"Battleship" opened in international markets, has earned a healthy $170 million in ticket sales so far, and is due to be released in the U.S. on May 18th.

The movie stars Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, and Alexander Skarsgård. It was written and directed by Peter Berg.

Here is the official trailer:

Early reviews have been mixed. The "Rotten Tomatoes" web side is showing a 48% rating for the film, saying "It may offer energetic escapism for less demanding filmgoers, but Battleship is too loud, poorly written, and formulaic to justify its expense -- and a lot less fun than its source material."

Here are some advertising posters:

   

   

Of course, you can expect to see a salvo of movie-themed board games, card games, and video games hoping to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the film. Watch for them on this site!

GeeksWithChess provides a number of great features, including a chat interface, game invitations and challenges, game history, a PGN viewer, "vote chess", and much more. All for free!

But there's only so much money in your bank account, and most of that goes for boring-but essential things like rent and food. Your gaming budget is feeling pinched.

As much as you might covet that new $49.99 release, the money's just not there.

So what can you do to get your gaming fix?

Just because you're broke doesn't mean you can't have fun! Here are some ideas for places to find inexpensive board games:

Garage Sales

Yes, I know what you're thinking – kids games, complete with drool-soaked game boards and missing pieces. And the blandest, most generic "family" games in the world. And you're right: that's 90% of what you'll find at garage and yard sales. But that other 10%? There's no telling what you'll find! Old out-of-print classics, newer games that took too long to learn, Euro games that a collector lost interest in. There's no telling what you might find. But shop carefully, and watch out for missing pieces. Don't worry about missing rules – these can generally be found online.

Thrift Stores

All the fun of garage sales, but condensed. There are still plenty of crappy games, but there are almost always some treasures as well. The same "beware of missing pieces" caveat applies here, but at least there are fewer thrift stores to check than there are garage sales. I've found many great games at great prices at places such as Goodwill and Salvation Army.

Swap Meets

These often take place at drive-in movie theater or stadium parking lots, and like garage sales, the selection and quality can be hit-or-miss, but the savings can be incredible.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a great source for board games (and just about anything else), if you have the patience for it. It does take time to browse through the listings, and you may go weeks or months between finds, but the treasures are out there, just waiting for a buyer. Remember that the price shown is the "asking price" -- you can often negotiate a better deal.

Antique Stores

This is one you might not think of, but antique stores (many of which are not much more than flea markets) often have good selections of older games. If it's too old you'll pay a premium, of course, but there are certainly deals to be had, if you keep a watchful eye.

eBay

The great thing about eBay is that nearly every game ever made is for sale by someone -- there's a huge selection! The bad news is that 1) you often have to bid for games, so it takes time, and 2) you'll often pay a premium for hard-to-get games, and 3) you'll need to pay for shipping (and wait for the game to arrive). But there are certainly deals to be had. If you're in a gotta-have-it-now mood, this is not the place to shop. But if you're OK with delayed gratification, eBay can be the best option for finding vintage board games.

Amazon

Amazon has a great selection of board games in it's own right, but often great deals pop up in the outlet store, the deals & bargains section, or via their deal of the day promotion. Also note that, mixed in with their regular board game listings, are used games from individuals or third parties, often at substantial discounts.

The Bargain Bin

Your local board game shop, mass-market retailer, or online superstore usually has a selection of limited-quantity closeouts that they're trying to clear out of stock, often at substantial discounts, compared to retail, for a brand new, never-opened game.

The Return Bin

Many local board game retailers (and some online shops as well) offer used games. Some of these are returned by customers who simply didn't like the game, others are games that loyal customers have traded-in for newer editions or new releases. Not every shop has a trade-in policy, but many do. (This is another tactic to acquire new games -- sell or trade in your old ones.)

Libraries

Many public libraries carry board games that you can check out, take home, play, and return in a few weeks. Though there may not be a huge selection at your local library, they often carry popular or award-winning games, often with an "educational" slant. If a game is really popular, you may need to reserve a copy and wait a few weeks for it to come in. But the great thing about library game sis that they are completely free! And you can try out a game before spending your hard-earned cash on a game that may turn out to be less fun than you'd hoped.

