If you buy one thing, buy a set of twelve plain 16 mm dice. It plays Pig, Farkle and Bunco. The other games come in a box that has everything you need.
1. Size
The standard die is 16 mm across, about the size of a fingertip. It is big enough to read at a glance, small enough to hold five in one hand, and loud enough on a table that everyone hears the roll. Smaller dice (12 mm) are for travel; larger ones (20 mm and up) are fun for children and for rolling on a lawn.
2. Round or sharp corners
Dice with sharp corners stop where they land. Dice with rounded corners keep rolling a little longer and mix better, but they can drift off a small table. For games at the kitchen table, sharp corners and a tray is the tidy choice.
3. Dots, not numbers
Choose dice with pips (dots) in a clear contrast: white on black, or black on white. Fancy colours and swirls look nice but make the count harder to read across a table.
4. A cup or a tray
A cup hides your dice in Liar’s Dice and keeps them on the table in Yahtzee and Farkle. A felt tray or a shallow box lid does the same job for any game: it keeps dice from rolling under the sofa and makes the roll quiet.
Buy twelve, not six. You will lose one under the fridge.
5. How many dice
Most dice games need five or six dice. A few need one or three. A set of twelve covers all of them, with spares, and lets two players roll at once.
What each game needs
The dice each game on Pips uses, and what we recommend for it.
| Game | Players | You need | We recommend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farkle | 2 to 8 | 6 dice Or a ready-made game | 16 mm six-sided dice, set of 12 Standard 16 mm dice roll evenly and read at a glance. A set of twelve gives you spares and lets two people roll at once. Farkle dice game in a cup Six dice, a cup and a score pad in one box: the easiest way to start. |
| Bunco | 4 to 24 | 3 dice for each table Or a party kit | 16 mm six-sided dice, set of 12 A set of twelve covers three tables with a spare. Standard 16 mm dice are loud enough on a table to hear across a room. Bunco party kit Dice, score pads, a bell and table cards for twelve players. |
| Yahtzee | 1 to 6 | 5 dice, a cup and a score pad | Yahtzee Classic The classic box has everything, including the cup that keeps the dice on the table. |
| Pig | 2 to 6 | 1 die | 16 mm six-sided dice, set of 12 Any standard die works. A set of twelve means everyone can have a spare, and you can add a second die later for Big Pig. |
| Left Right Center | 3 to 10 | 3 special dice and 3 chips each | Left Right Center game The box comes with the L, R, C and dot dice and enough chips for a full table. |
| Shut the Box | 1 to 4 | A box with 9 tiles and 2 dice | Wooden Shut the Box The wooden box is the whole game: tiles, dice and a lid you can close in triumph. |
| Liar’s Dice | 2 to 6 | 5 dice and a cup each | Liar's Dice set with 5 cups Cups matter here: they hide your dice. A set with five cups covers a full table. |
