Press Print this list for the standard game: seven steps to draw a beetle one roll at a time.
Beetle Dice Game
1: Give every player a pencil and a blank sheet, and put one die in the middle.Two to six players a die. A bigger room splits into tables, as on the Beetle drive sheet.
2: Roll in turn, one roll each, and pass the die to the left.Each roll names one part of the beetle, as the Part chart sheet shows.
3: Wait for a 6 before drawing anything: the body comes first.Until your 6 lands, every other number is a lost turn.
4: With a body on the page, a 5 adds the head, a 4 a wing and a 3 a leg.Wings and legs join the body, so they may arrive before the head.
5: The head must be there before a 2 adds an antenna or a 1 adds an eye.A 1 or a 2 rolled too soon draws nothing.
6: A number you no longer need is a lost turn.A beetle has room for one body, one head, two wings, six legs, two antennae and two eyes.
7: The first player with all fourteen parts calls Beetle and wins.Check the drawing against the chart before the next round starts.
The beetle dice game is a drawing race for one die. A 6 draws the body, and then each number adds a part: head, wings, legs, antennae and eyes. The first finished beetle, fourteen parts in all, wins.
Read the full guide
How to play beetle dice game, step by step
The page opens on Standard game. Nothing is drawn before a 6, and the head must be on before an eye or an antenna. Part chart in the menu under Print this list lists what each number draws and how many of it a beetle has.
A beetle drive and other creatures
Beetle drive for a party runs many rounds at tables of four: the first call of Beetle stops the whole room, and players change tables between rounds. Scoring a whole evening adds the cards up. Other creatures to draw holds six charts of our own, from a ladybug to a caterpillar.
The page does not roll. One real die for each table of four keeps the turns quick.
Draw the body large. Six legs, two wings and a head all have to join it.
Questions and answers
What are the beetle dice game rules?
Roll one die in turn. A 6 draws the body, a 5 the head, a 4 a wing, a 3 a leg, a 2 an antenna and a 1 an eye. The body comes first, the head before eyes and antennae. First whole beetle wins.
How many parts does the beetle have?
Fourteen in the traditional game: one body, one head, two wings, six legs, two antennae and two eyes. Each part needs its own roll, so the six legs take six rolls of 3.
Is there a beetle dice game printable?
Yes. Press Print this list and the sheet on screen prints, each row with its ruling. Choose Part chart in the menu first for a sheet to lay on each table. Players draw on blank paper, so no beetle outline is needed.
What is a beetle drive?
A party of many rounds of beetle, played at tables of four. When one player finishes, every table stops and counts parts. The fullest drawing at each table moves up a table and the emptiest moves down, and the scores are added at the end.
1: Give every player a pencil and a blank sheet, and put one die in the middle.Two to six players a die. A bigger room splits into tables, as on the Beetle drive sheet.
2: Roll in turn, one roll each, and pass the die to the left.Each roll names one part of the beetle, as the Part chart sheet shows.
3: Wait for a 6 before drawing anything: the body comes first.Until your 6 lands, every other number is a lost turn.
4: With a body on the page, a 5 adds the head, a 4 a wing and a 3 a leg.Wings and legs join the body, so they may arrive before the head.
5: The head must be there before a 2 adds an antenna or a 1 adds an eye.A 1 or a 2 rolled too soon draws nothing.
6: A number you no longer need is a lost turn.A beetle has room for one body, one head, two wings, six legs, two antennae and two eyes.
7: The first player with all fourteen parts calls Beetle and wins.Check the drawing against the chart before the next round starts.
Show all 32 rows (25 more)
Part chart (one die) 6
1: An eye, on the head. A beetle has two.Needs the head first. Each 1 draws one eye, so two rolls of 1 finish the pair.
2: An antenna, on top of the head. A beetle has two.Needs the head first. A plain line with a dot on the end will do.
