Dice games

• descriptions of similar games existing among 130 tribes belonging to 30 linguistic stocks
  
• recorded descriptions and/or artifacts in museums for Lutuamian (Klamath), Salishan (Bellacoola, Clallam, Nisqualli, Quinaielt, Shuswap, Snohomish, Songish, Thompson, Twana), Shahaptian (Klikitat, Yakima), and Wakashan (Clayoquot, Kwakiutl, Makah, Nootka) natives of the Pacific Northwest.
  
  

Essential implements:

• Dice: two faces distinguished by colors or markings. Made of such materials as sticks, stones, teeth, walnut shells, peach/plum stones, grains of corn, bone, shell, pottery disks.
• Counters: usually sticks or stones
  

Methods of keeping score:

• Sticks or counters passed from hand to hand as players win points. Game ends when one player wins all the counters.
  
• Counting board stones in a circle or square, rows of small sticks or pegs, or marked hides, stones, or boards. Players advance their playing piece till one player reaches the finish.
  
• Scoring Schemes
  
• Four dice games usually have 2 dice which are "male" and two which are "female".
• A common scoring scheme is as follows:
  
  • All marked sides up or all down: 2 points
    
  • Both male up and female down or vice versa: 1 point
    
  • Any other combination: 0 points
    

  Variations:

  1. One male stick is tied with a small string around the middle or decorated with different markings. If it is up and the other 3 dice down or vice versa: 4 points
  

  2. One male dice with lines, its mate with lines and dots, and the other pair mates with triangular lines. If:
  

  • All blank or all faces: 2 points
    
  • One triangular face up and all others down: 14 points
    
  • The dotted face up, all others down: 8 points
    
  • The man up, other three down: 4 points
    
  • Any other combination: 0