Dice are among the oldest gaming tools there are, and still among the best. They are small, cheap and impossible to argue with. A roll of the dice gives everyone at the table an equal chance, which is exactly why dice games are so good for mixed ages: a young child and a maths teacher face the same odds on every throw.

That does not mean dice games are pure luck. The best ones hand you a decision after every roll. Do you keep going or stop? Which dice do you keep? Where do you score this result? Learning to make those choices well is where the fun lives. Here are four classics, with the rules, a little friendly probability, and a habit or two for each. All of them are played for points only, just for fun.

A two-minute primer on dice odds

A fair six-sided die gives each face a one in six chance. With two dice there are thirty-six equally likely combinations, and the totals are not equally common. Seven is the most likely total, because six combinations make it: 1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4, and each of those the other way round. Two and twelve are the rarest, with just one combination each.

You do not need to calculate anything to play well, but keeping these shapes in mind helps. Middle totals are common, extremes are rare, and the more dice you roll, the more likely something useful turns up.

Yatzy: the scorecard game

This is the five-dice game known to countless families under several names. On your turn you roll all five dice, then you may set aside any you want to keep and reroll the rest, up to three rolls in total. Then you must score the result in one of thirteen boxes on your scorecard, and each box can only be used once.

The upper section has boxes for ones through sixes; you score the total of the matching dice. Our Yatzy gives a 35-point bonus if your upper section reaches 63 or more, which is exactly what you get by scoring three of each number. The lower section has three of a kind and four of a kind, each scoring the total of all five dice, a full house for 25, a small straight of four in a row for 30, a large straight of five in a row for 40, Chance, which scores the total of any roll, and the five-of-a-kind Yatzy for 50. Extra Yatzys are worth 100 each.

Scandinavian Yatzy uses a slightly different scorecard with boxes such as one pair and two pairs. Ours uses the thirteen-box card most families know.

  • Chase the upper bonus early. Three or more of a high number in the upper section keeps you on track for the 63 you need.
  • Keep Chance as a safety net. It is the best place to dump a disappointing roll late in the game.
  • Be willing to score a zero. Late in the game, putting a zero in the Yatzy box or in Ones is sometimes better than wasting a good roll.
  • Hold pairs, not singletons. Keeping a pair and rolling three dice gives you a far better shot at three or four of a kind.

Farkle: push your luck with six dice

Farkle is a noisy, sociable game where the central question is simple: do you dare roll again? You roll six dice and must set aside at least one scoring die. In our version a single 1 is worth 100, a single 5 is worth 50, and three of a kind is worth 100 times the number, except three 1s, which score 1,000. Four, five and six of a kind score 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000. A straight from 1 to 6, or three pairs, scores 1,500.

After setting aside scoring dice, you can bank your points for the turn or roll the remaining dice for more. If a roll has nothing that scores, that is a Farkle, and you lose every point from the turn. Score with all six dice and you have Hot Dice: pick them all up and keep rolling. Our game races to 10,000, and when someone gets there, the other player has one last turn to catch up.

The odds explain the strategy. With six dice in hand you will rarely Farkle, but the danger climbs fast as dice are set aside. With one die left, only a 1 or a 5 scores, so you Farkle two times in three. With two dice the chance of a Farkle is a little under half.

  • Bank more often when you are down to one or two dice, unless you are far behind.
  • Do not always keep every scoring die. Setting aside a single 1 and rerolling five dice often beats keeping a 1 and a 5 and rolling four.
  • Watch the scoreboard. When your opponent is close to 10,000, caution loses; you may need to take bigger risks.

Pig: the simplest dice game there is

Pig needs a single die and has just one rule worth remembering. On your turn you roll as many times as you like, adding each roll to your turn total. Stop whenever you choose and bank the total. But if you roll a 1, your turn total is wiped out and the die passes on. First to bank 100 wins.

Our Pig also offers a two-dice version where both dice are added together and doubles force another roll. A single 1 loses the turn points, and double 1s, snake eyes, wipe out your entire banked score.

Pig has a lovely bit of maths behind it. Each roll risks your whole turn total with a one in six chance, while the average gain from a roll that does not show a 1 is four points. Those balance at a turn total of 20. So a well-known simple strategy for the one-die game is to keep rolling until you have about 20 points that turn, then bank. It is not perfect, especially near the end of a game, but it is a great rule of thumb and a wonderful way to show children that maths can help them win.

Shut the Box: tiles and totals

Shut the Box has long been a pub and tavern game in Europe, played with a wooden box and nine hinged tiles numbered 1 to 9. You roll two dice and flip down any open tiles that add up exactly to the total. A roll of 9 could close the 9 alone, or the 4 and 5, or the 1, 3 and 5. You keep rolling until no combination of open tiles matches the roll, and the open tiles left count against you. Flipping down every tile is called shutting the box, the perfect score of zero.

In our version, once every open tile is 6 or lower you may choose to roll just one die. Your score for a round is the total of the tiles still open, and lower is better. You can play five solo rounds against your own best total, or play against a computer opponent named Marge, first to three round wins.

  • Close high tiles early. The 7, 8 and 9 can only be closed by large rolls or combinations, so take chances to shut them while you can.
  • Prefer fewer tiles. When you have a choice, closing one tile, such as the 9, often keeps more options open than closing several small ones.
  • Switch to one die wisely. When your remaining tiles are small, one die gives you a much better chance of hitting low totals.

Dice games and the family table

All four of these games teach something useful without trying. Yatzy is addition and planning. Farkle is risk and reward. Pig is probability in its simplest form. Shut the Box is mental arithmetic, with the satisfying clack of tiles as a bonus. They are short, they work with any number of players when played with real dice, and they suit every age from early reading upward.

Most of all, they are a reminder that a good game does not need much. A handful of dice, a pencil and a few people at a table can provide an evening of laughter, groans and triumph. Roll on.