How to Play Sequences

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

Sequences is a push-your-luck dice game for two to four players in which each person races to build a consecutive numerical run before their opponents can do the same. It is fast to learn, takes up almost no table space, and a round can be over in minutes, making it a firm favourite for family evenings, travel, and pub tables alike.

What keeps players coming back is the tension between holding firm and pressing on. Every re-roll is a gamble, and watching a near-complete sequence collapse on one unlucky throw is as entertaining for the table as it is painful for the roller. The game suits ages six and upwards and scales well across all player counts within the two-to-four range.

A little history

The origins of Sequences as a distinct named dice game are unclear, and no single inventor or publication date is widely documented. Games built around rolling sequential numbers with dice belong to a broad family of traditional European parlour and tavern games whose rules were passed down orally long before they appeared in print. By the twentieth century, simple sequence-building dice games of this type were a staple of boxed family game sets sold across Britain and continental Europe, though the specific rule sets varied considerably between publishers and regions.

Setting up

1. Seat all players around a flat playing surface with a clear rolling area.
2. Agree before the game whether you are playing a fixed number of rounds or playing first to a target score.
3. Choose a starting player by any agreed method, for example the player who most recently rolled any dice goes first.
4. If keeping score across rounds, prepare a simple score sheet with one column per player.
5. Place all five dice in front of the starting player. No dice are removed from play between turns.

How to play

1. The active player takes all five dice and rolls them in a single throw.
2. After the roll, the player examines the results and sets aside any dice that will form part of a sequential run beginning at 1. A sequence must start at 1 and run consecutively upward: 1, 1-2, 1-2-3, and so on. Dice showing numbers that do not continue the sequence from 1 may not be kept this turn.
3. If no dice show a 1, and the player has not yet locked any dice into their sequence, the turn ends immediately with a score of zero for that round.
4. If at least one die has been set aside, the player may choose to bank their current sequence and end their turn safely, scoring points equal to the highest number reached in the sequence.
5. Alternatively the player may choose to push on and re-roll all remaining dice that were not set aside, hoping to extend the sequence further.
6. After each re-roll, the player again sets aside any dice that extend the sequence and then decides whether to bank or continue.
7. If a re-roll produces no dice that extend the sequence, the player busts: all set-aside dice are returned to the pool and the player scores zero for that turn.
8. Once the player either banks voluntarily or busts, play passes clockwise to the next player.
9. A complete sequence of 1 through 6 across all five dice scores the maximum for that turn (see Winning for exact scoring).
10. Continue until the agreed number of rounds is complete or a player reaches the target score.

Winning and scoring

The player with the highest cumulative score at the end of the agreed number of rounds wins. When banking voluntarily, a player scores points equal to the highest consecutive number reached in their sequence: banking on 1-2-3 scores 3 points, banking on 1-2-3-4 scores 4, and so on. Rolling a complete 1-through-6 sequence across all five dice in any combination of throws within a single turn scores a bonus of 10 points rather than the standard 6, rewarding the considerable risk involved. In the event of a tie at the end of the final round, tied players each take one additional turn and the higher score from that sudden-death roll decides the winner; if they tie again, repeat until the tie is broken.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns duplicate numbers. If a player rolls two 3s having already secured 1 and 2, only one of those 3s may be set aside to extend the sequence; the second is simply an unusable result and must be re-rolled or abandoned. Duplicates never count double and cannot be held speculatively for a future roll. Similarly, a player cannot bank partial credit for a die showing the next number in the sequence and simultaneously re-roll other dice hoping to fill a gap earlier in the run: the sequence must be unbroken from 1 upward and no gaps are permitted at any stage.

A second frequent point of contention is the bust rule when only one die remains. If a player is re-rolling a single die and it fails to show the required next number, that is a full bust and they score zero for the turn, regardless of how strong their banked sequence looked. Some house rules soften this by awarding half points on a final-die bust, but the standard ruling is zero. Agree before play begins if you wish to use any softened variant.

How to win more often

• Always bank if you have reached 4 or higher on your sequence and only one die remains to be re-rolled: the probability of hitting any single required number is one in six, and the risk of losing four guaranteed points outweighs the gain.
• In the early turns of a multi-round game, take more risks than you would late on: building a large score cushion early gives you room to play conservatively when the pressure mounts.
• Track what your opponents have banked. If the player before you banks on 3, you need at least 4 to overtake them in that round, which changes whether a borderline push-on decision is worth taking.
• When you have secured 1 and 2 and your remaining three dice all show numbers above 3, you are in a strong re-roll position: you need a 3 from three chances, which is roughly a 42 per cent chance of at least one hit.
• Resist the temptation to push for the full 1-6 bonus unless you are already at 5 in your sequence: the expected value of chasing the bonus from a low position rarely exceeds the safe score you would give up.

Variations

Reverse Sequences

In this variant the target run descends from 6 rather than ascending from 1. Players must build the sequence 6, 6-5, 6-5-4, and so on. All bust and banking rules remain identical. The variation is a straightforward swap that refreshes the game for those who know the standard version well.

Team Sequences

With four players, split into two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other and scores are combined at the end of each round into a single team total. This format introduces a social element: a player who busts does not just harm themselves but lets their partner down, which sharpens decision-making considerably. Play to an agreed combined team target rather than individual rounds.

Sudden Sequences

Remove the round structure entirely. The first player to accumulate a cumulative total of exactly 21 wins outright. If a player's banked score would take them past 21, they score nothing that turn instead. This creates a tactical late-game problem: a player on 19 must deliberately aim for a sequence that scores exactly 2, which is harder than it sounds under pressure.

Extended Sequences

Play with six dice instead of five, which makes a complete 1-through-6 run achievable in a single roll and raises the bonus for doing so to 15 points. The extra die also means busting from a strong position becomes slightly less catastrophic, so players tend to push further and turns run longer. This version works best with experienced players who are comfortable with the standard rules already.

Sequences: frequently asked questions