Many of the games from Minute to Win It are fairly simple to play, but High Roller isn't one of those. In this game you'll be using a cup to stack dice in piles by swirling the cubes, tilting the cup, and hoping for the best.
The Goal
Scoop and stack dice into piles of three, four, and five using a cup. This is a tricky one folks.
Equipment Needed
The only simple thing about this game is the equipment needed to play. Here's what you'll need to gather up:
- 12 standard dice (don't use anything fancy here - the game is difficult enough as it is)
- One large plastic drinking cup (more on this below)
- A table
- A one-minute timer or stop watch
The show recommends a plastic cup that is stiff, with a 90-degree angle from the bottom to the sides. They also recommend that you don't use a cup with ridges on it, and I'll add that it shouldn't have a pronounced lip either.
How to Play
To set up the game, place the dice on the table but make sure that none of them are stacked one on top of the other. Place the cup near the dice.
Here's where it gets tricky, and make sure you visit the link below to see the accompanying video if you get confused. When the one-minute timer starts, take the cup and scoop up three of the dice. You can position the dice on the table with your hands, but you cannot use your hands to get the dice into the cup itself - you have to use the cup and only the cup. Once you have three dice in the cup, you're then tasked with making them into a tower by stacking them one on top of the other - once again, using only the cup.
In order to stack them, the video shows you how to swirl the cup and use the force of that swirling to get the dice stacked. The real trick is to get them out of the cup fast enough that they stay piled up.
After you successfully stack three dice, you do it all over again using four. Then, as if that weren't enough, you have to make a tower of five dice. All three must be completed in one minute or less.
The Rules
Oh yes, you'd better believe there are rules to follow with this game! High Rollers is a tough game, and these rules make it just a little bit tougher. Behold:
- You may not use your hands to scoop the dice into the cup, aid in pouring them out of the cup, place them in stacks, or center them. Basically the only things your hands can do is place the dice on the table before scooping, and hold the cup.
- When you're stacking the dice, you must use the swirl and dump technique. While it's possible to just slowly "pour" the dice one on top of the other, this isn't how the game can be won. Swirl and dump only. The cup has to be completely inverted.
- You may only have the exact number of dice in your cup as you're tasked to stack. So, if you're working on the three-dice stack, you can't have five dice in the cup to try and better your odds of stacking three of them.
- Each stack must remain standing, without assistance, for three consecutive seconds in order to count. The final stack of five must have its three seconds contained within the one-minute overall time.
Tips and Tricks
If you want to have any hope of success with this game, you'll have to practice. Try using different swirl speeds for starters. The really tricky part isn't in the scooping or swirling, but in the release. Work quickly and accurately. Practicing this game will help to improve your scooping time (and time is vital in this one), and give you a feel for how you can get those dice stacked with the swirl and dump technique.
The blueprint with video instructions for this game can be found at NBC.com.
