Yenta

Yenta

Designer: James Ernest, Aaron Richards
Publisher: Cheapass Games
Type: Dice
Status: Free
BGG entry: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/18340
Available at: http://www.cheapass.com/free/games/yenta.html

Yenta is based on a game by Aaron Richards called 'Stoopid Cupids,' sort of a cross between Liar's Dice and Go Fish.

Equipment: Five 6-sided dice for each player.

Each player rolls all five of his dice and keeps the values secret. Cover your dice with your hand, or obscure them with some kind of screen. In a freeform auction, players now bid on the number of points they think they can score. The player who bids highest takes the first turn. Before the round ends, he must collect points equal to his bid. Otherwise, he will lose those points instead.

On your turn, you may ask another player if they have a die of a certain value, and that player must relinquish one such die if he has it. Dice you ask for must match dice you have, and the pairs you assemble are scored and removed from the game. The active player may continue asking for dice until he misses, at which point he passes the turn, and must discard the unmatched die he was trying to pair up. The active player may also pass the turn instead of continuing to guess, in which case he does not discard a die.

Play proceeds until only one player has dice left.