Pig belongs to the family of "jeopardy" or press-your-luck dice games: every roll offers you more, but every roll can also cost you everything you've built up this turn. The rules are short, and deciding when to stop keeps it interesting. Below you'll find the complete rules, what happens when you roll a 1, the math of when to hold, and the best-known variants, including Two-Dice Pig and the classroom favorite Skunk.
On this page
What do you need?
- One die. A single ordinary six-sided die is all you need.
- Something to keep score: pen and paper, a whiteboard, or just your memory for a quick game.
- 2 or more players. Pig works with any number; each player takes a turn in order.
No die on hand? Pig needs exactly one. Roll it for free with the online dice roller and you can start right away.
The goal of the game
Be the first player to reach 100 points. You get there one turn at a time, banking points whenever you decide it's safe to stop. The more you roll, the more you can bank, but the longer you push, the more likely you are to roll a 1 and end the turn with nothing.
How a turn works
On your turn you build up a running "turn total" that stays separate from your permanent score until you decide to bank it:
- Roll the die.
- Roll a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 → add that number to your turn total, then choose: roll again to build it higher, or hold to keep it.
- Roll a 1 → your turn ends immediately, you score 0 for the turn, and the die passes to the next player.
- Hold whenever you like → add your turn total to your permanent score and pass the die to the next player.
- Repeat around the table until someone reaches 100.
A sample turn: you roll a 4, then a 3, then a 6, so your turn total is now 13. You could hold and bank 13, but you press on and roll a 5, bringing it to 18. You roll once more and get a 2, for 20. Now you hold, and those 20 points move to your permanent score, where they are safe. Next turn your neighbor rolls 6, 6, and then a 1, and loses all 12 built-up points.
Finishing fairly. Many groups play the round out so that every player has had the same number of turns: once someone hits 100, everyone else gets one final turn to try to catch up, and the highest score then wins. It's a small tweak that removes the first-player advantage.
Rolling a 1: the risk in Pig
The 1 is what gives Pig its risk. Roll one at any moment and your entire turn total is gone: every point you'd stacked up this turn is lost, and you bank nothing. What you'd already banked on earlier turns is safe. Only the points you haven't banked yet are at risk.
On every roll you're betting the turn total you've built so far against the chance of adding a little more. The longer you go, the more you're risking.
Strategy: the "hold at 20" rule
Pig looks like pure luck, but there is a good way to play, and it's easy to remember. A well-known rule of thumb is to hold once your turn total reaches about 20. For basic play this "hold at 20" rule is very close to mathematically optimal.
The reasoning goes like this. On any roll there's a 1-in-6 chance of rolling a 1 and losing everything in your turn total. The other five faces (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) average out to a gain of 4 points. So each extra roll risks about one-sixth of your turn total to gain, on average, four points. Once your turn total climbs past roughly 20, one-sixth of it is more than 4, so the amount you're risking outweighs the average reward, and banking becomes the smarter choice. The six equally likely outcomes of a die are explained on the page about dice probability.
Two important caveats keep it from being a rigid rule:
- Position matters. If you're far behind late in the game, holding safely won't win. You may need to push well past 20 and gamble. If you're close to 100, you can hold much earlier, because a small safe gain is all you need.
- The finish line changes the math. Once a modest turn total is enough to reach 100, take it. There's no prize for overshooting.
Variants
Pig has spawned a whole family of variations, from a two-dice edition to bingo-style classroom games. The most common ones:
| Variant | Dice | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Two-Dice Pig | 2 | Roll two dice each turn. A single 1 loses the turn total; double 1s lose your entire score; any other double scores double (5 + 5 counts as 20). Some rules let any double keep you rolling. |
| Big Pig | 2 | Like Two-Dice Pig, but a single 1 does nothing special. Only a pair of 1s ends things (wiping your whole score), and all other doubles score double. |
| Skunk | 2 | A bingo-style classroom version played on a "S-K-U-N-K" grid, where the whole class rolls together and chooses each round whether to stand or risk continuing. |
| Pass the Pigs | 2 | A popular commercial descendant that swaps dice for two little rubber pigs; you score by the poses they land in, but the press-your-luck heart is pure Pig. |
You can also agree on a different target (50 for a quick game, 200 for a long one) or cap each turn at a fixed number of rolls to speed things along.
A great game for kids
Pig is common in classrooms because kids spend the whole game adding numbers in their heads and weighing probability, and it doesn't feel like a lesson. Deciding whether to roll again teaches expected value in a way they can feel. If you're gathering games for a family evening, you'll find more like it among the dice games for kids.
Fancy another quick press-your-luck game to go with it? Try Farkle, or browse the complete overview of dice games.
Frequently asked questions about Pig
What is the dice game Pig?
Pig is a classic press-your-luck (jeopardy) dice game played with a single die by two or more players. On your turn you roll the die over and over, adding each result to a running turn total, and decide when to stop and bank it. But roll a 1 and you lose the whole turn total and pass the die. The first player to reach 100 points wins.
How do you win at Pig?
You win by being the first player to reach 100 points. You build toward that total one turn at a time: each turn you accumulate points by rolling, then hold to add your turn total to your permanent score. Many groups play the round out so every player has had an equal number of turns before declaring the winner.
What happens if you roll a 1 in Pig?
Rolling a 1 ends your turn immediately and you score 0 for that turn: every point you had built up in the turn total is wiped out. Your permanent score from earlier turns is safe; only the points you had not yet banked are lost. The die then passes to the next player.
When should you hold in Pig?
A simple and near-optimal rule of thumb is to hold once your turn total reaches about 20. Each roll risks roughly a 1-in-6 chance of losing everything you have built up, in exchange for an average gain of about 4 points. Beyond a turn total of about 20 the amount you stand to lose outweighs the average gain, so banking becomes the smarter play, though if you are far behind late in the game it can pay to push further.
How do you play Two-Dice Pig?
In Two-Dice Pig you roll two dice each time instead of one. If a single 1 comes up, you lose your turn total and pass, just like in standard Pig. If you roll double 1s you lose your entire accumulated score, not just the turn. Any other double scores double its face value, so 5 and 5 counts as 20 rather than 10. Under some house rules rolling any double also lets you keep rolling automatically.