3: A leg, joined to the body. A beetle has six.Three legs a side. Six separate rolls of 3 are needed, which is why legs decide most games.
4: A wing, joined to the body. A beetle has two.One wing for each roll of 4.
5: The head, joined to the front of the body. There is one.Needs the body first. It opens the way for eyes and antennae.
6: The body, a big oval. There is one, and nothing is drawn before it.The whole beetle hangs on this roll, so draw it large.
Beetle drive for a party 7
1: Seat the room at tables of four, with one die and a pile of paper on each.Number the tables. Each player keeps one score card for the whole evening.
2: All tables start a round together on the host's word.Within a table, play is the standard game.
3: The first player in the room to finish calls Beetle, and every table stops.Pencils down at once, wherever each drawing has reached.
4: Each player counts the parts drawn and writes the number on the score card.A finished beetle is 14. Count legs, wings, eyes and antennae one by one.
5: At each table, the fullest beetle moves up a table and the emptiest moves down.The other two stay. Ties are settled by one roll of the die.
6: Play an agreed number of rounds with fresh paper each time.Agree the number before round one. Six suits a children's party, twelve a full evening.
7: Add the score card: the highest total of parts wins the drive.Some drives give the prize for the most finished beetles. Say which before round one.
Other creatures to draw (ours) 6
Butterfly: 6 body, 5 head, 4 a top wing, 3 a bottom wing, 2 an antenna, 1 a wing spot.Our chart. Two top wings, two bottom wings, two antennae and four spots: twelve parts.
Caterpillar: 6 head, 5 a body segment, 4 a pair of feet, 3 an eye, 2 an antenna, 1 a leaf.Our chart. Five segments, each with one pair of feet, then two eyes, two antennae and a leaf to eat.
Crab: 6 shell, 5 a claw, 4 a leg on the left, 3 a leg on the right, 2 an eye, 1 a bubble.Our chart. Two claws, three legs a side, two eyes and two bubbles: thirteen parts.
Ladybug: 6 body, 5 head, 4 a wing line, 3 a leg, 2 a spot, 1 an antenna.Our chart. One wing line, six legs, four spots and two antennae: fifteen parts with the body and head.
Snail: 6 shell, 5 foot, 4 head, 3 an eye stalk, 2 a swirl on the shell, 1 a trail.Our chart. The shell comes first, then the foot under it. Two stalks, three swirls and one trail.
Spider: 6 body, 5 head, 4 a leg on the left, 3 a leg on the right, 2 an eye, 1 a thread.Our chart. Four legs a side, two eyes and one thread to hang from: thirteen parts.
Scoring a whole evening 6
A drawing with a body, a head and three legs scores 5.Parts count only if they were rolled. Nothing is sketched in ahead of its roll.
A player still waiting for a 6 scores 0 for that round.It happens to everyone. On average the body takes six rolls to arrive.
The caller of Beetle scores 14 once the table has checked the drawing.A wrong call, with a part missing, costs nothing. Play goes on.
Level at the end of the evening: the tied players play one more round against each other.First of them to a finished beetle takes the prize.
One point for every part on the page when Beetle is called.Body 1, head 1, wings 2, legs 6, antennae 2, eyes 2: 14 for a full beetle.
Over twelve rounds the best possible card is 168.That is twelve finished beetles, which nobody is likely to manage.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-02, in our own words. The traditional chart (6 the body, 5 the head, 4 a wing, 3 a leg, 2 an antenna, 1 an eye; one body, one head, two wings, six legs, two antennae and two eyes), the order rules (body before anything, head before antennae and eyes), and the beetle drive (tables of four with one die, the call of Beetle stopping every table, the fullest and the emptiest drawing changing tables, the prize for most finished beetles or most parts) were checked on 2026-10-02 against Wikipedia, Beetle (game) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle_%28game%29), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The article notes that players may agree other charts. The six other creatures, the rulings and the worked scores are the editors' own suggestions. Licence: own work