How to Play Centennial

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

Centennial is a race game for two to eight players using three standard dice and a simple numbered track. Each player tries to move seven markers along a course numbered 1 through 7 and then back again, using the individual and combined values of three dice rolls to advance their pieces. The rules take about two minutes to learn, yet a full game can shift dramatically on a single throw.

Its appeal lies in that balance of luck and decision: you often have a choice of which marker to advance with a given number, and picking wrong costs you dearly. It plays equally well at a kitchen table with children or as a low-stakes adult game at a family gathering, and a full game rarely outstays its welcome.

A little history

The origins of Centennial are not clearly documented. It appears in American games collections from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and its name is widely associated with centennial celebrations of that era, though no firm primary source links the two. It is sometimes listed under the alternative names Newmarket or Ohio, and its basic mechanism of advancing markers by matching dice values is shared with several older European track-and-dice games. Traditionally it is treated as a public-domain folk game with no single inventor on record.

Setting up

1. Draw or place a track with 13 positions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Label the final position clearly as the finish.
2. Give each player seven markers of one colour. All markers begin off the board in each player's reserve.
3. Decide a starting player by any agreed method, such as highest single die roll. Play then proceeds clockwise.
4. Place the board within easy reach of all players. No money or tokens are needed for the basic game.

How to play

1. On your turn, roll all three dice.
2. Read the three dice as three separate values, and also as the totals of any two dice added together, and the total of all three dice added together. This gives you up to seven usable numbers from one roll: the three individual faces, three two-dice sums, and one three-dice sum.
3. You must always begin by entering a marker onto position 1 before you can advance any marker to a higher position. If you have no marker on position 1 at the start of your turn, you must use a 1 from your roll to place a new marker there before doing anything else.
4. If your roll produces a 1, place one marker from your reserve onto position 1 on the track. You may only place one new marker per turn, even if two dice show 1.
5. After placing or choosing not to place (if no 1 appears), use your remaining usable numbers to advance markers already on the board. Each number you use moves one marker forward one position matching that number.
6. A marker on position 3, for example, can only be advanced by a 4 (to move it to position 4). You must always advance to the very next position in sequence; you cannot skip positions.
7. You may use each usable number only once per turn. If your roll produces the same number twice by different dice combinations, you may use it twice.
8. Markers travel up the track from 1 to 7, then turn and travel back down from 7 toward 1. The return journey positions are distinct from the outward positions, so a marker coming back sits on its own side of the track.
9. You are never obliged to use every number your roll produces. Use as many or as few as are helpful, but unused numbers are simply lost.
10. After you have finished placing and advancing markers, your turn ends and the dice pass to the next player clockwise.

Winning and scoring

The first player to move all seven of their markers the full circuit, from the reserve onto position 1, up to position 7, and then back down to the final position 1, wins the game outright. There is no points system in the standard game; it is a straight race. If you are playing a multi-round session, you can score one point per round won and play to a target such as five points.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns which dice combinations are legal. The standard ruling is that you may use any individual die face, any sum of exactly two dice, or the sum of all three dice, giving a maximum of seven usable numbers. You may not use the sum of two dice and also use one of those same dice individually in the same single number-use, but you may use the same physical die more than once across different combinations in the same turn provided each combination is counted separately. For example, a roll of 2, 3, 4 gives you 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9; the 2 appears in the individual reading and in the two-dice totals, and all of those uses are valid.

A second common argument involves the obligation to enter a marker when a 1 appears. The standard ruling is that entering is compulsory if you have markers still in reserve and a 1 is available, but if all seven markers are already on the board you simply ignore any 1 that appears. Some house rules make entry optional throughout; agree this before play begins and stick to it.

How to win more often

• Spread your markers across the track early rather than pushing one marker far ahead. This gives you more positions that any given roll can usefully advance.
• Prioritise getting all seven markers onto the board promptly. Markers stuck in reserve cannot benefit from any roll, so every turn you fail to place a marker when a 1 is available is a wasted opportunity.
• When you have a choice of which marker to advance with a number, favour the one that is furthest along the track. Closing out a nearly finished marker is worth more than nudging a new one forward.
• Pay attention to which positions your opponents' leading markers are sitting on. If several opponents are clustered at position 6 on the return leg, there is little point panicking; focus on your own bottlenecks instead.
• Learn to read all seven possible numbers from your roll quickly. Players who hesitate or miss a usable combination cost themselves positions, and in a close game a single missed number can decide the winner.

Variations

Betting variant

Each player contributes an equal number of counters or coins to a central pot before play. A small additional fee is paid into the pot each time a player cannot use any number from their roll. The winner takes the entire pot. This version significantly raises the tension around blank turns.

Ohio (extended track)

Sometimes called Ohio, this variant uses a longer track running from 1 to 10 and back, requiring the same core rules but with ten dice-value targets. Because totals of 8, 9, and 10 require all three dice to be used together, the later stages of the game become considerably harder to complete, extending playing time to around 45 to 60 minutes.

Team play

With six or eight players, split into two equal teams. Each team shares a single set of markers on one track, and players within a team alternate turns. This cooperative layer forces players to discuss strategy between turns and works especially well when the group includes a mix of ages and experience levels.

Penalised blank turns

If a player's roll produces no number that can legally advance any of their markers and they have no 1 to enter a reserve marker, they lose one turn marker: their most advanced marker is moved back one position. This adds a punishing downside to a run of bad luck and shortens games by increasing pressure to keep markers spread out.

Centennial: frequently asked questions