Horizons

Horizons is a gambling dice game, popular among the sailors of the Aegaic Ocean. It is played on ships, in seedy taverns and in shanty-pubs all along the Coast of Wonders.

[A/N: Horizons is based on the real-world game of Crown and Anchor]

## Gameplay

Horizons is played with three six-sided dice and a special playing mat, all marked with the six symbols used in play: heart, spade, club, diamond, sun and anchor. Players bet amounts of money by placing it on one of the six symbols. A dealer then throws the three dice. If one of the symbols on the dice match a bet, the dealer will pay that player an amount equal to his bet, in addition to his bet back. If two of the symbols match the dealer pays twice the bet, and if all three dice match the symbol of the bet the dealer pays out three times the bet. Otherwise, the bet is lost.

## Mats and Dice

A Horizon set includes a playing mat, with the six symbols marked in large squares on it, usually in two rows of three, and three dice. Dice come in many varieties, but most feature Heart opposite Spade, Club opposite Diamond and Sun opposite Anchor.

Many different styles of mats and dice appear in taverns and in casual play. Some are very intricate and detailed, with ivory or whale-tooth used for dice and embroidered mats that feature birds and flowers besides the six symbols. These might be used for play in the higher-end casinos of Galvia or Ismarus. Others are very plain. Sailors might carry around their own mat for play on the high seas, drawn on a piece of paper, and using with rough, wooden dice for play.

## Terminology

With the long history of the game and its background among sailors, special terms have been developed to refer to different outcomes of games, as well as the game's components.

Triples, or the same symbol appearing on all three dice, is extremely unlikely, and is called a *Horizon*. This is where the game derives its name from. According to which of the six symbols the Horizon appeared on (often referred to with the phrase *What is on the Horizon?*), there can be different names:

* *Love*, for Hearts
* *Death*, for Spades (sometimes seen as a negative outcome)
* *a Forest*, for Clubs
* *Treasure*, for Diamonds
* *Sunset*, for Suns (alt. *a Crown*; sometimes seen the best outcome of the game)
* *a Harbor*, for Anchors

Pairs, or two of the same symbol, are rare but come in many different combinations. Over the years, many names have been given to each combination. Many of the names share some semblances to the names of Horizons, though many others are completely different. Examples include:

* *a Cutlass*, for two Spades
* *a Kiss*, for two Hearts
* *Noon*, for two Suns
* *Sunken Treasure*, two Diamonds and an Anchor
* *First Date*, two Hearts and a Sun
* *Highway Robbers*, two Spades and a Club
* *The Wench*, two Anchors and a Heart

When a player wins nothing in a round, that player has *Sunk* for that round. When a player is so unlucky as to lose all of his bets in a single game, that player has *Sunk to the Bottom*. (They are then often ridiculed among their ship-mates or table-partners.)

The playing mat is sometimes called *the Map*. This is most often done by sailors on their ships.

Dice thrown off the mat are called *Dead*, or more commonly *Off the Map*. Bets for that round are returned to their owners.

## Variants

Some versions of Horizons assign values to each symbol, adding different rules for betting on different symbols. This often includes different amounts that must be bet, and higher pay-outs for different symbols.

Rules for casual players might alternate the dealer, such that everyone gets a turn and no-one wins more gold than the others. This is opposed to play in taverns and gambling houses, in which cases there is often a designated dealer who takes the coins for the house.