Lawn Dice Games

For six big wooden dice on grass: press Pick 3 new games, or choose throwing games, classics or relays.

Lawn Dice Games

  1. Hoop the Die1. Set the six dice on the grass at different distances, showing 1 on the nearest up to 6 on the farthest. 2. Toss a hoop from the line to land it over a die. 3. A die ringed cleanly scores the number it shows. 4. The highest score after five hoops each wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  2. Around the Ring1. Mark six throwing spots in a circle around the rope ring. 2. Throw one die from your spot. If it stops inside the ring, move on to the next spot. 3. If it misses, stay where you are until your next turn. 4. The first player to throw in from all six spots wins. Players: 2 to 5. Time: 20 min.
  3. Lawn Ship and Captain, Cargo Counts1. You have three throws of five dice. 2. You need a 6 for the ship, then a 5 for the captain, then a 4 for the crew, in that order, and each is set on the rope as it comes. 3. With all three, the other two dice are your cargo and their total is your score. 4. The highest cargo wins. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min.

Next step Table dice games, by number of dice

How it works

Lawn dice games use a set of six big wooden dice and whatever the yard offers: a rope, a few buckets, some hoops. Most of these only work at that size, because the throw matters as much as the number.

Read the full guide

Three kinds of yard dice games

The All games menu sorts the list. Throwing games that need the lawn score where a die lands as well as what it shows. Table classics at lawn size are games such as Yacht and Pig, thrown into a rope ring. Picnic team relays get a whole party moving.

What to lay out first

A rope ring about three paces across and a throwing line serve most of the list. Buckets, hoops, sticks and a few empty bottles cover the rest. More filters narrows by players and time.

Tips
  • Chalk on a paving stone, or a clipboard, makes a scoreboard everyone can see from the line.
  • Short grass rolls true. On long grass, play the games that score only the top face.

Questions and answers

What games can you play with giant dice?

Any dice game, plus throwing games that small dice cannot do: Closest to the Marker Die, Three Buckets, Stake Toss and Dice Golf Around the Yard score where the die lands. Those games with giant dice are the heart of this list.

How many dice do lawn dice games need?

This list is written for six, the number the game to 10,000 needs. Yacht and Drop Dead use five of them, and most throwing games use one, two or three.

Which of these games suit a big group?

The relays: Towel Launch Relay, One to Six Relay and Dice Hunt, Faces Up each take up to twelve players in teams. For six or fewer, Rope Ring Totals and Three Buckets keep everyone throwing.

Can you play Yacht with lawn dice?

Yes. Throw five dice into a rope ring up to three times a turn and fill twelve boxes, with 30 for a straight and 50 for five of a kind. A chalked score sheet takes the place of paper.

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All 25 games

Throwing games that need the lawn 14

  • Around the Ring 1. Mark six throwing spots in a circle around the rope ring. 2. Throw one die from your spot. If it stops inside the ring, move on to the next spot. 3. If it misses, stay where you are until your next turn. 4. The first player to throw in from all six spots wins. Players: 2 to 5. Time: 20 min.
  • Bottle Pins With Dice 1. Stand six empty plastic bottles in a triangle. 2. Roll two dice along the ground at them from eight paces, one at a time. 3. Score a point for each bottle down, and a bonus point for a die that stops showing a 6. 4. Reset the bottles for the next player. The highest score after five turns wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  • Call the Face 1. Before each throw, call a number from 1 to 6. 2. Throw one die into the rope ring from the line. 3. A die in the ring scores 1 point. A die in the ring showing the number you called scores 5. 4. The highest score after six throws each wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 10 min.
Show all 25 games (22 more)

Throwing games that need the lawn, continued

  • Closest to the Marker Die 1. One player lobs a die out onto the grass as the marker. 2. Everyone else throws one die underhand, trying to stop near it. 3. The closest die scores the number on its top face. 4. The scorer throws the next marker. First to 21 wins. Players: 2 to 5. Time: 15 min.
  • Dice Golf Around the Yard 1. Lay nine hoops around the yard as holes, and mark a tee for each. 2. Throw one die from the tee toward the hoop, then throw again from where it stopped. 3. Count your throws until the die rests inside the hoop. 4. The fewest throws over nine holes wins. Players: 2 to 4. Time: 30 min.
  • Hoop the Die 1. Set the six dice on the grass at different distances, showing 1 on the nearest up to 6 on the farthest. 2. Toss a hoop from the line to land it over a die. 3. A die ringed cleanly scores the number it shows. 4. The highest score after five hoops each wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  • Lawn Dice Bowls 1. Set a marker, such as a cone, ten paces away. 2. Each player rolls two dice along the grass toward it, one at a time. 3. The nearest die scores 1 point, or 2 if it shows a 6. 4. Play from the other end next. First to 7 wins. Players: 2 to 3. Time: 15 min.
  • Longest Six 1. From a line, each player throws one die underhand as far along the lawn as they like. 2. Only a die that shows a 6 counts. 3. The farthest 6 wins the round. If nobody threw a 6, everyone throws again. 4. First to three rounds wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 10 min.
  • Ring Knock-Out 1. Set one die in the middle of a rope ring. 2. In turn, throw a die from five paces to knock it out of the ring. 3. Knocking it out scores the number the target die showed before it was hit. 4. Reset the target on any face you like. First to 15 wins. Players: 2 to 5. Time: 15 min.
  • Rope Ring Totals 1. Lay a rope in a ring about three paces across and mark a line six paces back. 2. Throw all six dice from the line. 3. Only dice that stop inside the ring count: add their top faces. 4. The highest total after five rounds wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  • Six Zones 1. Lay sticks across the lawn as rungs to make six zones, numbered 1 nearest the line to 6 farthest. 2. Throw three dice, one at a time. 3. A die scores its zone number, but a die that shows a 1 is a dud and scores nothing. 4. The highest total after four rounds wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  • Stake Toss 1. Push a stick into the lawn as a stake, eight paces from the line. 2. Each player throws two dice at it. 3. The die nearest the stake scores 1 point, and a die touching the stake scores 3. 4. First to 11 wins. Players: 2 to 3. Time: 15 min.
  • Three Buckets 1. Stand three buckets in a line at five, eight and eleven paces, worth 1, 2 and 3 points. 2. Each player throws all six dice, one at a time. 3. A die that stays in a bucket scores that bucket's points, doubled if it shows a 6. 4. The highest score after three rounds wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  • Three in a Row, Odd Faces or Even 1. Lay a grid of nine squares with rope or sticks. One side is Odds and the other is Evens. 2. Take turns to throw a die into an empty square. 3. The square belongs to Odds if the die shows 1, 3 or 5 and to Evens if it shows 2, 4 or 6, whoever threw it. 4. Mark it with a shoe or a cone. Three in a row wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 10 min.

