Knock Out Dice Game

Press Print this list for the standard game: eight steps for two dice and a score sheet.

Knock Out Dice Game

1: Rule a score sheet with a column for every player.Two to eight players. A whole class plays at tables, as on the tournament sheet.
2: Each player chooses a knock-out number: 6, 7, 8 or 9.Write it at the top of your column. Two players may choose the same number.
3: On your turn, roll two dice and add them.One roll a turn, then the dice go to the next player still in.
4: If the sum is not your knock-out number, add it to your score.Keep a running total, so the column always shows where you stand.
5: If the sum is your knock-out number, you are knocked out.You stop rolling for the rest of the game, and that roll scores nothing.
6: A knocked-out player keeps the score already written down.Draw a line under it. It can still win.
7: Play until every player has been knocked out.The last player in rolls alone until their number comes up.
8: The highest score on the sheet wins.For a longer game, play three times, choose a new number each time and add the three scores.

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How it works

One common way to play the knock out dice game: each player picks 6, 7, 8 or 9, then rolls two dice a turn and adds each sum to a score. Roll your own number and you are out.

Read the full guide

Knock out with dice: game instructions

The page opens on Standard game: choose a number, roll, add, and stop when your number lands. Knocked-out players keep their scores, and the highest wins. Scoring, worked through in the menu under Print this list follows two players roll by roll.

Which number to pick

Choosing a knock-out number counts the ways each sum can land out of 36: six ways for 7, five for 6 and 8, four for 9. Variations by number and by dice changes the choices or the dice, and A tournament for a class runs tables of four into a final.

The page does not roll. Each table needs two real dice, or one for the One Die game.
Let players discover the numbers for themselves in game one, then show the sheet of ways before game two.

Questions and answers

How do you play the knockout dice game?

Each player picks 6, 7, 8 or 9 as a knock-out number. Take turns rolling two dice and adding the sum to your score. When your own number comes up you are out and keep your score. Highest score wins once everyone is out.

What is the best knock-out number?

Of the four usual choices, 9 lands least often: four ways in 36, against five for 6 and 8 and six for 7. A number that lands less often leaves you rolling, and scoring, for longer. Luck still decides any single game.

Is there an easy knock out dice game for young players?

Yes. In One Die each player picks a number from 1 to 6 and rolls a single die, adding each roll until that number appears. The sums are small and every number is equally likely.

Can you play knock out with three dice?

Yes. In our Three Dice variation the choices are 9, 10, 11 and 12. The sums 10 and 11 can each land 27 ways out of 216, and 9 and 12 can each land 25 ways, so the middle numbers knock out a little sooner.

All 30 rows

Standard game (two dice) 8

1: Rule a score sheet with a column for every player. Two to eight players. A whole class plays at tables, as on the tournament sheet.
2: Each player chooses a knock-out number: 6, 7, 8 or 9. Write it at the top of your column. Two players may choose the same number.
3: On your turn, roll two dice and add them. One roll a turn, then the dice go to the next player still in.
4: If the sum is not your knock-out number, add it to your score. Keep a running total, so the column always shows where you stand.
5: If the sum is your knock-out number, you are knocked out. You stop rolling for the rest of the game, and that roll scores nothing.
6: A knocked-out player keeps the score already written down. Draw a line under it. It can still win.
7: Play until every player has been knocked out. The last player in rolls alone until their number comes up.
8: The highest score on the sheet wins. For a longer game, play three times, choose a new number each time and add the three scores.

Show all 30 rows (22 more)

Choosing a knock-out number 5

Number 6: five of the 36 ways two dice can land add up to it. They are 1 and 5, 2 and 4, 3 and 3, 4 and 2, 5 and 1.
Number 7: six of the 36 ways, more than any other sum. A player on 7 tends to go out soonest. It is the bold choice or the unwise one.
Number 8: five of the 36 ways, the same as 6. They are 2 and 6, 3 and 5, 4 and 4, 5 and 3, 6 and 2.
Number 9: four of the 36 ways, the fewest of the four choices. They are 3 and 6, 4 and 5, 5 and 4, 6 and 3. A player on 9 tends to last longest.
Why the choice matters: every safe roll adds to your score. The longer your number stays away, the more rolls you bank. Finding that out is the point of the game.

Variations by number and by dice 6

Any Number: choose from 2 to 12 instead of 6 to 9. A 2 or a 12 can land only one way in 36, so those players last a long time. Good for talking about chance.
One Die: choose 1 to 6 and add single rolls. An easy game for young players. Every number is equally likely, so no choice is better.
Three Dice: choose 9, 10, 11 or 12 and add all three. Of the 216 ways three dice can land, 27 make 10, 27 make 11, 25 make 9 and 25 make 12.
Three Lives: your number knocks you out only the third time it lands. Mark a tally beside your column each time. The game runs longer and scores are higher.
Times Table: multiply the two dice instead of adding, with 6, 8, 12 or 24 as the choices. Our variation for multiplication practice. Scores climb quickly.
Wipe Out: a knock-out roll also rubs out your score. To keep a score, say Stop before any roll and sit out. Now there is a decision every turn.

A tournament for a class 5

1: Seat the class at tables of four, each with two dice and one score sheet. Any tables of three or five play the same way.
2: Everyone writes down a knock-out number before the first roll. No changing it once the dice have moved.
3: Each table plays the standard game to the end. A knocked-out player becomes the table's checker and adds each roll aloud.
4: The top score at each table goes through to a final. Two players level at a table roll once each, and the higher sum goes through.
5: The finalists play one game at the front while the class keeps score on the board. Finalists choose new numbers. The class can say which number it would pick and why.

Scoring, worked through 6

The fourth roll is 3 and 5, which makes 8: knocked out on 21. The 8 itself is not added.
In Wipe Out, a player on 30 who says Stop keeps 30. A player on 30 who rolls on and hits their number ends with 0.
Knock-out number 8, rolls of 5, 9 and 7: a score of 21 after three turns. Each sum goes under the last, with the running total beside it.
Knock-out number 9, rolls of 7, 6, 8, 4 and 10: 35 and still in. The same rolls would have stopped a player on 7 at the first turn with nothing.
Knocked out on the very first roll: a score of 0. It happens about once in six games to a player on 7.
Two players finish level on the top score. Each rolls two dice once. The higher sum wins, and a second tie is rolled again.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-02. Knock out is a folk dice game played in homes and classrooms, with no governing body and no fixed rules. The standard sheet is one common way to play, in our own words. The choice of 6, 7, 8 or 9, two players on one number, one roll of two dice a turn added to the score and going out on your own number were checked on 2026-10-05 against the Knock Out entry at https://icebreakerideas.com/dice-games/, which plays rounds to an agreed target; ending when everyone is out, with the highest score winning, is our way to finish. The variations, the class tournament and the worked examples are the editors' own suggestions. The counts of ways are arithmetic, counted on 2026-10-02 from the 36 pairs two fair dice can show and the 216 triples three can show. The game is played for points only. Licence: own work