Board Game Clubs or Groups

If you're a member of a local gaming club or a group that meets to play games, ask around to see if any of the members would be willing to swap games. Most of us have unused or seldom-played games that we'd be happy to part with in exchange for something different (or for cash). The great thing about this option is that you know you'll be getting a game that's been properly cared for – no torn up games or missing pieces! And the games will probably be great quality, even if the particular person didn't like it.

Family Members

Ask your family – parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws – if they have any games they'd like to get rid of, sell, or trade. Game quality may be iffy – expect lots of generic kids games – but even if that's the case, think of it as an opportunity to expose your family to "better" games. You might just inspire an interest in the hobby, which could future family gatherings a whole lot more interesting!

Being broke or on a tight budget doesn't mean you can't play new games – it just takes some ingenuity to find ways to afford them!

Although dice are often used as an element to interject "chance" into a game, not all dice games are purely random. Many have significant strategic elements, and mathematical acumen and computational skill can also be important talents when playing dice games.

There are both traditional dice games and commercial dice games (often based on traditional rules).

The following links will teach you how to play a wide variety of dice games, with easy-to-understand yet comprehensive guides to getting started playing the most popular dice games:

• Boggle
• Buck Dice
• Bunco
• Crag
• Double Cameroon
• Farkle
• Generala
• Kismet
• LCR (Left-Center-Right)
• Poker Dice
• Shut The Box
• Stack
• Yacht
• Yahtzee

If you're interested in still more dice games, check out the collection of Dice Game Rule Books, featuring authoritative rules for hundreds of dice games.

Other Dice Rule Sites

In addition to the dice game rules on this site, there are a number of other web sites that provide dice rules:

• all-about-dice.com
  Learn easy, entertaining games that you can play anywhere! Start playing and discover why they are the essence of cool.
• Dice-Play
  This personal web site covers "everything you could want to know" about dice games (especially "Craps").
• Wikipedia Dice Games List
  A list of games that use dice, usually with rules for the games, from the free online encyclopedia.

See also: Buy Dice Games, Buy Dice, Buy Dice Cups

Yahtzee is played by two or more people, and uses five six-sided dice. A dice cup is often used as well, though this is optional.

Players take turns rolling the dice and attempting to score the maximum number of points by rolling specific combinations of dice.

For each player's turn, they are allowed to roll the dice up to three times in an attempt to get the highest scoring combination. For the first roll, throw all five dice. From among the five, set aside any you wish to keep, and pick up the rest and roll again. Repeat once more if you like.

At the end of the three rolls (or sooner if you prefer), you must fill in one of the blank category spaces on the score sheet, either with a point value that you've earned, based on the combination rolled, or a zero if you're unable to make an available combination.

Scoring Categories

Here are some free printable Yahtzee score sheets from dice-play.com. Note that the columns on the score sheet can be used for either multiple players per sheet, or multiple games with one sheet per player. Additional Yahtzee score sheets styles available from here and here. You can also create your own by hand.

The game continues until all 13 available spaces are filled in, either with a score or with a zero. The scoring is divided into upper and lower sections.

Upper Section Scoring

The upper section is used to roll 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, and 6's. Only the dice with the specified value are totaled in each category; the rest are ignored. For instance, in the first example shown above, you rolled a 1-1-1-4-5. Since you chose to use the 1's category, you count only the three 1's, for a total of 4 points. You also could have chosen to write down a "4" in the 4's category, or a "5" in the 5's category.

When all the categories in the upper section are complete, get a sub-total by adding the scores for 1 through 6. If it's 63 or greater, you earn a 35-point bonus! Note that the 63 points is based on three dice of each value, so base your decisions on that...

Lower Section Scoring

In the lower section, you score either the sum total of all the dice (for three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, and chance), or a fixed amount (for the full house, small straight, large straight, and yahtzee).

Final Score

The final score is the sum of the upper section, bonus, and lower section. The winner is the player with the highest score!