Table classics at lawn size 6

  • Drop Dead on the Lawn 1. Throw five dice into the ring. With no 2 and no 5 showing, add the total to your score and throw all of them again. 2. Any die showing a 2 or a 5 is carried out of the ring, and that throw scores nothing. 3. Go on until every die is out. 4. The highest score wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 15 min.
  • Lawn Ship and Captain, Cargo Counts 1. You have three throws of five dice. 2. You need a 6 for the ship, then a 5 for the captain, then a 4 for the crew, in that order, and each is set on the rope as it comes. 3. With all three, the other two dice are your cargo and their total is your score. 4. The highest cargo wins. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min.
  • Lawn Yacht on a Chalk Scoreboard 1. Chalk or write a score sheet with twelve boxes for each player: 1s to 6s, full house, four of a kind, little straight, big straight, choice and yacht. 2. Throw five dice into the ring, then throw any of them again, up to three throws. 3. Fill one box a turn: a straight scores 30 and five of a kind scores 50. 4. The highest total after twelve rounds wins. Players: 2 to 4. Time: 40 min.
  • Shut the Box With Number Cards 1. Lay cards numbered 1 to 9 face up on the grass. 2. Throw two dice and turn over any cards that add up to the total. 3. Keep throwing until no set of face-up cards fits. 4. Your score is the sum of the cards still face up. The lowest score wins. Players: 2 to 4. Time: 15 min.
  • Ten Thousand on the Grass 1. Throw all six dice into the ring. 2. Set aside at least one scoring die: 100 for a 1, 50 for a 5, and 100 times the face for three of a kind, or 1,000 for three 1s. 3. Bank the points, or throw the dice that are left. A throw with nothing scoring loses the turn. 4. When someone passes 10,000 the others get one last turn, and the highest score wins. Or play to 5,000. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 40 min.
  • Yard Pig 1. Throw one big die and add the number to your turn total. 2. Throw again as often as you like. 3. A 1 ends your turn with nothing for it. 4. Shout hold before a throw to bank the turn total. The first player to bank 100 wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 20 min.

Picnic team relays 5

  • Board Carry Relay 1. Each runner balances a die on a cutting board or a tray and walks to the rope ring. 2. A die that falls goes back on the board where it fell. 3. At the ring, tip the die in: its top face is added to the team's score. 4. When everyone has run, the higher score wins. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min.
  • Dice Hunt, Faces Up 1. One player hides the six dice around the yard while the teams look away. 2. Teams search. A finder may not turn the die over. 3. Each die scores the number on its top face for the team that found it. 4. The higher total wins, and the other team hides them next. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 10 min.
  • One to Six Relay 1. Each team has one die and a mark ten paces away. 2. The first runner goes to the mark and throws until the die shows a 1, then comes back. 3. The next runner throws for a 2, and so on up to 6. 4. The first team to finish the 6 wins. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 15 min.
  • Stack Three Relay 1. Two teams line up, each with three dice at the start. 2. The first runner carries one die to a mark and sets it down. The next stacks a second die on it, and the third tops the tower. 3. A tower that falls is rebuilt by the runner who knocked it. 4. The first team with a standing tower of three, and everyone back, wins. Players: 6 to 12. Time: 10 min.
  • Towel Launch Relay 1. Split into pairs. Each pair carries one die on a stretched beach towel from the start to a line. 2. At the line they flick the towel to launch the die toward the rope ring. 3. A die in the ring adds its top face to the team's score. 4. Pairs take turns, and the first team to 30 wins. Players: 4 to 12. Time: 15 min.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for a set of six big wooden dice on grass, in our own words; the throwing games and relays are the editors' own, and distances, player counts and times are our estimates. In the throwing games every throw is underhand. No boxed set and no maker is named, and nothing is played for a stake. The table classics were checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, in these articles: Yacht (dice game); Pig (dice game); Shut the box; Drop dead (dice game); Ship, captain, and crew; and the article on the dice game played to 10,000 (https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=1559036). Licence: own work