La Pontica

A classic Italian gambling game, first published in the 17th century. The board represents a castle guarded by brave mice which are numbered. Around the castle are attacking cat images, each numbered as well.

The players, in clockwise order, throws 3 dice. The total shown by the dice will correspond to one of the attacking cats or one of the brave mice images on the board, and the player either pays into the bank or receives from it a proportion of the stakes.

Tripples are the favoured throw because this has special results. triple 1 to triple 4 are the corners of the castle. Double 5 is the drawbridge and triple 6 is the keep. Triple 1 to 5 lets the player collect half the stakes. Triple 6 allows the player to collect all the stakes.