Yahtzee Variations

• Some score sheets provide spaces for Yahtzee bonuses, in which 100 points is awarded for each Yahtzee (5-of-a-kind) you score beyond the first.
• Triple Yahtzee plays by the same rules as regular Yahtzee, except that each player uses three columns during a game. Totals are doubled in column two, and tripled in column three, and your grand total is the sum of all three columns. This opens up the strategy a bit, by allowing for more latitude on where to record your points for optimum scores.
• Power Yahtzee adds a sixth dice called a "power die", which affects scoring in one of six ways: "1" multiplies your score for that round by one (i.e. does not change it); "2" multiplies your score by two; "3" multiplies your score by three; "Freeze" eliminates any further rolls that round; "Double" multiplies your score by two, and allows you to score the roll in two categories at once; "Power" multiplies your score by three and gives you the option of a fourth roll.
• Crag, Yacht, and Kismet are distinct games that share many characteristics with Yahtzee.

Yahtzee Trivia

• The maximum Yahtzee score is 375 points. If playing with Yahtzee bonuses, the maximum score is 1575 points (though the probability is about 1 in 283 quadrillion (15 zeros)).
• Yahtzee was first marketed by the E.S. Lowe Company in 1956. Milton Bradley took over the game in 1973, and it is currently owned by Hasbro.
• The original Yahtzee logo includes a caricature of E. S. Lowe as a professor.
• Hasbro claims that as many as 100 million people worldwide regularly play the game of Yahtzee. More than 50 million Yahtzee games are sold annually.

Yahtzee Rule Links

To learn more about the game of Yahtzee, consult one of the following web sites, which provide additional rule and strategy guides.

• Hasbro Yahtzee Rules
  Official rules for the game of Yahtzee, as included with Hasbbro editions of the game. Hasbro also has rules for other editions of Yahtzee.
• The Yahtzee! Page
  A Yahtzee reference site from the UK, with "everything about the dice game Yahtzee - rules, high scores and probability and more".
• Wikipedia Yahtzee Rules
  Information about the game of Yahtzee, from the free online encyclopedia, with rules, variations, and probabilities.

See also: Other Dice Game Rules, Buy Yahtzee Games

The rules for Yacht are largely the same as for Yahtzee (roll five dice up to three times, fill in one category on the score sheet), with the following exceptions:

• There are only 12 categories.
• There is no "Three of a Kind" category.
• The "small straight" is five-in-a-row starting with "1" (1-2-3-4-5) and the "large straight" is five-in-a-row ending with "6" (2-3-4-5-6); both are worth 30 points.
• "Full House" (three of one value and two of another) scores the total pip value of all dice.
• Five of a kind is called "Yacht", and is worth 50 points.
• The catch-all category is called "Choice".
• There is no bonus scoring.

The player with the highest score after filling all 12 categories is the winner!

Yacht Rule Variations

• Some players allow bonus scoring (35 points bonus if 1's through 6's total 63 or more).
• Some players set a fixed value of 40 points for Full House.

See also: Other Dice Game Rules, Yahtzee Rules, Buy Yahtzee Games

The commercial game Kismet is billed as "The Modern Game of Yacht".

Shut The Box apparently originated in Europe as early as the 12th century, and is also known under such names as "Tric-Trac, "Canoga", "Batten Down The Hatches", "Klackers", "High Rollers", and many more. Although some folks play Shut The Box as a gambling game, today it is a popular family pastime, and is often used at home or in schools to help children learn their numbers.

The game uses two six-sided dice and a box with hinged tiles numbered 1 to 9. The box is used as both game board and scoring device, and also serves as a container for easy and convenient storage (see our selection of commercial Buy Shut The Box sets).

Each player rolls the dice and lays down any combinations of tiles that match the roll. For example, If you roll a 7 flip up the 7 tile, or the 5 and the 2, or the 4, 2, and 1 tiles. If every tile higher than 6 is covered, the player has the choice of rolling one or both dice. The player keeps rolling until they can't match their roll on the remaining tiles. The total of the tiles left open are ten totaled, the score is recorded, and all the tiles are flipped up, and the turn passes to the next player. After each player has played, the game is over, and the low score wins. If you can lay down all the tiles, you've "Shut the Box".

