Dice Games Explained: Yahtzee, Pig, Farkle And Shut The Box

Five dice and a pencil is the cheapest games collection you can own, and it covers a rainy afternoon, a pub table and a camping trip.

Here are the rules and scoring for the ones worth knowing.

Yahtzee

• Five dice, any number of players, about twenty minutes. You need a scoresheet - draw one, it's thirteen rows.
• On your turn, roll all five dice. You may re-roll any of them twice more, keeping whichever you like between rolls.
• Then score in one of thirteen boxes, each usable once: ones through sixes in the upper section, then three of a kind, four of a kind, full house (25), small straight (30), large straight (40), Yahtzee - five of a kind (50) - and chance.
• Upper section bonus: 35 points if your ones-to-sixes total is 63 or more.
• If you can't or won't score, you must put a zero in a box. Choosing which box to sacrifice is the actual game.
• A second Yahtzee scores 100 bonus points in most house rules.

Pig - the simplest good dice game there is

• One die, any number of players, five minutes to learn and endlessly replayable.
• On your turn, roll the die as many times as you like, adding each roll to your turn total.
• Roll a one and you lose everything accumulated this turn and your turn ends.
• Stop whenever you like and bank your turn total to your score.
• First to 100 wins. The whole game is knowing when to stop, which is a better lesson than most board games manage.

Farkle

• Six dice, two or more players, about twenty minutes.
• Roll all six. Scoring dice: a single one is 100, a single five is 50, three of a kind is the number times 100 (three ones is 1,000).
• Set aside at least one scoring die, then choose to roll the rest or bank.
• If a roll produces no scoring dice at all, that's a farkle - you lose everything from that turn.
• Set aside all six scoring dice and you may roll all six again, keeping your total.
• First to 10,000 wins, or 5,000 for a shorter game.

Shut the Box

• Traditionally played on a wooden box with numbered flaps one to nine, but a written row of numbers works fine.
• Roll two dice and close any combination of numbers adding up to your total - a nine can close the 9, or the 5 and 4, or the 6, 2 and 1.
• Keep rolling until you can't make your total from the numbers still open.
• Your score is the sum of the numbers left open. Lowest score wins, and closing every number is 'shutting the box'.
• House rule: once 7, 8 and 9 are closed you may roll just one die.

Beetle and Liar's Dice

• Beetle drive: roll to draw a beetle - 6 for the body, 5 for the head, then legs, eyes, feelers and tail. You need the body before anything else and the head before eyes or feelers. First to complete one wins the round. Pure luck, which is why it works for every age.
• Liar's Dice: each player has five dice under a cup. Players bid on how many of a number are showing across all cups - 'four fives'. Bids must increase. Anyone may call the previous bid a lie, and all cups are lifted: if the bid was good, the caller loses a die, if not, the bidder does.
• Ones are usually wild in Liar's Dice. Lose all your dice and you're out.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Five dice, a pencil and paper covers all of these.
• Pig teaches more about risk than any board game.
• Beetle drive is the one for a village hall full of mixed ages.

Where to shop next

• Traditional British party games explained
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Church hall and village fete games
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Irish, Scottish and Welsh party games
• Seaside and beach games
• Clapping games and skipping rhymes
• Card games your nan taught you
• Pen and paper games
• Playground games we all played
• Board games hub
• Kids' party games by age
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Free feel good tools
• Shop cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Yahtzee?

Roll five dice, re-roll any of them up to twice more, then score in one of thirteen boxes - ones through sixes, three and four of a kind, full house, straights, Yahtzee and chance. Each box is used once, and scoring 63 or more in the upper section earns a 35 point bonus.

What are the rules of Pig?

Roll one die repeatedly, adding each roll to your turn total. Roll a one and you lose the lot and your turn ends. Bank whenever you like and first to 100 wins.

How do you play Farkle?

Roll six dice. Ones score 100, fives score 50 and three of a kind scores the number times 100. Set aside at least one scoring die and choose to roll again or bank. A roll with no scoring dice is a farkle and costs you the whole turn. First to 10,000 wins.

What are the rules of Shut the Box?

Roll two dice and close any combination of open numbers adding up to your total. Keep going until you can't make the total. Your score is the sum of the numbers still open, lowest wins, and closing all nine is shutting the box.

What dice games can young children play?

Pig, beetle drive and Shut the Box. All three are luck-based with simple addition, so a six year old and a grandparent are genuinely evenly matched.

Do you sell games?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a pack of cards, some dice, a pencil or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.