Pig Dice Game

Press Print this list for the one-die game: one die, a pencil and a race to 100.

Pig Dice Game

1: Write each player's name across the top of the paper.Two to six players, one die and a pencil. Decide who rolls first.
2: On your turn, roll the die.You may roll as many times as you like in one turn.
3: A 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 is added to your turn total.Say the turn total aloud after every roll, so the table can follow it.
4: A 1 ends your turn, and the turn total is lost.Points banked on earlier turns are safe. Only this turn's points go.
5: Say hold before any roll to stop and bank the turn total.Add it to your score on the sheet and pass the die to the left.
6: Reach 100 banked points before anyone else to win.Only banked points count. A big turn total is still lost if a 1 comes first.
7: House rule for a short game: play to 50.Our suggestion when time is short. Everything else stays the same.

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How it works

In the pig dice game you roll one die as often as you dare and add up the rolls. A 1 ends your turn with nothing, so the trick is to hold in time. The first to bank 100 wins.

Read the full guide

How to play Pig, sheet by sheet

The page opens on Pig with one die. The menu under Print this list changes the sheet. In Two-dice Pig two 1s wipe out a whole score. Big Pig and Hog are two faster versions. A short game for ages 5 to 7 is ours: it is played with counters, to 30.

When to stop rolling

When to hold counts the chances: how often a 1 comes up, what a safe roll adds, and why many players stop at a turn total of 20.

Tips

The page does not roll. Each table needs one real die, or two for Two-dice Pig.
Let players find their own stopping point in game one, then read the hold sheet before game two.

Questions and answers

What is the pig dice game?

Pig is a folk dice game for two or more players. You roll one die again and again and add the rolls to a turn total. A 1 wipes out the turn, and holding banks it. It was first described in print in 1945.

What happens when you roll a 1 in Pig?

Your turn ends at once and the points from that turn are lost. Points you banked on earlier turns stay on the score sheet. In Two-dice Pig, two 1s together also wipe out the banked score.

How do you win Pig?

Be the first player to bank 100 points or more. Points count only once you hold, so a player sitting on 95 with a turn total of 20 has still not won until they say hold.

Can you play Pig with two dice?

Yes. In Two-dice Pig you add the sum of both dice, one 1 ends the turn, and two 1s send your whole score back to zero. Big Pig turns the double 1 into 25 points.

All 36 rows

Pig with one die 7

1: Write each player's name across the top of the paper. Two to six players, one die and a pencil. Decide who rolls first.
2: On your turn, roll the die. You may roll as many times as you like in one turn.
3: A 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 is added to your turn total. Say the turn total aloud after every roll, so the table can follow it.
4: A 1 ends your turn, and the turn total is lost. Points banked on earlier turns are safe. Only this turn's points go.
5: Say hold before any roll to stop and bank the turn total. Add it to your score on the sheet and pass the die to the left.
6: Reach 100 banked points before anyone else to win. Only banked points count. A big turn total is still lost if a 1 comes first.
7: House rule for a short game: play to 50. Our suggestion when time is short. Everything else stays the same.

Show all 36 rows (29 more)

Two-dice Pig 7

1: Roll two dice together on every roll. The rest is one-die Pig: add up a turn total, hold to bank it, first to 100.
2: If neither die shows a 1, add the sum of both to your turn total. A 4 and a 6 add 10. Then roll again or hold.
3: A single 1 stops you, and the points of that turn are gone. Your banked score stays where it is.
4: If both dice show a 1, your turn ends and your whole score goes back to zero. Two 1s come up once in 36 rolls on average.
5: Say hold whenever you like to keep what the turn has made. The first player to bank 100 or more wins.
6: Some tables: a double must be followed by another roll. The double's sum joins the turn total, but you may not hold until you have rolled again.
7: Some tables use 6 as the bad face in place of 1. Then one 6 ends the turn and two 6s wipe the score. Agree before the first roll.

Big Pig and Hog 8

Big Pig 1: Play Two-dice Pig, with new rules for doubles. A single 1 still ends the turn with nothing.
Big Pig 2: Two 1s add 25 to the turn total. In Big Pig the double 1 is the best roll, not the worst.
Big Pig 3: Any other double adds twice its value. Two 6s add 24, and two 2s add 8.
Big Pig 4: Hold before any roll to bank. First to 100 wins. Doubles make turn totals climb fast, so games are short.
Hog 1: Decide how many dice you will throw. Any number you like. You need a good handful of dice on the table.
Hog 2: Roll them all together, once. One roll is the whole turn. There is no second roll and no holding.
Hog 3: If any die shows a 1, the turn scores zero. The more dice you roll, the more often a 1 turns up.
Hog 4: With no 1 showing, score the sum of all the dice. Play to a target agreed at the start, such as 100.

A short game for ages 5 to 7 (ours) 6

1: Put a big bowl of counters in the middle and give each player a cup. Buttons or dried beans work. One die is shared.
2: Throw the die one time. A grown-up or an older child can call the numbers.
3: For a 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, count that many counters into a row in front of you. Counting them out one by one is the practice.
4: Then roll again, or say stop and tip your row into your cup. Counters in the cup are safe for the rest of the game.
5: A 1 tips your loose counters back into the bowl. The cup is not touched. Pass the die on.
6: The first player with 30 counters in the cup wins. Count them into three rows of ten to check.

When to hold 8

A safe roll adds 4 on average. 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 is 20, and 20 shared among five faces is 4.
Below 20 a roll gains more than it risks. Above 20 it risks more. At 10 you risk 10 once in six. At 30 you risk 30 once in six.
The chance of a 1 is one roll in six. A fair die has six faces, so five rolls in six are safe.
Hold at 20: roll until the turn total is 20 or more, then hold. A popular rule of thumb, and an easy one to remember.
Hold at 25 did a little better than hold at 20 in computer play. The analysts who solved two-player Pig by computer found it more effective.
Near the end the same analysis says roll to win. Its rule: once either player has 71 or more, keep rolling until you get there.
Why 20: at a turn total of 20 the next roll is an even trade. One roll in six loses 20. Five in six gain about 4. Both sides come to 3 and a third.
With two dice, 11 rolls in 36 show at least one 1. 25 of the 36 rolls have no 1, and 36 take away 25 is 11.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03, in our own words. Pig is a folk dice game with no governing body. The one-die game, Two-dice Pig, Big Pig, Hog, the double that must be rolled again, the 6 as the bad face, hold at 20, hold at 25 and the rule for the end of a game were checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Pig (dice game): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_%28dice_game%29. The short game to 50, the game for ages 5 to 7 and the worked sums are the editors' own, and the sums were checked by script. The game is played for points or counters only. Licence: own work