2 to 4 players
Cup & Beer Coasters
Play Schocken online
Also known as Knobeln, Schockeln
Three dice, thirteen beer coasters: the worst roll collects, and whoever empties the pile takes the knock.
Free · no sign-up · no download
How it plays
Schocken is the pub dice game for two to four, with no stakes at all: in turn, each player rolls three dice up to three times and may set dice aside in front of the cup in between, and whoever leads sets how many rolls everyone after them gets. The third roll always goes blind under the cup: nobody sees what's there until the table counts. Schock Out beats every Schock, a Schock beats the General, the General beats every straight, and a straight beats any house number; on a tie, fewer rolls wins, and the best result decides how many of the thirteen coasters in the pile the worst result has to take. Whoever takes the last ones loses the half and takes a knock; then everything goes back into the pile, and everyone plays the second half. Whoever loses both halves has lost the round. Otherwise the two half-losers meet in the final, where whatever changes hands doubles with every pass around the table: whoever takes the last coasters there loses the round, and everyone else is safe.
The story
Goal and rules
Goal No knock
Two halves, then the final — avoid a knock and don't lose the round!
The thirteen coasters move from the pile to whoever loses each round. Whoever takes the last ones loses the half and takes a knock; after that all thirteen go back into the pile, and half 2 starts fresh for everyone. Whoever loses both halves has lost the round. Otherwise the two half-losers meet in the final, and everyone else is safe. If your time runs out, the table rolls for you, sets aside every one, and puts the cup down once there's nothing left to gain.
- Rolling Three dice in the leather cup. On your turn, roll, set aside any die in front of the cup — and take it back before the next roll — and roll again, up to three times.
- Opener Whoever starts the round sets the number of rolls: if they put their cup down after the second roll, everyone after them only gets two as well.
- Ranks From the top down: Shock Out (1-1-1), Shock (two ones), General (three of a kind), Straight (three in a row), House number (everything else, read in descending order — 6-5-2 is 652). The panel stays open to you at the table the whole round.
- Coasters Best roll wins, worst loses and takes coasters from the pile: house number one, straight two, general three, shock as many as its third die shows, shock out takes them all. If Shock Out comes on the first roll, the round ends on the spot — whoever would've gone after it doesn't roll anymore.
- Blind The third roll goes under the cup: what's there, nobody sees — not even you — until the table counts. And fewer rolls beat more rolls: the same hand from the first roll beats the same one from the third.
Tie: If two have the same hand, whoever rolled fewer times wins — a shock from the first roll beats the same shock from the third. Only with an equal number of rolls does table order decide: whoever rolled earlier wins, whoever rolled later loses.
Controls
Tap or click: "Roll" rattles the cup, tapping a die sets it aside or takes it back, "Cup down" ends your turn. With a keyboard: Tab and Enter.
In the arena, the goal and the rules are always behind the question mark, even mid-round — and between rounds, so is the story.
Quick Answers
Does Schocken cost anything?
No. Schocken is free and ad-free, and there is nothing to buy. You play for points and chips with no cash value, never for money.
How do I play Schocken with friends?
Press “Open Table” and send the link or the six-character room code to the others. 2 to 4 players take part, everyone else watches.
Do I need to download anything or sign up?
No. Schocken runs right in your browser, on your phone just as on your computer, with no app, no account and no email address.