Henpen – Rules

Henpen is a push your luck dice game, where players are hens, looking to cash in on some tasty roasted worms. Gather the most worms to win!

Game Layout

At the center of the table lies the grill: 16 face-up worm servings, numbered 21 through 36. Each serving shows a point value and displays one or more worms (each worm is worth 1 point). Players build personal stacks of servings, but only the topmost serving in each stack is visible and vulnerable to theft.

Gameplay

On your turn, roll all 8 dice. Each die shows a number (1–5) or a worm symbol.

• Choose one symbol from your roll that you haven’t yet taken this turn.
• Set aside all dice showing that symbol.
• Add its value to your running total (worms count as 5 points each).
• You may roll the remaining dice again - but beware:
• If you do choose to roll, and you're unable to use any of the new dice, you go bust and end your turn without scoring.

You may stop rolling at any time—but only if your set of taken dice includes at least one worm, and matches one of the following 3 cases:

• If your total matches a serving on the grill, take it and place it face-up on your stack.
• If it matches a visible serving on another player’s stack, you may steal it instead.
• If your total matches your own visible serving (or a missing number on the grill), take the highest available serving on the grill with a lower value.

Failed Turns

Your turn fails if any of these happen:

• You roll only symbols you’ve already taken this turn.
• You end your turn with no worms in your total.
• Your total doesn’t match any visible serving.

If you fail and have at least one serving in your stack, you must return your topmost serving to the grill. Then, the highest-numbered serving still on the grill is removed from play.

End of Game

The game ends when no face-up servings remain on the grill.

Each player counts the total worms on all their servings. The player with the most worms wins. If tied, the player with the single highest-numbered serving wins.