How to Play the Pig Dice Game

How to Play the Pig Dice Game | Rules, Instructions, and More

What is the Pig Dice Game?

Pig dice is a simple addition game of risk and reward. Keep rolling a single die to improve your score. But get too piggy, roll a 1, and lose all your points for that turn.

Objective

The objective of the pig dice game is to score 100 points before your opponents, by rolling a single die to earn points.

Equipment

  • 1 die
  • Scoresheet
  • Writing utensil

Number of players

The pig dice game is played with 2 or more players. To keep the action going, we recommend 2-4 players.

Skills

  • Addition
  • Calculated risk / basic probability

Why we like it

The pig dice game is simple to play, but is also fast-moving and an exciting game of risk and reward. Plus, players learn and reinforce math skills, such as additional skills and are introduced to the basic concepts of probability.

Pig Dice Scoring

Scoring is simple in pig dice:

  • Numbers 2-6 on the die score their respective numbers and add to a running total, with a target of 100 points.
  • Roll a 1 and lose all your points for that round (but not points earned in previous rounds.

How to Play Pig Dice

1: Grab a single die and 2 or more players

All you need to play a game of pig dice is a single die and a friend (or more)!

2: Determine who goes first

We suggest doing a roll-off to determine who goes first. Each player rolls the die once and the highest roll goes first, with play continuing clockwise. If players tie on the highest roll, the tying players roll again until a winner of the roll-off is determined.

3: Play the first turn

Roll the die to start the turn

The first player rolls a single die to begin the game. Their goal is to roll a number 2-6 to score points, and avoid rolling a one, which ends their turn. If the player has a scoring roll, they’re faced with a decision!

Choose to reroll OR bank the score

Every turn ends in one of two ways. A player rolls a one during the turn and scores zero points for the turn, or the player banks their score after a point scoring roll (2-6).

Reroll

Players may choose to improve their score during a turn by continuing to roll after any scoring roll and accumulating more points.

For example:

  • 1st roll: player rolls a 4 and has 4 (temporary) points. They choose to reroll
  • 2nd roll: player rolls a 6 and now has 10 (temporary) points (4 + 6). They choose to reroll.
  • If, on their 3rd roll, they roll a 1, all the points for that turn are wiped out and they score a zero.

Bank the score

After any scoring roll, the player can choose to “bank” their score, which ends their turn, while also locking in all the cumulative points scored during the round. Points are not added to the score sheet until they are banked.

For example:

  • 1st roll: player rolls a 4 and has 4 (temporary) points. They choose to reroll
  • 2nd roll: player rolls a 6 and now has 10 (temporary) points (4 + 6). They choose to bank to points and add 10 points to their scoresheet. Their turn is over.

4: Alternate turns to complete the first round

Players alternate turns with two players, or rotate clockwise with three or more players. The rules for each turn are follow the same structure above.

5: Continue taking turns until one player earns 100 points and wins the game

During the second and subsequent rounds, the turns continue as outlined above. However, scoring is cumulative across all rounds and the first player to achieve 100 points wins the game. Rolling a 1 does not wipe out points banked in previous rounds.

Pig Dice Game Video Tutorial

Variations

2 dice pig

You can play Pig with two dice. The additional rules include:

  • Add both dice for the score on each roll.
  • Roll a 1 on EITHER die and you lose the points for that turn and your turn ends.
  • Roll a 1 on BOTH dice and you lose the points for ALL points from not only that turn, but previous turns as well. And your turn ends.

Charity turn

Some people play a version of the game which allows an extra turn for all opponents after a player achieves 100 points. This adds some excitement and high risk taking as players press their luck to try to pass the 100+ point total. It also challenges the first player to go beyond 100 points if they have opponents closely trailing them.

Other pig dice games

There are a number of other pig-related games. Many of them are slight variations of the Pig Dice game outlined above in this article:

Pass the pigs

First to score 100, but you’re rolling small toy pigs, not dice. And the point scoring is different.

Pig mania

An older version of the “Pass the pigs” game

Stinky pig

More similar to hot potato

Pop the pig

A hamburger eating pig game. LOL.

Pig Dice FAQs

What is the name of the pig dice game?

Well… it’s actually called the Pig Dice Game, as we’ve outlined above. But you may also be looking for the Pass the Pigs game, Pop! The Pig, or Stinky Pig. You can learn about each of these in our variations section above.

How many dice are used in Pig?

The Pig Dice game is normally played with 1 dice, as outlined in this tutorial. You can also play with 2 dice (as outlined in the variations section above) with 3 simple rule changes.

What board game has pigs as dice?

The game Pass the Pigs uses pigs as dice and different scores