General
Chouette is played with one player on one side (Box) and all others as opponents (each with their own cube).
The Box plays against all other players with a Captain commanding the Team (dice rolling, checker moving and final say). At the end of each game, the positions of Box and Team members are decided according to the rules of rotation below.
Each member of the Team has a doubling cube. A cube is in the game only if it has been turned and accepted.
Cube actions are made in Team order. A cough or similar action should be done prior to the Captain taking action by players considering action.
All cube actions are separate, i.e. the cube can be given to or by only some of the players.
When all Team cubes simultaneously are turned from the center (i.e. initial cubes only), Box must accept at least half the cubes or pass all cubes. Exception: in a 3-player chouette both initial cubes must be taken.
Note: This above rule often seems misplayed as any amount of cubes turned must all be accepted or dropped, even regardless of position. Beware! Mostly used by players that want maximum profit.
Initial Box, Captain and Team placement is settled by rolling dice. Freshly arrived players are added as last in the queue of players.
If a chouette has more than 5 players, either split into two or move the current Captain to the Box side (commonly called Partner), effectively making the Box side a multiplayer side like the Team side.
If not agreed on separately, only Jacoby and a single Automatic is used. Thus no Beavers, Raccoons etc.
Consultation
For checker play, and regardless of the Captain’s cube status, Captain may seek advice from any player whose cube is in the game. However, he may not give his own opinion unless his own cube is in the game. Those without a cube in the game may not consult.
Players may not consult (or comment) on Team cube decisions (current or imaginary).
Any negatively affected player (including the Box) can demand penalty if consulting is done when not allowed. For minor offenses the offending player’s cube is offensively frozen, only takes allowed for the current game. For repeated/major offenses or if the player is out of the game, original stake is used.
Temporarily away should be resolved by the Captain or whoever is next in order handling the absent player’s actions.
Scoring
Each player is handled separately. There are a multitude of ways to do scorekeeping so that exercise is left to the leader. Keeping the initial score keeping at a base value (1e) is recommended.
Scores should be verified by at two players after each round to spot discrepancies early.
Rotation is kept at the score sheet.
Rotation
If Captain defeats Box, either in the game or with the cube, then he becomes Box for the next game. If Box defeats Captain and makes an overall profit (>0, penalties not counted) against the Team, then he remains Box for the next game. If Box defeats Captain but does not make an overall profit, then the next-in-line team members become new Box and new Captain respectively, with old Box moving to the bottom of the order and old Captain immediately above him.
If the Box defeats the Captain the next player in the rotation becomes the Acting Captain (either becoming the new Captain or even Box after the current game).
If Captain defeats Box with a double, Captain then sits out the rest of the game, but will become Box for the next game. If other players are still in the game, the next player in line becomes Acting Captain (and remains scheduled to be Captain in the following game).
Miscellaneous
Only legal moves should be played, upon spotted it’s the responsibility of any current player (also dropped) to point out (usually move) mistakes.
The pip-count is considered common knowledge. If one team member, or Box, does a pip-count, it is recommended to announce it, two similar counts being the preferred result. Repeated wrong counting is frowned upon or ultimately treated as cheating.
These rules are mostly the same as the https://www.bkgm.com/variants/Chouette-ABA.html
Special thanks to Mary Hickey, her on-the-fly articles in GammonVillage at the start of the millenium were the real eye-opener on how chouette should be played (or, rather, enjoyed).