Ruler of the Bilge

Bilge Dice is an intimidating game, one where a novice can quickly find themselves parted from a goodly number of Neopoints. However, once you understand the basics, it is an easy way to get 5000 NP or more daily, and with a little luck an avatar or two as well.

You can find lots of Bilge Dice approaches floating around Neopia. All I can tell you – my strategy is one that works. Check out my hardware on my user lookup – those trophies for Bilge Dice and Bilge Dice Lucky Streak are all you need to know about my qualifications.

The Basics

You have three opponents – Monty, Grimtooth and Deadeye. Your job is to get a higher score than any of them. If you do, you win four times your wager. If you tie their highest score, then you get your money back. If you lose, well, you lose your wager.

Your job is to turn your six dice into the highest possible score, up to a maximum of 24. Your score only counts if you get the two ‘qualifiers’, a ‘1’ and a ‘4’. The qualifiers do not count towards your score, but without two qualifiers you automatically lose.

Objective

Part of playing Bilge Dice is accepting that you will lose most games. That may sound strange, but it’s true! Playing against three opponents, you have no hope of winning more than you lose. Your advantage, though, is that when you win you win four times your bet – win more than 25% of the time and you come out ahead.

It’s not enough to just get your qualifiers. You will need a score 22, 23 or 24 to have a good chance of winning. These scores win most games. On the other hand, scores below 20 will rarely win.

This means that as you play, you need to be getting sixes. Anything else, particularly early in the game, sharply reduces your chances of winning. This dictates playing strategy.

Roll 1

Ask yourself the following questions:

Did you get a ‘6’? If so, take it.

If you got one 6, did you also get a second 6 AND a 4 AND a 1. If so – take those 4 dice, and continue down to Roll 5 below.

No ‘6’? Well, that’s not good. Did you get a ‘4’? Keep that and roll again. No ‘4’ either? How about a ‘1’? Keep that and roll again. No 6, 4 or 1? That’s a bad start. Keep your highest die and hope for better luck on the next roll.

One note – you will see that your computer competitors will always take their ‘1’ and ‘4’ qualifiers before starting to fill in their score. Their strategy is your advantage in the game. You need sixes to win. Get comfortable that sometimes you won’t get the qualifiers. It’s OK – your objective is to get a score of 20+ -- qualifying and getting a sub-20 score just means you lose anyway. Much better to try for a possible winning score, even if you don’t get that qualifier.

Roll 2

Did you get a ‘6’? If so, take it. If you can with two more dice end up with a ‘6’, ‘6’, ‘4’ and ‘1’ (including whatever you got on the first roll), then take those and continue down to Roll 5.

No ‘6’ again? If you don’t already have a 4, then take one you got this time. Same with a ‘1’ – if you need that, go ahead and take that if you got it. Otherwise, again keep the highest roll you have.

Rolls 3 and 4

Your objective here is to leave roll 4 with the ‘perfect roll’ of two sixes plus the 4 and 1 qualifiers. You know what you need at this point to do that, if Roll 3 produces both of what you need to fill in, then take them both and go onto Roll 5. If it doesn’t, then take the highest die you can, cross fingers and hope for better luck in roll 5.

Before Roll 5

Before Roll 5, as long as you have ‘1’ and ‘4’ qualifiers, check the following:

Do I have a ‘6’ that I can take as my 5th dice? Take it and move onto Roll 6.

Do I have a ‘5’ that I can claim as my 5th dice? As long as your score is at least equal to the highest qualifying opponent, then take that 5.

Roll 5

If you have both qualifiers, take the highest roll you get and move onto Roll 6

If you are missing a qualifier and get one, then obviously take it now. Otherwise take the best roll you have and hope you get what you need next time.

Before Roll 6

Do I have a ‘5’ or a 6’ I can claim? Take it and see if it is good enough to win.

Do I have a ‘4’? If your score is better (not tied) than any qualifying competitor, then keep the 4 and see if it is good enough to win.

Do I have a ‘3’ or ‘2’? If your score with that is 6 or more higher than any competitors score, then keep it.

Roll 6

Take the roll. Hope it helps.

Once you have finished your rolls, if you have qualified you will see your competitors’ scores. If you win, you will receive your big winnings. If you tie, your wager will be refunded.

One last note – remember what I said at the beginning – you will lose more than you win. You can easily lose 10 times in a row and burn a lot of neopoints. However, if you stick with the strategy, you will win enough to make your wagers pay. Once you have played enough to be able to bet 1000 NP per turn, you can start making your 5000 daily NP limit with only a few minutes of effort most days.

Some people ask, “When do you find time to play Bilge Dice?” The answer is: While Kad feeding! Bilge Dice is the perfect way to fill in the seven minutes between Kad feeds. You can stop in the middle of any game whenever the feeding cycle comes, and you always have a refreshed clock to make sure you are there at the right time. Kads and Bilge Dice are like popcorn and butter – they go together perfectly!

I leave you the toast given at the end of every Bilge Dice event:

“May your last dice always come up six (unless you need a 1 or a 4 to qualify)!” See you at the Bilge!