Pig Dice Game Rules: How to Play Pig (and Greedy Pig)
Nov 7, 2026 · The Editors
How to play Pig, the simplest push-your-luck dice game: one die, roll or hold, losing it all on a 1, playing to 100 — plus Two-Dice Pig, Big Pig and when to stop rolling.
Pig is the simplest dice game worth playing: one die, one decision, over and over. Roll again, or stop and keep what you have? It is the purest push-your-luck game there is, and mathematicians have written papers about how to play it well.
What you need
- One die.
- Pencil and paper.
- Two or more players.
Rules
- On your turn, roll the die as many times as you like, adding up the numbers.
- If you roll a 1, your turn ends and you score nothing for that turn.
- At any point before rolling a 1, you can hold: stop, and add your turn total to your score.
- The first player to reach 100 wins.
That is the whole game.
Example
You roll 4, 6, 3 — that is 13. Hold, and 13 goes on your score. Roll again and get 5 — now 18. Roll again and get a 1 — you score nothing this turn.
When to hold
The classic rule of thumb is to hold at 20 points in a turn. The arithmetic: each roll risks a one-in-six chance of losing your turn total, and gains an average of 4 points when it does not. Around 20, the expected gain from rolling again roughly equals the expected loss.
In practice, adjust for the score:
- Behind? Push past 20.
- Close to 100? Hold as soon as you have enough to win.
- Opponent close to 100? Keep rolling — you may not get another turn.
Two-Dice Pig
Roll two dice each time:
- A single 1: lose your turn total, as usual.
- Two 1s (snake eyes): lose your entire score, not just the turn.
- Otherwise, add both dice.
It moves faster and stings harder.
Big Pig
Two dice, and doubles score double — a pair of 4s is 16 — except double 1s, which score 25. A single 1 still ends the turn.
Greedy Pig
A group version, often used for teaching probability. Everyone stands up. One person rolls for the whole group. After each roll, anyone can sit down and bank the total so far. When a 1 comes up, everyone still standing loses that round's points. Play five rounds.
Pass the pigs
The game sold with two small plastic pigs thrown like dice is a different game with the same push-your-luck idea. The rules for the dice game above need nothing but a die.
More dice games
If you enjoy Pig, you will enjoy Farkle and 10,000, which add scoring combinations to the same decision, and Ship, Captain and Crew.
