6 Fun yet Educative Dice Games for Kids

If you are struggling with place value problems with your kids, give this game a shot.

Beat That!

Steps
All the kids sit in a circle. Anyone of them starts the game.

1. Roll 2 or 3 dice and arrange them in order to arrive at the highest number possible.

[Example, if you throw a 5 and a 3, you should arrange them to form 53. Similarly, if you roll a 7, 6 and 8, form the number 876 with them.]

2. Write down the number that you got on a piece of paper.
3. Pass on the dice to the next player challenging him by saying, beat that.
4. He rolls the dice and tries to get a higher number than you.
5. The game proceeds in this way for one round. The kid with the highest number is adjudged the winner of the round.
6. Play for as many rounds you like and tally the points of the round winners to arrive at the champion.

Going To Boston

Steps

1. Roll 3 dice and keep aside the highest one.
2. Roll the remaining 2 dice and set aside the one showing the highest number.
3. Roll the last dice and keep a note of the number displayed.
4. Add up all the throw values to arrive at your score.
5. Pass on the dice to the next player.
6. The player with the highest score wins the round. You can play several rounds to decide the overall champion.

Stuck In the Mud

Steps

1. Roll 5 dice.
2. If you roll any 2s or 5s, your dice are ‘stuck in the mud’ and the throw is worth no points (case 1). If you did not roll any of the two numbers mentioned, add up the total of the dice and note down your score (case 2).
3. For case 1, set aside the 2s or 5’s and roll again. Add up the total in case you land no 2s or 5s. Otherwise, you score 0 again. For case 2, you roll again and add your total to your previous score in case none of your dice gets stuck.
4. Continue playing this way till all your dice get stuck.
5. Write down your total score before passing on the dice to the next player.

Ten Down

You need 3 blank dice for this game. Or you can put small stickers on 3 regular dice. On the first dice, you put 3 plus signs and 3 minus signs. Put the numbers 0 to 5 on the other 2 dice. Place 10 counters or small toys in a row in front of the players.

Steps

1. The youngest player starts by rolling all the dice.
2. He does the problem presented before him, mentally.

[Note: In case of a subtraction problem, you might have to remind younger children to subtract the smaller number from the larger one]

3. The answer is the score of the player.
4. The dice are passed to the next kid.
5. After every kid has played his turn, the one with the highest score is the winner of that round.
6. He takes a counter or toy.
7. Continue playing till all the counters are gone.
8. Tally the scores for deciding the overall winner.

Knock Out

This is a great 2 player game. If you have more players, divide them into two teams and let a kid from one team take on another one from the other team in one round. Write the numbers 2-12 on each side of a dry erase board placed in between the two kids. Each kid decides on a knock out number from 6-9. Both players can choose the same number.

Steps

1. Roll 2 dice.
2. If any of the 2 numbers displayed is your knock out number, you are out till the next round. Else, add up the numbers.
3. Erase the sum from your side of the board.
4. Pass the dice to the kid sitting opposite to you.
5. He does all the steps from 1-4.
6. The first round being over, you can now pass on to the next round.
7. The first kid (or team) to erase all the numbers on his (their) side is the winner.

Run for It

Steps

1. Roll 6 dice and look for sequences (runs) starting with 1 (It could be 1-2, 1-2-3, and so on)
2. Each dice value that is part of a run is worth 5 points.
3. Add up your points to arrive at your score. If you can’t form any run, your score is 0.
4. Pass on the dice to the next kid.
5. After each kid has played his turn, the one with the highest score is the winner.

You can grasp the game easily with the below examples.

Example of hand 1:

6 dice rolled yield the numbers 1,4,3, 2,1,2

With these numbers you can form the runs:

1, 2 (5+5=10 points)

1,2,3,4 (5+5+5+5=20 points)

Hence, this hand is worth 30 points.

Example of hand 2:

6 dice rolled yield the numbers 1,4,3,3,6,6

Since no runs can be formed, the score is 0.

Children would have a field day with the dice for company. You would love their sincere efforts in getting their maths right, leveling their scores and eventually winning the simple games. It is a test of lady luck and mathematical abilities with the fun element thrown in, generously. The little ones couldn’t agree more on this!