling over a longer session and reduces the impact of a single catastrophic bust, making it a popular choice among players who find the standard seven rounds too brief.

Balut: frequently asked questions