Hazard

👥 2–8 players 📍 Indoor📍 Anywhere ⚡ Calm 🧩 Moderate ⏱ 30-60 minutes 🎂 Ages 8+

Quick Pitch

Hazard is a medieval English dice game where the shooter picks a target number and rolls to hit it before rolling their "chance" number — the direct ancestor of modern Craps.

Hook

Before Craps, before Las Vegas, before any of it — there was Hazard. This dice game was the gambling obsession of medieval England, played in taverns and royal courts alike for centuries. Understanding Hazard means understanding where half the vocabulary of modern dice games came from, including the word "craps" itself. It's a piece of living history you can actually play.

Equipment Needed

  • 2 standard six-sided dice
  • Betting chips or coins
  • Betting layout or board (traditional games had elaborate layouts)

Setup

  1. Designate a caster (shooter)
  2. Other players place bets against the caster
  3. Determine betting limits
  4. Establish a "main" number (e.g., 5-9)

Rules

Objective

Win money by betting on dice outcomes according to complex medieval Hazard rules.

Main and Chance

In Hazard, the concept of "main" (the shooter's target number) and "chance" (the roll that determines outcome) is central:

Selecting the Main:

  • The caster (shooter) establishes a "main" (a number from 5-9)
  • This is their target number

Rolls and Outcomes:

  1. If first roll equals the main: Caster wins immediately (natural)
  2. If first roll is 2, 3, or 12: Caster loses immediately (craps)
  3. If first roll is any other number: This becomes the "chance" number
  4. Subsequent rolls:
    • Roll the main: Caster wins
    • Roll the chance: Caster loses
    • Any other number: Roll again

Point Concept

Unlike modern Craps, Hazard uses the concept of "chance" rather than "point":

  • The second roll (if not main, 2, 3, or 12) becomes the chance
  • Shooter wins by rolling the main before rolling the chance
  • Shooter loses by rolling the chance before rolling the main

Betting Variations

Hazard had many complex betting options:

  • High bet: On overall outcome (caster wins or loses)
  • Parole bet: Bet that caster makes the main
  • Fulham bet: Various side bets on specific outcomes
  • Cater bets: Betting on specific numbers

Example Round

Main established: 6

  1. First roll: 4+5 = 9 (not 6, not craps)
  2. Chance is set to 9
  3. Caster continues rolling
  4. Next roll: 2+3 = 5 (not 6, not 9, continue)
  5. Next roll: 3+3 = 6 (Caster wins! Rolled the main before the chance)
  6. Bets are paid; new round begins

Another example:

Main: 7

  1. First roll: 2 (Craps! Caster loses immediately)
  2. All bets on caster lose
  3. New shooter or new round

Expert Player

Tips

  1. House edge: Varies by betting option; some favor house, some are fair
  2. Math-heavy: Understanding probability of rolling main vs. chance is key
  3. Betting strategy: Place bets on favorable odds (main more likely than chance depending on numbers)
  4. Bankroll management: Complex game can lead to large losses
  5. Patience: Games can be lengthy with many rolls per round

Variations

Simplified Hazard

  • Main fixed at 7 (most probable)
  • Only basic win/lose outcomes
  • Easier to learn

Extended Betting

  • Additional side bets on specific outcomes
  • Complex betting layout

Single Die Variant

  • Uses one die instead of two (rare variant)

Tavern Hazard

  • Informal version played in pubs
  • Simplified rules, faster gameplay
Learn More — History & Origins

History & Origins

Hazard has one of the more fascinating origin stories in gaming history. The name likely derives from the Arabic "az-zahr" (meaning "die" or "chance"), and the game is thought to have entered Europe through contact with Arab culture during the Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries. Once it arrived in England, Hazard became enormously popular, eventually spreading through all levels of society. By the 14th century it was well established enough to be referenced by Geoffrey Chaucer, who mentions the game in The Canterbury Tales — evidence of just how culturally embedded it had become.

The game remained England's dominant gambling game for centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, elaborate Hazard rooms operated in London gaming houses, and the game was played by everyone from apprentices in taverns to aristocrats in private clubs. When English and French settlers brought the game to North America, it underwent simplification in the hands of Creole gamblers in New Orleans — the complex rules of the original game were stripped down into what we now call Craps. The word "craps" itself is thought to derive from "crabs," the English slang for the losing throw of 1-1 in Hazard.

Cultural Context

Hazard is remarkable as a case study in how games evolve across centuries and cultures. The game that medieval English gamblers played with all its complex rules about mains, chances, and nicks is recognizably related to what you'd find at a Craps table in any casino today — same two dice, same fundamental concept of a target number, same vocabulary of natural wins and losing throws. Following Hazard's evolution into Craps is essentially following five centuries of gambling culture condensed into a set of rule changes.

Today, Hazard is no longer commonly played in its original form, but it's preserved in historical gaming societies, academic discussions of medieval culture, and by enthusiasts who appreciate the game's rich pedigree. Playing Hazard is one of the few ways to genuinely connect with the recreational life of a medieval tavern — using essentially the same dice, the same mechanics, and the same nail-biting tension of waiting to see if the main comes up before the chance.

See Also