1800 · Dice

Bell and Hammer

A 19th-century European gambling game played with eight special six-sided dice whose only marked faces show 1–6 pips, a bell, or a hammer. Players first bid in an auction to acquire a set of five unique cards (bell, hammer, bell-and-hammer, inn, and white horse), then take turns rolling the dice. After each roll, players pay or collect according to the combination rolled and the cards they possess, resolving bets against other players based on those outcomes. The game focuses on auction strategy, risk management, and probabilistic outcomes from repeated dice rolls.

groupPlayers

2–5 best 5

schedulePlaying time

20 min

cakeAge

10+

psychologyComplexity

1 / 5