You get up to three rolls of five dice to land a 6 (the ship), a 5 (the captain), and a 4 (the crew) — in that exact order — and then your last two dice become your cargo. The higher the cargo, the better your round. It's traditionally played for a pot or as a social game, but it works just as well as a friendly race to the highest score. Below you'll find the complete rules, the strict 6-5-4 order, how cargo is scored, a worked example, strategy, and the best-known variants.
On this page
What do you need?
- Five dice. Ordinary six-sided dice — that's the whole kit.
- A cup (optional) for shaking and rolling, which keeps things fair when the game is played for a pot.
- 2 or more players. Everyone takes a turn; play goes around the table.
- Optionally something to keep score if you're playing multiple rounds to a target.
No dice on hand? Ship, Captain & Crew needs five, and you can roll them for free with the online dice roller — set the dice count to five and shake away.
The goal of the game
Be the first to secure a ship (a 6), a captain (a 5), and a crew (a 4) — and then score the highest cargo with your two remaining dice. If you never complete the ship, captain, and crew, you score nothing that round, so simply qualifying is often the hard part.
How a turn works
- Roll all five dice. Look for a 6 first — that's your ship.
- Set aside the qualifying dice (in order — see below) and re-roll the rest on your next roll.
- Repeat for up to three rolls in total, working your way from ship to captain to crew.
- Once you have the 6-5-4, the remaining two dice are your cargo — their sum (2–12) is your score for the round. If you have any rolls left, you may re-roll the cargo dice to try for a higher total; your 6-5-4 stays locked in.
Traditionally the game is played for a pot everyone chips into, or simply as a social game — but you can just as easily play it as a friendly race to the highest score with nothing on the line.
The strict 6-5-4 order
The rule that catches new players out: you must obtain the ship, captain, and crew in that strict order — the 6 first, then the 5, then the 4.
- You may only set aside a 5 once you already have a 6.
- You may only set aside a 4 once you have both the 6 and the 5.
So if your opening roll shows a 5 and a 4 but no 6, neither of them counts yet — you have to re-roll them until a 6 turns up. It's a common heartbreak: rolling a beautiful 5, 4, and a pair of sixes on the first throw, but with no single 6 you can only keep one six as the ship, and the captain and crew have to wait.
Also known as: Ship, Captain, Mate; "6-5-4"; and, on some tables, Destroyer. The numbers and the order are the same whatever the name.
Scoring the cargo
Once your ship, captain, and crew are set aside, the two dice you have left are your cargo. Add them together for a total from 2 to 12 — that's your score for the round. Two sixes give the perfect cargo of 12; a pair of ones is a miserable 2.
If you completed your 6-5-4 with rolls to spare, you may spend those remaining rolls re-rolling the cargo dice in the hope of a higher sum. You risk nothing already secured — the ship, captain, and crew stay put — but you can only improve the cargo if you actually have a roll left to use.
When everyone has had their turn, whoever has the highest cargo wins the round (and the pot, if you're playing that way). Ties are usually settled with a quick roll-off between the tied players, or the pot is split.
| What you set aside | Meaning | Counts toward score? |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Ship | No — a qualifier |
| 5 | Captain | No — a qualifier |
| 4 | Crew | No — a qualifier |
| The last two dice | Cargo | Yes — their sum (2–12) is your score |
A worked example
Say it's your turn. You roll all five dice and get 6, 5, 2, 2, 1. You have a ship (6) and a captain (5), so set both aside; you still need a 4. Re-roll the other three dice.
Second roll: the three dice come up 4, 6, 3. There's your crew — set aside the 4. Now you have your full 6-5-4, and your cargo is the remaining two dice: the 6 and the 3, a total of 9. You have one roll left.
A cargo of 9 is decent but not great, so you gamble the last roll on the two cargo dice. They land 5 and 6 — a cargo of 11. You stop there, well ahead of where you started. A strong round.
Strategy: when to re-roll the cargo
Ship, Captain & Crew is mostly luck, but two decisions genuinely matter. The first is simply getting the 6-5-4 at all — that's the hard part, and many turns end with no score. Don't waste rolls: keep every qualifier the instant it appears and never chase cargo before your crew is secured.
The second is whether to re-roll the cargo. Once your 6-5-4 is complete early with a roll or two to spare, only re-roll if the cargo is low. A general rule of thumb: keep an 11 or 12, and consider re-rolling anything under about 8 — the average result of two fresh dice is 7, so a low cargo is worth the gamble while a high one usually isn't. Because 7 is the most likely total on two dice, you can read the exact odds on the page about dice probability.
Variants
House rules abound. The most common ones tweak how you qualify or how the pot is won.
| Variant | How it changes the game |
|---|---|
| Call / declare | You must announce ("call") each die you keep before your next roll; keep quiet and it doesn't count. |
| Anchor | Once you set aside your ship, captain, and crew you're "anchored" and must stop — you can't re-roll the cargo, so your first cargo total stands. |
| Beat the board | Your cargo must strictly beat the current best to win; if you only tie or fall short the pot grows and carries to the next round. |
| Play to a target | Rather than a single pot, play a set number of rounds or to a target number of round wins; whoever gets there first takes the game. |
Fancy another quick dice game to go with it? Try Cee-lo or the bluffing classic Liar's Dice, or browse the complete overview of dice games.
Frequently asked questions about Ship, Captain & Crew
How do you play Ship, Captain & Crew?
Each player gets up to three rolls of five dice per turn. You must set aside a 6 (the ship), then a 5 (the captain), then a 4 (the crew), in that strict order, re-rolling the other dice between rolls. Once you have your 6-5-4, the last two dice are your cargo and their sum is your score. The highest cargo wins the round.
What is the cargo in Ship, Captain & Crew?
The cargo is the two dice left over once you have secured your ship (6), captain (5), and crew (4). Their combined total, a number from 2 to 12, is your score for the round. If you have rolls left you may re-roll the cargo dice to chase a higher total; your 6-5-4 stays safe while you do.
Do you have to get the 6, 5, and 4 in order?
Yes. You must obtain them in strict order: the 6 first, then the 5, then the 4. You may only set aside a 5 once you already have a 6, and a 4 only once you have both the 6 and the 5. A 5 or 4 rolled before you have the ship cannot be kept yet.
How many rolls do you get?
You get up to three rolls per turn. You roll all five dice, set aside any qualifying dice in order, and re-roll the rest. Any rolls you have not used once your 6-5-4 is complete can be spent re-rolling the cargo dice for a higher total, but you never have to use all three.
What happens if you don't get a ship, captain, and crew?
If you fail to complete the 6-5-4 within your three rolls, you score nothing for that round. Only players who secure a full ship, captain, and crew have a cargo total, and the highest cargo among them wins the round.