With the normal settings, try to have at least 16+ points to use one card in one turn. But note that even with 18 points, there is sometimes value on rerolling 2 dices to get even more. This can be the case with 233556 where rerolling the 2 and the 6 can give you more than that. On the opposite, if you got 123344 it can be really hard to improve that score consistently.
But you really need to have a plan to win after a few turns. You can either:
- play it normally in 6 scoring turns (which require ~17 points in average) and 10 cards available (7 turns) and score more than your opponent. That leave you ~5 reroll to use whenever you want
- play it in 15 cards available in 5 scoring turns (which require ~20 points in average)(7 turns) which give one more reroll to your opponent but leave you a total of ~11 rerolls to use whenever you want which is massive. It can be good if your start is really bad
- force your opponent to play with 15 cards instead of 10. This is usually done when your opponent reroll a lot early on, which leave you the possibility to freeze them twice and hope they will need to skip their turn twice. This let you have one more reroll available
- having score advantage, being close to win in one turn, and force your opponent to use their freeze. Since the freeze is a bad scoring turn, that will let you be able to refresh all your 5 cards, and do a big scoring last turn with 4 rerolls. That's not great, but in mid/late game, that can be a fair plan.
The freeze is pretty bad. You should use it either situationnally close to the end of game (or with a plan to win). Or sometimes you can use it turn 1 if your roll is bad, and any reroll would be bad too (111236 per example).
A-mode (default) breakdown
Let's call the cards in order cards: A (2dice: freeze), B (series), C (two pairs), D (score 135s), E (score all without 6s).
- A is the worst one, it score at max 12, and when you can score 12 you want instead to goes for C. If you can score 11 you usually wan to goes for B. If you can score 10 with 5+5 you want to goes for D&E. If you can score 10 with 6+4 and another 3 you could go for B. That doesn't leave much good options to use it without wanting the freeze.
- B usually want 3456 for 18 points. 456 for 15 points is meh.
- C can make you have something good with two 6s. Even 3366 is 18 points which is fine.
- D is the worst one, it's usually done once E is out. When you have 4 or 5 rolls to do your final turn, if you get some 5s early, ending with D could be nice, especially if you don't roll 4s.
- E is one of the best. If you didn't got something good, you can reroll 1, 2, and 6s and reroll 6s after that, and got an high score around 22 pretty consistantly.
5 is the best face (work with C, D, and E), so you usually want to keep all your 5s.
First turn, I value one reroll 3 points.
Here is how i would play my first turn:
- if you have no 5, it's likely a bad roll. If you can score 14+ goes for it. If you can't and can score 10+ with freeze goes for it early on (later on, the freeze value depend how likely the opponent will score 100 before they need to pass again). Else, reroll all dices to try to get a 5. Repeat until card A & D are down.
- if you have a 5, goes for 20+ scoring. If you don't have that, first look for E outcomes: what would happen if you reroll your 6s and low dice? Does it look worth it without another reroll or with one?
- Even if you rolled no 6s, what would happen if you reroll your low dices and roll a 6? Can you score B and be fine (like if you rolled 112345 where a reroll is great)?
- If no reroll look good, score 16+
- if you decide to reroll with BCE available, you want to keep in order: x555 > 3455 > 2345 > 3445 > 345 / 355 / 445 > 35 / 55 > 566 > 45 / 466 > 5 > none. Unless you fully goes for E by rerolling 1 or 2 dice (or 3 if you plan two rerolls), and keep other dices.
Additionnal tips:
- keep 34 with one 5 and so be able to do E if you roll no 6, B if you roll one 6, and C if you roll two 6.
- even if you got 114566, you want to usually reroll 1166 because of all the possibility in the line above: you could roll 3&6 which lead you to B, or 4&5 for C, or get your 6s back (and so you are happy to not have three 6s instead), or get no 6 and score E
- if E is down, then rerolling 4 too could be nice to keep option of D
- nearly always reroll by putting down A then D, unless A is a fine option, or potentially if you got multiple 5s. Then put down C because B&E synergise with each other: with 345 you will always have something good to do with one or the other
- when having one card left, I like to put E back up to score high 33% of the time
- more you are behind without plan, and more you wanna take risks