# How to Play Pig: The Dice Game of Push Your Luck

Learn Pig in two minutes: roll one die, add up your rolls, and hold before you roll a 1. The first to 100 wins. Rules, strategy and a free score sheet.

Source: https://pips.club/pig

- Players: 2 to 6
- Dice: 1 die, plus pen and paper
- Type: Push your luck
- Level: Easy
- Time: 10 minutes

## At a glance

### Roll as long as you dare

Pig is the simplest push-your-luck game there is. On your turn you roll one die again and again, adding up the numbers. Whenever you like, you can stop and keep your total.
Roll a 1 and you lose everything you collected this turn. The first player to reach 100 points wins.

## Setup

### One die, pen and paper

All you need is one ordinary six-sided die and a way to keep score. Two to six people can play. Our free score sheet has a column for each player.

## The first roll

### Who goes first

Everyone rolls the die once. The highest roll goes first, and play then moves to the left.
West rolls a 6 and starts.

## A turn

### Roll and add up

Roll the die. Any number from 2 to 6 is added to your turn total. After each roll you choose: roll again, or stop.
You roll a 4, then a 6, then a 3. Your turn total is 4 + 6 + 3 = 13.

### Hold to keep your points

To stop, you hold: you add your turn total to your score, write it down, and pass the die to the next player. Points you have held are safe for good.
With 13 collected you hold. You now have 13 points, and the next player rolls.

## Special rolls

### Roll a 1: pig out

If you roll a 1, you pig out. You score nothing for this turn, even if you were about to hold, and the die passes on. Points held on earlier turns stay safe.
You roll 4, 6, 3 for 13, roll again, and it is a 1. All 13 points are gone and the turn is over.

## Scoring

### Only held points count

Write down only what you have held. Add each turn to your running total.
After a few turns Ana has 42, West has 18 and you have 61.

## Winning

### First to 100 wins

The first player whose score reaches 100 wins, as soon as they hold. Many players add a rule that everyone else gets one last turn, so that the first player in the order has no advantage.

## Variants and house rules

- **Two dice (Big Pig)**: Roll two dice. A single 1 ends the turn with nothing. Two 1s wipe out your whole score. Doubles of any other number score double their total.
- **Hold at 20**: A fixed rule used in strategy tests: always hold at 20 or more. Play a few games with it to see how it does.
- **Final round**: When someone reaches 100, everyone else gets one more turn to beat them.

## Tips

- Hold at 20 is a good rule when scores are even. About one turn in three ends with a 1 before you reach 20, but the points you win in the others make up for it.
- Take more risk when you are far behind. A small steady total will not catch up to a player who is almost at 100.
- Never gamble a score of 90 or more for a few extra points. Reaching 100 is all that matters.

## Quick answers

**What is the best strategy in Pig?** A simple rule that works well is to hold as soon as your turn total reaches 20. Over many turns it gives the most points per turn. Hold sooner when you are ahead and later when you are far behind.

**What happens if you roll a 1 in Pig?** You lose all the points you had collected on that turn and the die passes to the next player. Points you held on earlier turns are not affected.

**How do you win Pig?** Be the first to reach 100 points. You score only by holding, so a turn that ends with a 1 gives you nothing.

**How many dice do you need for Pig?** One. There is also a two-dice version called Big Pig, where double 1s lose your whole score, and other doubles score extra.

**Is Pig a game of luck or skill?** Mostly luck, with one real decision: when to stop. That one choice is why it makes a good game for teaching chance and probability.