1: Give every player paper and a pencil. The table shares two dice.Two or more can play. Written for ages 4 and up, because dice are small objects.
2: Decide how many rounds the game will last before anyone throws.The rules leave the number to the table. Five rounds make a quick game (our suggestion).
3: On your turn, throw both dice.One throw is the whole turn. There is no second try.
4: Put the dice side by side so they read as the largest number you can make.A 4 and a 6 make 64, not 46. The larger die goes first, in the tens place.
5: Write your number down and say it out loud.Sixty-four is 6 tens and 4 ones. Saying it aloud is our addition.
6: Pass the dice to the next player and say "Beat that!"The next player throws, builds a number and passes the dice on the same way.
7: When everyone has thrown, the largest number wins the round and scores 1 point.Keep the points as tally marks beside each name.
8: After the last round, the player with the most points wins.Level on points at the end? One more round between those players settles it (our ruling).
Beat That is a children's dice game about place value. It takes ordinary dice, paper and a pencil: no boxed set.
Read the full guide
Instructions for the Beat That dice game
Every turn is one throw and one decision: which die goes first. The larger die belongs in the tens place, so a 5 and a 2 are worth 52.
Place value, one sheet at a time
Three dice and more adds hundreds, then thousands. Smallest number wins turns the thinking around, with the smaller die in front. Decimals, targets and totals is for older players: tenths, a target to land near and a race to 500.
New to tens and ones? Draw two boxes on the paper and set a die in each before writing the number.
For a class, play in pairs, with two dice and one sheet of paper between partners.
Questions and answers
How do you play Beat That?
Throw two dice and arrange them into the largest number you can, so a 3 and a 5 make 53. Write it down, pass the dice and say "Beat that!" The largest number of the round scores a point.
Is the dice game Beat That for kids?
Yes. It is an easy first dice game that practices number recognition, place value and comparing numbers. Young players start on two dice, and older ones move up to three or more.
How many dice do you need for Beat That?
Two for the standard game. Three make numbers in the hundreds, and one rule page gives older players seven. One set is enough, since the dice travel from player to player.
1: Give every player paper and a pencil. The table shares two dice.Two or more can play. Written for ages 4 and up, because dice are small objects.
2: Decide how many rounds the game will last before anyone throws.The rules leave the number to the table. Five rounds make a quick game (our suggestion).
3: On your turn, throw both dice.One throw is the whole turn. There is no second try.
4: Put the dice side by side so they read as the largest number you can make.A 4 and a 6 make 64, not 46. The larger die goes first, in the tens place.
5: Write your number down and say it out loud.Sixty-four is 6 tens and 4 ones. Saying it aloud is our addition.
6: Pass the dice to the next player and say "Beat that!"The next player throws, builds a number and passes the dice on the same way.
7: When everyone has thrown, the largest number wins the round and scores 1 point.Keep the points as tally marks beside each name.
8: After the last round, the player with the most points wins.Level on points at the end? One more round between those players settles it (our ruling).
Show all 36 rows (28 more)
Three dice and more 7
1: Throw three dice and line them up from the largest die to the smallest.A 2, a 6 and a 4 make 642.
2: The first die is the hundreds, the second the tens and the third the ones.642 is 6 hundreds, 4 tens and 2 ones.
3: Two dice that match sit next to each other.A 5, a 3 and a 5 make 553.
4: The rest is the standard game: write it, say it and pass the dice on.The largest number of the round scores 1 point.
5: Four dice make a number in the thousands.A 3, a 1, a 6 and a 4 make 6,431: six thousand, four hundred thirty-one.
6: Older players can go up to seven dice, for a number in the millions.Seven is the most the rule pages name. The top throw is 6,666,666.
7: Say it to score (ours): the point counts only once the number is read aloud correctly.A second try at reading it is fine. Nobody else may read it for you.
Smallest number wins 7
1: Throw two dice as usual, then arrange them to make the smallest number you can.Now the smaller die goes first: a 4 and a 6 make 46.
2: Write it down, say it and pass the dice with the same two words.To beat it, the next player needs a number that is lower.
3: The smallest number of the round scores the point.Play as many rounds as you would in the standard game.
4: With three dice, line them up from the smallest die to the largest.A 2, a 6 and a 4 make 246.
5: A 1 on either die is the throw to hope for.It puts a 1 in the tens place. That happens on 11 of the 36 ways two dice can land.
6: Caller's choice (ours): the winner of a round calls largest or smallest for the next.The call comes before the dice are thrown.
7: Both at once (ours): write the largest and the smallest number from one throw.A 5 and a 2 give 52 and 25. The round has two points: one for each kind.
Decimals, targets and totals 6
1: Tenths (ours): throw two dice and put a decimal point between them.A 6 and a 4 can read 6.4 or 4.6. The larger, 6.4, is the one to write.
2: Hundredths (ours): throw three dice as ones, tenths and hundredths.A 3, a 5 and a 1 make 5.31 at most: five and thirty-one hundredths.
3: Target 50 (ours): arrange two dice to land as close to 50 as you can.A 4 and a 6 can be 46 or 64. 46 is 4 away and 64 is 14 away, so write 46.
4: In Target 50 the closest number wins the round. Pick a new target for the next game.Any number from 11 to 66 works as a target.
5: Running total: add each round's number to your score. The first player to reach 500 wins.One rule page sets a score such as 500 in place of rounds. Adding up the numbers is our reading; an average two-dice throw makes about 47.
6: Greater or less (ours): after a round, write two of its numbers with > or < between.64 > 46 reads: sixty-four is greater than forty-six.
Ties and table rulings 8
1: A tie for the largest number: the tied players throw again.Only those players throw. The larger number takes the point.
2: Doubles read the same either way.Two 3s are 33, for the largest number and for the smallest.
3: The dice stay as thrown. Slide them into place, but never turn one over.Our ruling: the number comes from the faces that landed up.
4: Wrote the smaller number by mistake? Fix it before the dice are passed.Our ruling. Once the dice have moved on, the written number stands.
5: A die that rolls off the table is thrown again by itself.Our ruling. The die that stayed on the table keeps its face.
6: With two dice, two players tie about one round in 20.Counted from the 36 ways two dice can land: 11 chances in 216.
7: A 6 on either die means a number in the sixties.That happens on 11 throws in 36, a little under one in three.
8: The best throw is double 6. It can be tied but never beaten.It reads 66 with two dice. A player throws it once in 36 turns on average.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-08, in our own words. Beat That is a children's dice game with no single rule book, and rule pages differ in the details. The standard game (two dice, paper and a pencil; the dice put in order to make the highest number; the number written down; the dice passed on with the challenge to beat that; one point a round for the highest number; the number of rounds agreed in advance; three dice for a number in the hundreds; practice in place value and in greater than and less than) was checked on 2026-10-08 against the page of Kids Hope USA, https://kidshopeusa.org/beat-that-math-dice-game/. The smallest-number game, two dice for younger players and seven for older ones, and play to a set score such as 500 were checked the same day against https://icebreakerideas.com/dice-games/, and tied players throwing again against https://www.netexl.com/howtoplay/beat-that/. Rows and rulings marked ours are this site's own suggestions and are not official. The chances and the average were counted from the 36 ways two fair dice can land. Dice are small objects, so the page is written for ages 4 and up. This is the game played with ordinary dice, paper and a pencil: the page has no tie to any boxed game sold under the same name. Points only keep score. Licence: own work