# Rules Of Midnight
PlayPalace team, 2026.

## TL;DR
Midnight (also known as 1-4-24) is a classic dice game that has been a pub and party staple for generations. It is a game of risk management and dice selection: you roll six dice, but you can only score if your final dice include both a 1 and a 4. The remaining four dice are summed for your score, with a perfect 24 (four sixes) being the best possible result -- hence the name 1-4-24.

The game is played over a series of rounds, and the player who wins the most rounds wins the overall game.

## Gameplay
A game of Midnight consists of a configurable number of rounds (1 to 20, defaulting to 5). Each round, every player takes a turn rolling dice. At the end of the round, the player with the highest score wins that round.

### Your Turn
On your turn, you start with six standard dice. Your first move is always to roll all six.

After each roll, you must keep at least one die. Kept dice become locked on your next roll -- they are set aside permanently and cannot be changed for the rest of your turn. You then reroll whatever dice remain.

This continues until all six dice are locked. At that point (or whenever you choose to bank with all dice decided), your turn is scored.

You can also choose to bank early once you have rolled at least once and all your dice are either kept or locked. This ends your turn and moves on to scoring.

If at any point you have only one die left unlocked after a roll, your turn is automatically scored -- there is nothing left to decide.

### Qualifying
As mentioned above, to score at all, your final set of six dice must contain both a 1 and a 4. If you are missing either one, you are disqualified for that round and score zero. This is the central tension of the game -- you need to secure a 1 and a 4, but every die you lock for qualification is a die that is not contributing to your point total.

### Scoring a Turn
As mentioned above, if you have both a 1 and a 4 among your six dice, one 1 and one 4 are removed, and the remaining four dice are summed.

If you do not have both a 1 and a 4, you are disqualified and score 0.

### Winning a Round
After all players have taken their turn, the qualified player with the highest score wins the round. If multiple players tie for the highest score, each of them is awarded a round win. If nobody qualifies, no one wins the round.

### Winning the Game
After all rounds have been played, the player with the most round wins is the overall winner. If there is a tie in round wins, those players share the victory.

### Example Turn
It is the start of round 1 and you are up first.

You roll all six dice: 3-1-5-4-2-6. Nice -- you already have a 1 and a 4. You want to lock those in right away, so you keep the 1 and the 4. You also keep the 6, since that is the highest remaining die and will contribute to your score. You now have three dice locked (1, 4, 6) and three to reroll.

You roll your remaining three dice: 2-5-3. The 5 is decent, so you keep it. You reroll the other two.

They come up 6-6. You keep both. All six dice are now decided, so your turn is scored: you have a 1 and a 4 (qualified!), and the other four dice are 6, 5, 6, 6. Your score is 6+5+6+6 = 23. Not a bad round at all.

## Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcuts specific to the game of Midnight:
* 1-6: Toggle keeping/rerolling a die (by index in default mode, or by face value in Quentin C mode).
* Shift+1-6: Keep a die by face value (Quentin C dice keeping style only).
* R: Roll the dice.
* B: Bank your score (end your turn once all dice are decided).

## Game Theory / Tips
* Lock your 1 and 4 as early as possible. Without them you score nothing, so when you see them, grab them. Everything else is secondary.
* Once you are qualified (1 and 4 secured), keep the highest dice you can. Sixes are gold; fives are solid. Do not waste a keep on a 2 or 3 unless you are on your last roll and have no choice.
* Pay attention to what other players score. If the round leader posted a 15, you know you need at least 16 to beat them -- take risks accordingly.
* In a game with many rounds, consistency beats flashiness. Qualifying every round with modest scores (say, 14-16) will usually beat a player who swings between 0 and 24.