Dice Games: 8 Easy Dice Games and How to Play Them

A handful of dice is the smallest game kit there is. It fits in a pocket, it needs no board, and most dice games can be explained in a minute. Some are pure luck. Others reward a good decision about when to stop.

These are eight dice games worth knowing, with what each one needs, how many can play and how a turn works. None of them needs more than dice, a pen and paper.

What you need

• Dice. Most of the games below use three, five or six ordinary dice. Pig needs only one.
• A pen and paper for the scores.
• Something to roll into, such as a tray or a box lid, so the dice stay on the table.

No dice in the house? Our online dice roller rolls one to six dice at a time, so a phone in the middle of the table can stand in for a full set.

1. Farkle: six dice and a choice every roll

Farkle is the best known game of its kind. You roll six dice, set aside at least one scoring die, and then decide: keep the points you have, or roll the remaining dice and try for more. If a roll has nothing that scores, you farkle and lose everything from that turn.

Single ones are worth 100 and single fives 50, three of a kind scores more, and the first player to 10,000 wins. Every turn is a choice between safe points and a bigger turn, which is what keeps everyone watching the table.

• Players: two or more.
• Dice: six.

There is a full guide to Farkle rules and scoring, with a chart of every scoring combination.

2. Yacht: five dice and twelve boxes

Yacht is the older game behind the boxed game Yahtzee. On your turn you roll five dice up to three times, keeping any dice you like between rolls. Then you score the result in one of twelve boxes on your sheet.

Each box can be used only once. Six of them collect a single number, from ones up to sixes. The others want a combination, such as a full house, four of a kind or a straight. Five of a kind is a yacht, worth 50 points.

The skill is in choosing the box. A poor roll still has to go somewhere, so part of the game is deciding which box to give up.

• Players: one or more.
• Dice: five.

Generala, popular across Latin America, is a close relative built on the same idea.

3. Bunco: a dice game for a big group

Bunco is made for a crowd. The classic game has twelve players at three tables of four, with partners sitting opposite each other. There are six rounds, and the round number is the target: in round three, every 3 you roll scores a point.

Roll three of the round number at once and you have a Bunco, worth 21 points. Players change tables and partners after every round, so by the end of the evening everyone has played with almost everyone.

• Players: four or more, best with twelve.
• Dice: three for each table.

There is a separate guide to Bunco rules, with the scoring and how players move between tables.

4. Pig: one die and one decision

Pig is the simplest push-your-luck game there is. On your turn you roll one die as many times as you like, adding each roll to your total for the turn. Stop whenever you choose and keep that total. Roll a 1, though, and the turn ends with nothing.

The first player to 100 wins. That is the whole game, and it is harder to play well than it sounds. The real question on every roll is whether to stop, especially when someone else is close to 100.

• Players: two or more.
• Dice: one.

For a faster version, play with two dice. A single 1 ends your turn with nothing, and two 1s wipe out your whole score.

5. Chicago: two dice, eleven rounds

Chicago has exactly eleven rounds, one for each total two dice can make, from 2 to 12. In each round, every player rolls once. If your dice add up to the number of the round, you score that many points.

After the round for 12, the highest total wins. It takes about ten minutes, there is nothing to decide, and any number of people can play.

• Players: any number.
• Dice: two.

6. Drop Dead: roll until every die is gone

Roll five dice. If none of them shows a 2 or a 5, add up the dice, write down the total and roll all five again. If any dice show a 2 or a 5, that roll scores nothing and those dice are out. Keep rolling the dice you have left until every one of them has dropped dead.

The highest total wins. There are no decisions, just a run of rolls that can last much longer than anyone expects.

• Players: two or more.
• Dice: five.

7. Going to Boston: keep the best, roll the rest

Roll three dice and keep the highest. Roll the other two and keep the higher of those. Then roll the last die once more. Add up the three dice you kept, and the highest total wins the round.

Play first to five rounds, or play a set number of rounds and add up the totals. A game takes a few minutes, which makes it a good one to play while you wait for something else to start.

• Players: two or more.
• Dice: three.

8. Board games that run on dice

Some of the most played dice games come with a board. In Ludo, a single die drives a race of four tokens, and captures and safe squares turn each roll into a small decision. Snakes and ladders is pure luck: the die decides every move, and the board does the rest. Parcheesi, the American relative of Ludo, uses two dice and adds bonus moves and blockades.

Ludo Jim and Snakes and Ladders Jim are free to play online, with private rooms for playing with friends.

Yahtzee and Parcheesi are trademarks of Hasbro. Gamejim is not connected with Hasbro.

Luck or skill: which one to pick

• Pure luck: Chicago, Drop Dead, Going to Boston, Bunco and snakes and ladders.
• Knowing when to stop: Pig and Farkle.
• Planning ahead: Yacht and Ludo.

For two players, Pig, Farkle and Yacht all work well. For a big group, Bunco is the one that was made for it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest dice game to learn?

Pig. You need one die and one rule: roll as often as you like, but a 1 loses the points from that turn. Chicago is just as easy to learn, but it has no decisions in it at all.

What dice games can two people play?

Pig, Farkle and Yacht are all good with two, because every turn has a decision in it. Chicago and Drop Dead also work with two, but they are pure luck.

What is a good dice game for adults?

Farkle and Yacht. Both are quick to learn, and both reward knowing when to stop or which box to fill, so the better player wins more often over an evening. For a large group, Bunco is the usual choice.

What dice game uses six dice?

Farkle. You roll all six at the start of your turn and set aside the scoring dice as you go.

Can you play dice games without dice?

Yes. An online dice roller rolls the dice for you, so you can play any game on this list with just a phone. Each player can roll on their own phone, or one phone can be passed around the table.