Ship of Fools is a game played with five dice for two or more players. The object of the game is to roll a six (the "ship"), a five ("captain"), and a four ("crew") with three dice, and get the highest score with the other two dice (the "cargo").

Each player must ante 5 gp at the start of each round. The winner of the round takes all. In the event of a tie, the pot will be split between the highest scorers.

Each player starts their turn by rolling five dice (5d6). They are attempting to roll a 6, 5 and 4 in descending order, and whenever the number they require is rolled, they "bank" it by setting it aside.

For example, if the first roll of the dice shows a 6, a 4, two 3s and a 1, the player banks the 6 but must reroll the 4 because there is no 5 yet. If their second roll is a 6, a 5, a 4 and a 1 they may bank the 5 and 4 together, and now they have a full "crew" for their ship.

Each player has only three rolls, and after their third they score their turn. If they have a crewed ship then they score the "cargo" - the total of the other two dice. If they do not have a crewed ship, they score nothing. A player who completes their crew before the third roll is not obligated to make a third roll, but may do so if they desire. So if a player banks the ship on their first turn, then banks the captain and crew on the second, with the other two dice showing a total of 10, they may deem it not worth the risk of rolling the points-scoring cargo dice again and settle for a score of 10.

Play then moves to the next player to the left, until all players have had a turn and posted a score. The last person to throw the dice in a round is called "the hammer". The current winning score is referred to as "the point". The winner is the player at the end of a round who has the highest score.

When beginning the next round, play begins with the player to the right of the first player in the previous round.