The Cardboard Shelf
← Print & Play

Classic Dice Games — Rules

Four timeless dice games you can play tonight with ordinary dice. No board to print — just roll. Keep a score sheet handy and a tray to corral the dice.

What you need
  • Dice — six for Farkle and Bunco, one or two for Pig, five per player for Liar’s Dice
  • Paper for scores (use our free printable score sheets)
  • Two or more players
Ultra PRO - Vivid Magnetic Folding Dice Tray, Portable Compact Tabletop RPG Gaming Tool Accessory Durable Leatherette Foldable Dice Holder Mat - Yellow
Folding Leatherette Dice Tray
Snaps flat for storage, contains the roll, and stops dice from launching off the table.
View on Amazon →
Affiliate link — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

Pig (2+ players, 1 die)

The simplest press-your-luck game. On your turn, roll one die and keep rolling, adding each roll to your turn total — but you choose when to stop and "bank" it.

  • Bank your turn total to your score at any time, then pass.
  • Roll a 1 and you lose your entire turn total and pass with nothing.
  • First player to reach 100 points wins. Knowing when to stop is the whole game.

Farkle (2+ players, 6 dice)

Roll six dice and set aside scoring dice, then decide whether to bank or risk it all on another roll.

  • Each 1 scores 100; each 5 scores 50; three of a kind scores 100 × the number (three 1s = 1000).
  • After a roll you must set aside at least one scoring die, then either bank your points or re-roll the rest.
  • If a roll produces no scoring dice at all, you "Farkle" and lose all points banked that turn.
  • Set aside all six scoring dice and you may re-roll all six to keep going. First to 10,000 wins.

Liar’s Dice (2+ players, 5 dice each)

A game of bluffing. Each player rolls five dice under a cup and hides the result. Players take turns bidding on the total count of a face value across all dice on the table.

  • A bid is a quantity and a face, e.g. "four fives" — meaning at least four 5s among everyone’s dice.
  • Each bid must raise the quantity or the face value. On your turn you either raise the bid or call the previous player a liar.
  • When called, everyone reveals: if the bid is met, the caller loses a die; if not, the bidder does. Lose all your dice and you’re out — last player standing wins.

Bunco (groups, 3 dice)

A social party game of rolling for the round number. Play six rounds (1 through 6); in each round you’re trying to roll that number.

  • Roll three dice. Each die showing the current round number scores 1 point, and you keep rolling.
  • Roll three of the round number for a "Bunco" — 21 points. Three of any other kind scores 5.
  • Your turn continues until you roll no dice matching the round number, then play passes. First to 21 ends the round.

Frequently asked questions

What dice games can you play with regular dice?

Plenty — Pig and Farkle need only ordinary six-sided dice, Liar’s Dice uses five dice per player, and Bunco uses three. All four above play with standard dice and a way to keep score; no special equipment required.

What is a "Farkle"?

A Farkle is a roll that produces no scoring dice (no 1s, 5s, or three-of-a-kinds). When it happens you lose all the points you’d accumulated that turn, which is the press-your-luck tension at the heart of the game.

How do you keep score for dice games?

Any paper works, but a simple grid with a column per player makes it easy. Our free printable score sheets are set up for exactly this — set the number of players and rounds, then print or save as a PDF.

Rules written by The Cardboard Shelf for this classic public-domain game. Print and share freely.