Balut

Quick Pitch

Balut is the Philippines' national dice game — roll five dice up to three times per turn, then assign your result to one scoring category on your scorecard, aiming for combinations like straights, full houses, and five-of-a-kind.

Hook

Roll all five dice, keep what you want, reroll the rest — up to three rolls total. Then you must commit: pick a category on your scorecard and record the score, whether it's good or terrible. You have categories for pairs, triples, straights, full house, four-of-a-kind, five-of-a-kind, and more, each usable only once. The strategy is knowing when to chase a five-of-a-kind and when to cut your losses and use a weak roll to fill a category you'd otherwise score zero in.

Equipment Needed

• 5 standard six-sided dice
• Balut scorecard (or paper scoresheet)
• Pencil or pen
• Dice cup or shaker (optional)

Setup

1. Each player receives a scorecard with 10-12 categories (varies by variant)
2. Determine play order
3. First player rolls first

Rules

Objective

Score the highest total points by completing all categories on your scorecard.

Turn Structure

Each player's turn consists of:

1. Roll all 5 dice
2. Choose dice to keep and reroll others (first reroll)
3. Choose dice to keep and reroll others (second reroll)
4. Score: Choose one category on scorecard and enter your score

After scoring, turn passes to next player.

Scoring Categories (Standard Philippine Version)

Key Scoring Rules

• Each category can only be used once per game
• If you can't or don't want to use a category, you score 0 for that category
• Some categories have fixed values; others depend on dice totals
• Strategic placement of scores is critical

Variant: Filipino Balut Scoring

Some Filipino versions use slightly different names and values: