In today’s post: The Dice Game is easy to learn and play and tons of fun!
Welcome to the beginning of summer! Since we can all use some easy ideas for keeping the kids happy and occupied this time of year, I’ve decided to share one of our favorite games: the dice game.
This game has a number of different names, but growing up we just called it “the dice game.” The name comes from the fact that all you need to play it are six dice, which makes it absolutely perfect to pull out anytime you just really need people occupied for a while.
It’s also GREAT for playing on car rides, while waiting around in airports, or even lounging at the beach. You just need a hard surface to roll the dice on and a piece of paper to keep score with and you’re set.
I really like that even little kids can play this game with a bit of help – and every little kid I’ve ever met LOVES rolling dice.
The basic premise of the game is this: you roll six dice. Some combinations of dice will score points, while others don’t. You take out the dice that have scored points and then decide whether to keep that score, or re-roll the remaining dice to try to score more points. But if you roll again and don’t score points, you lose what you’ve earned so far. So the game moves quickly and there’s an element of risk that makes it really fun to play.
I’ve created a free printable instruction sheet and scoring chart, which you see below. You can download it by clicking here.
And if you’d rather watch directions instead of read them, I’ve also made a video that walks you through all the rules and different scoring combinations, so you can get playing with your kids in no time.
Have fun!
Looking for more kid fun at home? Visit these posts:
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CJ says
I grew up playing ‘dice’ with a few differences. We play with a small straight (1,2,3,4,5 or 2,3,4,5,6) being worth 1,500 points and a large straight (1,2,3,4,5,6,) being worth 3,000 points, as long as they are all rolled in the same throw.
One more difference was the opportunity to score on the previous player’s total. This really changes things up. Once you are ‘open’ you have the option of rolling the dice that the immediately proceeding player didn’t use to score. This cannot skip players. For example, if the next player in line isn’t open, decides not to take the chance, or doesn’t roll a counter the opportunity is lost for everyone else. If you score it adds onto the score the previous player took. Ex. Billy scores 1,000 leaving 3 dice on the table. the next player is open and takes the 3 remaining dice. They roll a five (50 points). If they hold they score 1,050. Play continues according to the original rules. This has actually made it all the way around the table with each player scoring additional points. Due to the increased scoring opportunities, the game is over at 25,000 points.
Brittany Chiles says
You can also get the board game Risk and Roll 2000 which is pretty much the same as this. They add a card element for each turn which gives different events (such as two’s are worth 20, no harm no foul, don’t roll out and you can take away 200 from anyone’s score). Lots of fun, my kids at work really enjoy it!
Judith Jones says
We call it Bupkis. Also, there’s another dice game called Farckle. All with the same scoring concept. I still enjoy a good game of Yahtzee
Bobbi says
Thanks for the cheat sheet, it is so much better than just trying to remember the rules!
Jody says
I too have played it for many years. We play it with 5 dice and have to get 5,000 points. I always have dice in my purse!