How to Play: Pig
We love the game Pass the Pigs, inspired by a dice game called “Pig.”
This game has some variations (including playing it with two dice instead of one). Math teachers also use it to teach probability concepts.
Looking for more game rules that you can try? See all of our blog posts tagged with Game Rules.
Game Information
Game Objective
Your goal is to be the first player to earn (and keep!) 100 points.
Number of Players
This game is usually played with two to six players. For larger groups (like a classroom), you might try variations like Skunk.
Playing Time
You can adjust the length of the game by choosing the number of points you want to score. Usually, we play to 100, but sometimes, we play to 50.
Supplies
One six-sided die.
Notepad and pencil for tracking scores.
Recommended Ages
This game is great for ages 8 and up. However, if you plan to use it to teach probabilities, it might be appropriate for middle school students. It’s also a great game to use as an exercise to introduce machine learning to computer science students!
Game Rules
Here is one way to play…
Setup:
Get out a single six-sided die. You can grab it from another board game or keep one in your backpack to pull out when the kids get bored.Roll until you want to “hold”:
The player whose turn it is rolls the die over and over until either a 1 is rolled or the player decides to “hold”:If the player rolls a 1, they score nothing, and it becomes the next player's turn.
If the player rolls any other number, it is added to their turn total, and their turn continues.
If a player chooses to “hold,” their turn total is added to their score, becoming the next player's turn.
Write the current score:
Once the player has decided to “hold” (or rolls a 1 and earns zero), write down their score. The score from their turn is added to the score they’ve already earned. Keep adding it up to see who will reach 100 points first.Next player’s turn!
Keep taking turns around the group until someone wins.
Great for Kids
This game is great for building several skills:
Math Skills - addition, probabilities
Social Skills - explaining the game and interacting with other players
Fine Motor Skills - picking up die, rolling die
Critical Thinking - your kids may begin to come up with strategies and think ahead as they play this game. They’ll also learn when it’s worth taking a risk and when it is too high (probabilities!).
Interesting Links
Researching some rule options for this game led me to some interesting information.
First, go check out the page for this game on Wikipedia. Here you’ll find different strategies (and related probabilities) like “Optimal Play,” “Hold at 20,” “Hold at 25,” and “End Race or Keep Pace.”
The Wikipedia page also led me to an interesting computer science project by the students at Gettysburg College. You’ll see a web program where you can play against the computer, see your probabilities change, and test out strategies. You’ll also find visualizations of optimal playing strategies.
