It is not known where this popular pub game originated although it is thought to have been invented in Northern France with Normandy or the Channel Islands as the more likely birthplace. Shut the box has been played in these regions for at least 2 hundred years and was a very popular bar game with sailors and fishermen. Shut the Box appeared as an English pub game from the middle of the twentieth century supposedly brought from the Channel Islands in 1958. Shut the Box as a pub game has many names, depending on geographic location, such as Canoga which has lead to unconfirmed rumours that Shut the Box is also common in Zambia.
Shut the Box quickly became a firm pub game and gambling favourite using two dice and a special wooden playing tray. Numbers 1 - 9 appear on the tray in a row, each of which has a method of covering the number such as a lid or sliding cover. Each player repeatedly throws the dice and attempts to eliminate a number or pair of numbers every throw. The turn ends when the player can no longer cover any numbers, at this point the player's total is calculated from the numbers remaining uncovered. The aim of this traditional pub game is to cover all the numbers or "shut the box" which gives the player a perfect score of zero.
Unlike shuffleboard or shove ha’penny Shut the Box relies on skill with a little judgement. Shut the Box is a game for all ages and abilities as all that is required is a simple dice toss.
A high quality Shut the Box bar game compendium which contains all you need to challenge your friends to one of 17 dice and card games!The Shut the Box game box is made from a deluxe mahogany with an attached high quality green baize dice table. If Shut the Box has always seemed to be a mind taxing game to you, don't worry this pack comes complete with all the rules, and even the rules for 6 dice based games and 10 card games!
Pack Contains:
1 wooden Shut the Box tray
2 dice
5 poker dice
1 pack of cards
Rules for Shut the Box
Rules for 16 other dice and card games
Dimensions:
Shut the Box: H 33mm L 305mm W 225mm
Dice: H 15mm W 15mm D 15mm
Cards: L 87mm W 57mm
