# Cacho — Rules (canonical reference)

The Bolivian dice game, played in cafés and bars across Bolivia. Descendant of
Generala / dice poker. This file is what the engine implements.

## Sources

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacho_(Bolivian_dice_game)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacho_Alalay
- https://www.playonlinedicegames.com/cacho
- https://franciscanmissionservice.org/2015/01/learn-to-play-cacho/

## Variant chosen

Sources split into two traditions:

1. **Two-roll turnover** (Wikipedia's main article): max 2 rolls, must flip a
   die to its opposite face after the second roll.
2. **Three-roll Alalay / casual** (playonlinedicegames, Franciscan Mission,
   most expat/blog accounts): up to 3 rolls, hold dice between rolls,
   Yahtzee-like.

**We implement the three-roll version** — it's how the game is commonly
taught and plays better hotseat. We also **skip the declare-category-after-
first-roll rule** (a stricter variant); players choose a category when they
stop rolling. Both deviations noted here deliberately.

## Equipment & players

5 dice, a cup (traditionally leather). 1–6 players, hotseat. Highest total wins.

## Turn

Up to **3 rolls**. First roll uses all 5 dice; after each roll the player may
hold any dice and re-roll the rest. When done (or out of rolls), the player
must fill exactly one empty slot on their sheet — with points if the dice
qualify, otherwise crossed out (0).

## The sheet — 11 slots

Traditionally drawn as a cross-hatch ("tic-tac-toe") grid.

| Slot | Name | Scores |
|---|---|---|
| Ones | **Balas** | sum of 1s rolled |
| Twos | **Tontos** | sum of 2s |
| Threes | **Trenes** | sum of 3s |
| Fours | **Cuadras** | sum of 4s |
| Fives | **Quinas** | sum of 5s |
| Sixes | **Senas** | sum of 6s |
| Straight | **Escalera** | 25 on first roll, 20 after |
| Full house | **Full** | 35 on first roll, 30 after |
| Four of a kind | **Póker** | 45 on first roll, 40 after |
| Five of a kind ×2 | **Grande** (two slots) | 50 |

- **Escalera**: 1-2-3-4-5, 2-3-4-5-6, or the ace-wrap 3-4-5-6-1.
- **Full**: three of one value + two of another. Five of a kind does not count.
- **Póker**: at least four matching dice.
- **Grande**: all five matching. Two slots; each scored once.

## La dormida

Five of a kind **on the first roll of a turn** wins the game instantly,
regardless of scores. Grande on a later roll is just 50 points in a grande slot.

## Game end

When every player's 11 slots are filled, highest total wins — or immediately
on a dormida. (The "panza de oro" alternate win condition from Wikipedia is a
regional variant we don't implement.)