How to Play Ship, Captain and Crew Dice Game
Nov 7, 2026 · The Editors
How to play Ship, Captain and Crew (also called Ship, Captain, Mate): the rolls, why the 6, 5 and 4 must come in order, scoring the cargo, ties, and how it is played for stakes in bars.
Ship, Captain and Crew — also called Ship, Captain, Mate or Clickety Clack — is a fast, simple dice game with a nautical theme. It needs five dice and takes about a minute a round. It has been a bar game for generations, played for the next round of drinks.
What you need
- Five dice.
- A dice cup — the traditional way to play.
- Two or more players.
The aim
Each player gets three rolls to load their boat:
- The ship — a 6.
- The captain — a 5.
- The crew — a 4.
Once you have all three, the other two dice are your cargo, and their total is your score. Highest cargo wins.
The order matters
You must find them in order:
- You cannot keep a 5 until you have a 6 — a captain needs a ship.
- You cannot keep a 4 until you have a 6 and a 5.
If you roll 6, 5 and 4 together on one roll, you keep them all.
A turn, step by step
- Roll all five dice.
- If there is a 6, set it aside. If there is a 6 and a 5, set both aside. If there is a 6, 5 and 4, set all three aside.
- Roll the remaining dice, looking for whatever you still need.
- Once you have 6, 5 and 4, the two remaining dice are your cargo.
- If you have rolls left, you may reroll both cargo dice to try for a better score — but the result of the reroll stands.
If you have not got a ship, captain and crew by the end of your third roll, you score zero.
Example
- Roll 1: 6, 2, 2, 3, 1. Keep the 6.
- Roll 2: 5, 4, 3, 1. Keep the 5 and the 4. Cargo: 3 + 1 = 4.
- Roll 3: reroll the cargo for a chance at more. Roll 6 and 5: cargo 11.
The best possible cargo is 12 — two 6s.
Ties
Players who tie for the highest cargo roll off: each gets one turn, and the higher score wins. Some groups split the pot instead.
Playing for stakes
In bars and at home games, each player puts a coin or chip in the pot before the round, and the winner takes it. Some play that the winner of each round must use all three rolls the next time — no stopping early.
Variations
- Must use all three rolls — no standing on a low cargo.
- One cargo reroll only.
- Cargo rerolled one die at a time, in some versions.
Agree before you start.
Related games
If you have a cup and five dice, you also have Yacht, Liar's Dice and Pig. With a sixth die you can play Farkle.
