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Family dice games
Nine games that need nothing but dice and company, matched to the table you actually have: the ages, the player count, and how long before somebody wants a rematch. Every one is playable free right here, solo against the computer or live with family in a shared room.
Pig
2 to 6 players5 and up5 minutesOne die and one decision: roll again or hold. The best first dice game there is, because a six year old and a grandparent play it as equals, and the maths of when to stop quietly teaches itself.
Shut the Box
1 to 6 players6 and up10 minutesThe pub classic that doubles as stealth arithmetic practice: shut tiles matching each roll. Low score wins, and shutting the whole box is a family legend that gets retold for years.
Ship, Captain and Crew
2 to 6 players7 and up10 minutesFind the 6, the 5 and the 4 in order, then gamble the cargo. Barely half of all turns score at all, so every fat cargo feels like treasure and nobody stays ahead for long.
Farkle
2 to 6 players8 and up20 minutesThe push-your-luck centrepiece. Bank your points or roll on and risk the lot; the table gasps together when someone farkles away 2,000. Also played as the classic 10,000.
Roll Five
1 to 6 players8 and up20 minutesOur five-dice scorecard game in the Yacht tradition: three rolls, thirteen boxes, and the eternal agony of which box to sacrifice. A free printable score card covers the kitchen table version.
Poker Dice
2 to 6 players8 and up10 minutesPoker hands without the cards or the betting: five dice, three rolls, best hand takes the round. A gentle way to teach the hand rankings before anyone meets a deck.
Liar's Dice
2 to 6 players10 and up15 minutesHidden dice and public nerve, for the family that enjoys accusing each other of lying. Best with four or more, and the showdown reveal is the loudest moment on this list.
Bunco
12, in teams players6 and upan eveningThe big-gathering game: three tables, six rounds, pure shared luck and a lot of shouting. Rules and free printable score sheets for the real-life night are on the page.
The gift exchange game
5 to 20 playerseveryone10 minutesOne die runs a whole white elephant or Christmas exchange: pass left, pass right, swap, steal, and keep what you hold when the timer rings. Printable rules cards included.
Picking for your table
For the youngest table, start with Pig and graduate to Shut the Box: both teach numbers while pretending to be games. For a table of adults who claim they are too tired to play anything, Farkle converts skeptics in one farkle. For a crowd, it is Bunco or the gift exchange, and for the family that argues happily, nothing on this list touches Liar’s Dice. Whatever you pick, every game here uses the same fair dice as the rest of the site, and the multiplayer rooms mean the family that scattered after the holidays can keep playing from three different cities.