What you need
One six-sided die, a pencil and paper. That is all. Pig is one of the simplest “jeopardy” dice games, where every decision is whether to risk what you have for more. It was first described in print by the gambling writer John Scarne in 1945 and is widely used in maths classes to teach probability.
Setup
Write the players’ names across the top of the paper. Decide who goes first, for example by having everyone roll the die: highest starts. Play passes to the left.
How to play
On your turn, roll the die as many times as you like:
- If you roll a 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, add it to your turn total and decide: roll again or hold.
- If you choose to hold, add the turn total to your score. Your turn ends.
- If you roll a 1, you score nothing for this turn. The turn total is lost and the die passes on.
Your banked score is never at risk; only the points from the current turn are.
Example. You roll 5, then 2: turn total 7. You roll again and get a 1. You score nothing and the die moves on. The next player rolls 4, 5, 3, 5, 6 and holds, adding 23 to their score.
Scoring and winning
The first player to reach 100 or more wins. dice-play.com adds a fairness rule many families use: when someone reaches 100, the players who have not yet had the same number of turns get to finish the round, and the highest score wins. Wikipedia’s rules simply give the game to the first player to 100. Agree on which one you play.
Common variants
- Two-dice Pig: roll two dice. A single 1 ends the turn with no score; snake eyes (two 1s) also wipes out your entire banked score.
- Big Pig: as two-dice Pig, but two 1s add 25 to the turn total and any other double adds twice its value.
- Two dice, gentler version (dice-play.com): a single 1 ends the turn, a double 1 scores 25 points for the turn, and any other double scores double.
- Skunk: a group game where everyone stands and rides the same rolls; you sit down to bank. Five rounds, one for each letter of SKUNK.
- Pass the Pigs: the commercial game with two little rubber pigs instead of dice is a cousin of two-dice Pig.
Tips for first games
- Hold at 20 is the classic simple strategy: keep rolling until your turn total is 20 or more, then hold.
- Research by Todd Neller and Clifton Presser found that holding at 25 does a little better against perfect play.
- When an opponent is close to 100, take more risk: a safe 15 points will not stop them winning.
- When you need only a few points to win, roll until you get them.
- For a quicker game with young children, play to 50.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I roll a 1 on my first roll? You score nothing and your turn is over.
Can I lose points I have already banked? Not with one die. In two-dice Pig, rolling two 1s wipes out your banked score.
Do I have to roll at least once? Yes. Every turn starts with a roll; you can hold after any roll that is not a 1.
What is a good number to stop at? Around 20 to 25 for most of the game, less when you are close to 100.
How many players can play? Any number from two up; with large groups, Skunk is more fun because everyone plays at once.
