There are many variations of Shut-the-Box, both in terms of equipment and rules. Boxes can have any configuration, and sets with up to a dozen tiles are not unusual. You could also quickly gin up a set from some playing cards and dice, if you had a hankering to play but no box. Play begins with all the numbers visible, and the goal is to be the last player to accrue 45 penalty points.
In each turn:
Roll the dice, and add them together.
Flip down any combination of tiles with the same sum as the dice.
Repeat until you either (a) have flipped down all of the tiles (“shut the box”) or (b) can no longer find a combination of tiles that matches the sum of the dice. Then count up your penalty points (explained below), reset the box, and pass the dice to the next player.
If your turn ends
with the box still “open,” then add up the exposed numbers on the tiles and jot them down; these are your penalty points. Each round’s penalty points are added to the previous total.
when you shut the box, then your entire penalty score drops to zero.
The last player to accrue 45 penalty points is The Winner.
On your turn you roll a 6 and a 2, for a sum of 8. You may flip down any of the following combinations of tiles:
the 1 and the 7
the 2 and 6
the 3 and 5
the 1, 2, and 5
the 1, 3, and 4
the 8
If, at the end of your turn, the 8, 9, and 1 tiles are still open, then you have 18 penalty points. If you manage to shut the box on your next turn, then all of your penalty points disappear. But if that next turn ends with the 1 and 2 tiles still up, then you’ll have a total of 21 penalty points (almost halfway to losing!).
Solitaire Favored by marooned pirates. Play like the standard game, with the goal of shutting the box before accruing 45 penalty points. Weep into your beer at your lonely plight.
Gambling The game begins with each player staking a wager. Play continues as normal, with each player having an opportunity to raise the pot, see raises, or fold at the end of each round. Any player who hits 45 penalty points is out, and the first player to shut the box wins the pot. Drink to excess. Call other players “scalawags.”