How to play Three Peaks

Four dice, two pairs, two columns

There are eleven columns, one for every total two dice can make, from 2 to 12. The ones in the middle are tall because those totals come up often; 2 and 12 are three steps high.

Roll four dice and split them into two pairs. Each pair's total climbs its column one step. If both totals can climb, both must — you choose the pairing, not half of it.

Three climbers, and the question in the title

Your climb this turn is carried by three white climbers, one per column. Once all three are out, only those three columns can move.

After every climb you choose: roll again, or stop. Stop and the climbers are replaced by markers in your colour, kept for good. Roll and find that no pairing can climb anything, and the whole turn falls back to where you started. The panel shows the exact chance of that before you decide.

Taking a peak

Reach the top of a column and stop, and its peak is yours. Every other player's marker falls off that column and nobody can climb it again. The first to take three peaks wins.

The bots

They play Michael Keller's "Rule of 28": every step a climber takes scores its column's weight, short columns weigh more, and a bot stops once the turn is worth 28. They also stop the moment a climber reaches a summit. Simple, published, and a decent player.

Questions people ask

How long does a game of Three Peaks take?

About twenty minutes at three or four, a little less heads-up. A turn is a handful of rolls, and nobody's turn can run long without the dice eventually saying no.

Is there anything hidden, or anything to remember?

Nothing at all. Every die and every marker is on the board in front of everybody, which is why it is easy to join halfway through and easy to watch on a big screen.

Does anybody have to install anything to play Three Peaks?

No. It runs in the browser everyone already has open. One person opens a room, reads out the six-character code or pastes the link into the channel, and everyone else is at the table in a couple of seconds.

Do we need accounts?

No. There is no sign-up, no password and no email address anywhere in the flow. You pick a name when you sit down, and that is the whole of it.

How many people can play Three Peaks?

2 to 4 — best with three. A room seats up to 12.

How long does a game of Three Peaks take?

About 20 minutes, which is the length of a coffee break rather than the length of a games night. Nobody is the host in the sense of holding the controls, so a round finishes whether or not everyone is still looking at it.

Does it work over a video call?

That is what it is for. The game is on the screen and the talking is on the call — nobody has to describe a board to anybody, and the parts that must stay private stay on the server rather than being read out.