Stones & Bones
GM Tips
A Game Within the Game
Stones & Bones was built to be playable both at the Real-World table and in your RPG World.
The coin system uses Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum on a base-10 scale, making it fully compatible with games like D&D. That means this isn’t just a meta game at your table — it’s something your characters can actually play.
Your party might stumble into a tavern, hear dice rattling in a back corner, and realize the locals are mid-game. Gold changes hands. Reputations form. Favors get owed.
If you’re a DM, Stones & Bones can run as a quick tavern scene, downtime activity, or tension-breaker without breaking immersion.
Stones and Bones
Roll like you’re betting your last coin at the edge of the tavern.
Stones & Bones is a quick, gritty dice-and-coin game that pits luck against cunning every wave of play.
No boards. No cards.
Just dice, coins, and luck.
Easy to pick up. Rich once you start pushing your odds. Perfect for late nights at the bar, kitchen tables, or wherever misfits gather.
What This Game Feels Like
The dice do the heavy lifting here.
Stones & Bones is mostly luck, a little math, and a handful of moments where fate gets a say. You’re not outplaying anyone — you’re riding the same tide of chance together as a crew.
There are a few moments where you can nudge fate, bend the odds, or flip a bad turn into something memorable — but you’re not out-thinking the table or bluffing anyone out of their coins.
Stones & Bones is about time at the table.
Trading luck.
Passing coins.
Letting chance do the talking while the night does the rest.
Free To Learn
No Paywall, no subscription, no sign-up
This game is free to learn because the thrill of play shouldn’t cost a thing. If you dig it and want more lore, expanded rules, and deeper play, the Corsair Edition and Core Rulebook PDF are there to support the creator and grow your game.
(Coming January 2026 )
This game spreads best when people teach it to each other.
Stones & Bones isn’t meant to be hoarded, optimized, or mastered behind a screen. It’s meant to be taught in a night, played imperfectly, and remembered for the moments it created.
If it makes your table better, pass it on.
A Game Within the Game
Stones & Bones was built to be playable both at the Real-World table and in your RPG World.
The coin system uses Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum on a base-10 scale, making it fully compatible with games like D&D. That means this isn’t just a meta game at your table — it’s something your characters can actually play.
Your party might stumble into a tavern, hear dice rattling in a back corner, and realize the locals are mid-game. Gold changes hands. Reputations form. Favors get owed.
If you’re a DM, Stones & Bones can run as a quick tavern scene, downtime activity, or tension-breaker without breaking immersion.
DM Tip: You can run Stones & Bones as pure flavor, light gambling, or with real in-game consequences. The rules scale cleanly whether the stakes are a few copper or a handful of platinum.
Here's the QUICK CORE RULEBOOK you need to sit down, Roll the Bones, Throw your Stone, and Claim The Coffer!
v1.2 11.21.2025
QUICK CORE RULEBOOK
🧱 Setup and Roles
Each Player
- {1} Stone (d20)
- {1} Crew Mutiny Die (d4)
- {1} Captain Mutiny Die (d6)
Table
- {4} Bones (4d20)
- Wave Counter (d4)
- Tide Counter (d6)
- A Captain’s Mark (Marker)
- A Coffer (Container for Coins, The Pot)
- Coin Bank (cp@~{100} / sp@~{100} / gp@~{150} / pp@~{10})
Roles
- Coinsman = Banker
Handles Stake, Buy-ins, and Coffer. - Quartermaster = Timekeeper
Tracks Wave Dice, Tide Dice, and game equipment. - Captain = Last Round’s Winner
Gains Captain’s Luck (Stone = {13} wins Coffer) and may be Mutinied Against.
🌊 Structure
Turns, Waves, and Tides
- Turn – A Turn is a single player’s action: rolling their Bones, engaging in any betting or folding, and then rolling the Stone to resolve their result.
- Wave (Hand) – One betting pool. When someone Takes the Coffer, Wave +1.
Wave = Round
A Wave is one complete fight for the Coffer (the pot). May take multiple Turns.
Once someone Claims the Coffer, the Wave ends.
(A Wave functions like a “hand” in traditional card games.) - Tide – A Tide is a sequence of four Waves.
Tide = Cycle
When Wave counter loops, reset it and Tides Rise→ Tide +1. All bets × Tide.
Players may buy in, cash out, or rebalance coin only between Tides.
This keeps the game in a clean four-Wave rhythm and prevents constant interruptions.
Captain acts first each Wave
When the Tides Rise everyone re-rolls for new Captain of the First Wave.
⚙️ Each Turn (Order of Play)
Raise the Sails:
Ante 1 Silver × Tide to Coffer.
Throw the Bones (4 d20).
Results determine your bet.
( 1–5 )1 cp | ( 6–10 )=1 sp | ( 11–20 )=1 gp
Ill Omens:
matching Bones multiply that coin tier before other mods.
