Ship, Captain, Crew - Rules, History & Strategy Guide

Ship, Captain, Crew (sometimes called Ship of Fools or Cap'n, Bos'n, Crew) traces back to the British Royal Navy, where sailors used it as a quick gambling game during downtime at sea.

The "in order" requirement — you can't collect the 5 until you've set aside the 6 — is what gives the game its distinctive feel: you're racing not just for high cargo, but to even unlock cargo at all.

You have three rolls of five dice per turn. Your goal is to set aside a 6 (Ship), then 5 (Captain), then 4 (Crew) in that order, then maximize the remaining two dice (Cargo).

1. Roll all five dice. After each roll, you may set aside a 6 if you don't already have one.
2. Once you have a 6, on your next roll you may set aside a 5. Once you have both, you may set aside a 4.
3. You cannot grab a 5 or 4 until the prior dice have been claimed in order.
4. After three rolls (or once you choose to stop), if you have ship/captain/crew set aside, the sum of your remaining two dice is your Cargo score.
5. Highest Cargo wins. If you fail to set all three required dice in three rolls, you score zero.

• On the first roll, always grab any 6 you have, even if it's the only useful die. You can't score without it.
• Don't lock in a 5 or 4 too eagerly if you also rolled what you needed in proper order — set aside the lowest-priority die you can.
• On the third roll, prioritize getting ship/captain/crew over high cargo dice. Zero is worse than 2.
• When trailing, you can keep rolling cargo dice for two extra rerolls if you have ship/captain/crew set — use those to chase a higher cargo total.

Many house rules adjust scoring: some allow re-rolls of cargo dice only, some require an exact match for first place, and some treat doubles or specific combinations as bonus scores. The most common bar variant turns it into a betting game where the lowest cargo pays the pot.