A game may consist of one round, or many. Typically, the game proceeds thru several rounds, until a player's accumulated score surpasses an arbitrary number, such as 50 or 100. The winner is then the player with the lowest total score.

Shut The Box Variations

• The standard Shut The Box game is played with numbers 1 through 9, but some boxes use 1-10 or 1-12. Gameplay is the same with the larger sets.
• If you don't have a box, you can write the numbers on a piece of paper, then use a coins or poker chips to cover the numbers during the game.
• Shut The Box can be played as a solitaire (solo) game, but it's obviously more fun with friends!
• Wikipedia lists a few more variations in play, setup, and scoring.

See also: Other Dice Game Rules, Buy Shut The Box Games

The game can be played either with standard six-sided dice, or with special Poker Dice with faces showing Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, and 9. If you're using standard dice, it's helpful to think of the pips as corresponding to card values: 6 = Ace, 5= King, 4 = Queen, 3 = Jack, 2 = 10, and 1 = 9.

Each player has their own set of dice, and may make up to three throws, with the object of making the best possible poker hand. After each toss, the player can set aside any dice they wish to keep.

The hands are ranked as in poker, from highest to lowest:

• Five of a Kind
• Four of a Kind
• Full House
• Straight
• Three of a Kind
• Two Pair
• One Pair
• Bust (high card, no pair)

After each player has had a turn, the hand with the highest rank wins the round!

As in regular poker, games can be played for fun or for the stakes of your choice.

See also: Other Dice Game Rules, Buy Poker Dice Sets

Learn how to play the game of Poker Dice with our handy Poker Dice Rules.

See also: Buy Dice Games, Buy Dice, Dice Game Rules

Kismet is played with five six-sided dice. Kismet dice are unique in their use of colored pips -- "1" and "6" have black pips, "2" and "5" have red pips, and "3" and "4" have green pips. A dice cup is often used as well, though this is optional.

Players take turns rolling the dice and attempting to score the maximum number of points by rolling specific combinations of dice.

For each player's turn, they are allowed to roll the dice up to three times in an attempt to get the highest scoring combination. For the first roll, throw all five dice. From among the five, set aside any you wish to keep, and pick up the rest and roll again. Repeat once more if you like.

At the end of the three rolls (or sooner if you prefer), you must fill in one of the blank category spaces on the score sheet, either with a point value that you've earned, based on the combination rolled, or a zero if you're unable to make an available combination.

Kismet Scoring Categories

Here are some free printable Kismet score sheets from centralconnector.com.

If you manage to roll more than one Kismet, you are not awarded a bonus, but you may use the dice in any other category to which they might apply. However, the other players are penalized -- they each must record a zero in the nearest empty space to the top of the score sheet, and they each lose a turn. The player who has rolled the extra Kismet rolls again.

The game continues until all 15 available spaces are filled in, either with a score or with a zero. The scoring is divided into upper and lower sections (on the score sheets, these are labeled "Basic Section" and "Kismet Section").

Basic Section Scoring

The upper section is used to roll 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, and 6's. Only the dice with the specified value are totaled in each category; the rest are ignored. For instance, in the first example shown above, you rolled a 1-1-1-4-5. Since you chose to use the 1's category, you count only the three 1's, for a total of 4 points. You also could have chosen to write down a "4" in the 4's category, or a "5" in the 5's category.

When all the categories in the upper section are complete, get a sub-total by adding the scores for 1 through 6. If it's 63-70, you earn a 35-point bonus; if it's 71-77, you earn a 55-point bonus; if it's 78 or more, you earn a 75-point bonus!

Kismet Section Scoring

In the lower section, you score either the sum total of all the dice (for two pair, three-of-a-kind, and chance), the sum total of all the dice plus a bonus (for full house, full house flush, four-of-a-kind, and kismet), or a fixed amount (for the straight and flush).

Final Score

The final score is the sum of the basic section, bonus, and kismet section. The winner is the player with the highest score!

Official Kismet Rules

Kismet is published by Endless Games (all rights reserved), and they have the official rules online (PDF).

See also: Other Dice Game Rules, Buy Kismet Games