Got dice? Build maths skills with these simple and exciting games

There’s an enduring appeal to the six-sided dice. Used in games across the world, it must be the dice’s simple and elegant design that has made it so versatile and indispensable in the realm of play.

Long before we’re ready to play structured games, very young children can enjoy the design and function of a dice. One of the games my <2 year old niece loves to play simply involves rolling a big, soft, orange dice to each other. On each roll, I point to each dot and count them aloud. She gets involved, by pointing to one or more of the dots and making a counting sound. This is not about perfection, just a chance for a little play where she gets her first taste of counting objects. Over time, the impact of these pockets of play will add up…no pun intended ;)  

Fast forward a couple of years and she’ll enjoy matching the dots on two dice rolled with the matching domino. When she’s around 6 years old, she may think about numbers to 10 (and then 20) in many different ways. Seven, for instance, will be ‘6 and 1’ and ‘4 and 3’. It will also be ‘2 more than 5’ and ‘3 less than 10.’ This is when I’ll bounce on over, eager to teach her some of my favourite dice games.

Three fun and exciting dice games

This Maths Play feature celebrates the humble six-sided dice by sharing three much-loved games for players who are ready for structured games that involve making strategic choices:

• Shut the Box variations
• Pig variations
• Double or Halve? variations

All you’ll need is a pencil and paper and 1, 2 or 3 six-sided dice.

The dice games are simple to play, but the arithmetic practice may be challenging to master. 

This is part of their appeal for players — an opportunity to learn through play, explore potential winning strategies, the element of the unknown and potential for a surprising result. 

This challenging aspect of the games makes them appropriate for older players; players aged 6 and above. 

I’ve seen each of these beauties spark curiosity time and time again — they are great helpers in bringing joy and logic back into the maths education equation.

1. Shut the Box

Generally recommended for ages 6+

Shut the Box is a simple game that invites logical thinking and addition practice. It's easy-to-learn and quick to play, yet the strategic choices make it challenging to master.

Get ready to play: All you need is 2-4 players, two six-sided dice, and pencil and paper. Each player gets ready to play by drawing nine squares (boxes) and labelling them from with the numbers 1 to 9.

How to play: Players take turns rolling two dice. Once rolled, they then cross out any combination of numbered boxes that add up to the total rolled. The goal is to cross out (or “shut”) all nine boxes. If no boxes can be shut on a player’s turn, they lose that turn. 

How to win: The first player to shut all nine boxes wins. Playing multiple games provides a playful challenge where open (or 'unshut') boxes are added to each player’s running total and after 3 or 5 games the lowest running score wins.

Free resource: For a copy of the Shut the Box instructions and variations on how to play, you can download this two-page PDF. 

A game in progress — Player 2 has just rolled a sum of six and has chosen to shut boxes 4 and 2.

2. Pig

Generally recommended for ages 7+

Pig is another dice game that provides a natural mini-world for arithmetic practice. It's a game requires strategic thinking and numerical reasoning to find a winning strategy. In Pig, we are not only playing with addition but also chance and probability.

Pig has a different structure to most turn-taking games and so can take a little effort to get your head around. But the fun rewards are worth it! For extra assistance understanding how to play, here's a short video explainer.

Get ready to play: All you need is 2-6 players, one six-sided dice, and pencil and paper. 

In a game of Pig, players agree on a target number of 50, 75 or 100. A target of 50 is a great place to start when getting used to the game. The goal is to reach or go past the target number first. 

How to play:  Player 1 rolls the dice. If they roll a 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 they score that number of points. Then they can roll again. As long as they don't roll a 1, player 1 can keep rolling and adding points to their score. They can stop rolling whenever they want to keep all of those points and pass the dice to Player 2. The more a player rolls the dice, the more they risk rolling a 1 — when this happens, the player loses all points they've rolled on that turn. As long as they stop before rolling a 1, they will not lose those points. So you can see that there are important decisions to make in this game!

How to win: After multiple turns, the first player to reach or go past the target number wins!

A game of Pig in progress. At this stage, anyone can win!

3. Double or Halve?

Generally recommended for ages 8+

Double of Halve? is another strategy game that involves repeated practice of doubling and halving the numbers 2 to 12, and beyond. It also requires mental addition strategies to contribute to a running total. 

Get ready to play: All you need is 2 players, two six-sided dice, paper and two different coloured markers. 

In a game of Double or Halve? players agree on a target number from 12 to 120. The winner will be the first player to land on the target number exactly.

How to play: Players take turns rolling both dice and adding both numbers rolled to get the sum. The player who rolled then decides  whether to double or halve the sum of the numbers rolled and add those points to a running shared total. Their decision will depend on the current shared total.

For example, if the target number is 12, and player 1 rolls a 5 and a 3 to get 8, they will need to halve the 8 to get 4 and add that to the running total. The other option is to double 8 to get 16 which will instantly lose them the game. If the target number was higher than 16, there would be more space to consider whether to double or halve. Players experiment by using what they know and gut instinct and refine their strategies through repeated play. 

How to win: The winner is the player who can land exactly on the target number or as close as possible without going over. If a player goes over the target number, they lose the game.

Free resource: For a copy of the Double or Halve? instructions and variations on how to play, you can download this two-page PDF.

Three example games using the target number 30.

Making time for games 

Incorporating games like these into family time helps to make arithmetic practice a positive and playful part of life. 

With regular opportunities to play, I have seen children’s skills and confidence grow as they develop a deeper understanding of how numbers work in the safe and natural space that play provides. Whether it’s a quick round of Shut the Box, a few rounds of Pig, or some exploring possibilities with Double or Halve?, dice games make a powerful addition to our learning-through-play toolkit.