The game consists of a board and twelve dice, three for each of the four players. Each players starts at one side of the board with a die numbered 1, one numbered 3 and one numbered 5. These numbers specify the distance a die can move over the board. The goal is to get three dice in a row. Dice cannot jump over other dice, so the players try to block each other. Instead of a move, a player can turn a die to any number. The central field of the board cannot be occupied, and the eight fields around it double the score when a player gets his/her row done on them. Alea was published in 1980 in Göttingen as part of Dieter Hartmann's self publishing line.