Example:
(2,2,4,12) → Ill Omens on Copper: 3cp x 2 (matching) = 6cp, 1gp
(5,5,5,2) → Ill Omens on Copper: 4cp x 3 (matching) = 12cp
(10,10,12,12) → Ill Omens on Gold and Silver: 2sp x 2 (matching) + 2gp x 2 (matching) = 4sp, 1gp
Bane:
Any 20 (Bones)→ double entire bet.
Example:
(6,8,12,20) → Bane: 2sp + 2gp x2 = 4sp, 4gp
(20,2,4,2) → Ill Omens on Copper & Bane: 3cp x 2 (matching) = (6cp +1gp) x 2 (Bane) = 12cp, 4gp
(17,17,20,17) → Ill Omens on Gold & Bane ("The King's Touch"): 4gp x 3 (matching) = 12gp x 2 (Bane) = 24gp = 2pp, 4gp
Blessing:
Any 1 (Bones) → may roll two Stones to match either.
Fly the Black (optional):
Once per Tide, reroll Bones, pay new bet, forfeit Stone this turn; only Crossbones can win.
Pay Bet:
Apply Tide multiplier; if broke → Walk the Plank (re-roll Bones for Crossbones; fail = elimination).
Throw Stone (d20)
...unless Cursed, Flying the Black or Walking the Plank.
Resolve Outcome:
• Float = Stone matches any Bone → Take the Coffer → becomes Captain.
• Captain’s Luck = 13 on Captain’s Stone (auto-Float).
• Crossbones = special combos (win + Curse).
• Sink = no match → pass turn.
End of Round (Each Win)
Advance Wave/Tide: Quartermaster increments; on Tide rise players may Heave Down (cash out with Coinsman).
☠️ Crossbones Combinations
- Daggers: Two 1’s {1, 1, x, x} — ~1:738 (1.35%)
- Dubloons: Two 20’s {20, 20, x, x} — ~1:738 (1.35%)
- Jacob’s Ladder: 4-straight {7-8-9-10}— ~1:392 (0.255%)
- Thirteen Thrice:Three 13’s {x, 13, 13, 13} — ~1 :2,105 (0.0475%)
- Rum Runner: Four of a kind {5, 5, 5, 5}— ~1:8,000 (0.0125%)
- TOTAL: ~1:35 (2.88%)
Curse: Winner skips Stone next Wave (only a Crossbones can Claims the Coffer). Curse ends when any other player Claims the Coffer.
Swallow the Anchor: Crossbones winner may cash out immediately, despite Tide.
⚔️ Mutiny
Trigger: Captain Plunders Coffer. Any player may declare “Mutiny!”.
Vote: All others vote Yay/Nay. Tie or majority Nay → fail. Majority Yay → Challenge.
Dice and Diplomacy: Deals may be struck and honored or broken to coerce crew to join their side. Each player adds their die to either the Captain or the Mutineer's roll based on their vote.
Cost of Mutiny: All Players roll their d4 and pay the result (x Gold) into the coffer. Captain pays no cost.
Challenge Rolls:
Captain = 1d20 + 1d6 + Defector d4’s;
Mutineer = 1d20 + 1d4 + Yay d4’s. High total wins.
✅ Success → Mutineer becomes Captain.
❌ Fail → Captain keeps Coffer + mutiny costs from players
Winner may split the Coffer among crew as they wish or keep the Coffer for themselves.
Cutthroat Mode (2 Players): Mutiny auto-triggers (no cost); Flip a coin to decide mutiny vote. Both roll 1d20 + 1d6 + 1d4 simultaneously — high total wins.
⚓ Other Rules
Pilfering: If previous Stone left on table, next roller may toss the Bones, call "Pilfer!" and use the last player's stone as it sits on the table to match, along with their own Stone.
Grumbles: After a win, any player may pay 1 gp × Tide to force reroll of disputed dice (unavailable in Cutthroat). No player may object or the Grumbles fails. Used for crooked rolls and dicey dice throws.
Walk the Plank: If broke on bet, re-roll Bones for Crossbones; No Stone; fail = out of game. Win = Cursed and Claim the Coffer
Fly the Black: see step 4 above; reset use each Tide.
Heave Down: At Tide Rise any player may cash out. The game may conclude for the evening.
💰 End Condition
Play until only one pirate still afloat (financially) or crew agrees to cash out during Tide Rise.
Stones and Bones: Corsair Edition
Expanded Rules | Lore | Artifacts
Coming January 2026
-
Expanded Rules
Explore the Tides and integrate new mechanics like The Rum Barrel and The Black Spot
-
Quinn's Journal
Read the journal of the game's mythic creator, Quinn Tattercur of the Riverdale. A journey reflecting the inspiration and philosophies of the game.
-
Artifacts of the Wreck
Worldbuilding artifacts, media, and the story of the game as told through found artifacts: Cookbook, Carpenter's Log, Crew Journals
"Dusk spread across the Dream’s Revenant like ink that couldn’t decide whether to darken or fade..." - The Journal of Quinn