Top 10 Yard Dice Games To Play On Your Lawn [ Jumbo Outdoor Scoring] (2024)

People have been playing with dice for hundreds — even thousands — of years and there is good reason why! They are fun to roll and throw, and dice lend themselves to games of chance, probability and math. There are literally hundreds of games, each with a nearly limitless amount of variations (some family-friendly dice games, and some distinctly adult in nature for example turning it into a drinking game).

You can take all of these games outside to enjoy sunshine, fresh air and time with your family and friends. They can also be a great bonding activity for groups and teams. Read on to learn about our favorite games and our favorite of the best yard dice games!

Yardzee is basically Yahtzee for the yard! Instead of tossing dice onto a table or tray, you throw giant wooden dice blocks across your lawn or in any other designated game area. Points are scored (as in the classic Yahtzee game) based on the combination and sequence of the numbers on the yard dice faces, such as a “Full House,” and you get three throws to maximize your score. This is one of the yard dice games great for all ages because it requires only elementary-level math skills, and it helps teach sequencing and probability. Plus, it’s just plain fun!

Our Yardzee game reviews can help you choose the best yard dice set — we recommend the Splinter Woodworking Yardzee & Yardkle Giant Dice Set, which deserves a place of pride on your porch or patio. You can also enjoy numerous variations on the classic dice game, such as Copycat Yahtzee or Reverse Sequence. Adults can even download “strip Yahtzee” score sheets; play outdoors at your own risk! (Tall fences are nice.)

Yarkle, or Yard Farkle, is another traditional dice game that can be adapted to your collection of dice yard games. It is played with two or more players and six dice: we like the Splinter Woodworking Yardzee & Yardkle Giant Games Set. A player throws the dice, sets one or more die aside for scoring and continues to throw the remaining dice if they wish. Once all six dice have been made “hot dice” (scored), the player can start again. If a throw results in no score, the player has “farkled,” all points are lost and the dice are passed to the next player. This is a game that everyone can enjoy in the yard, at a tailgate picnic or anywhere else.

If you’re playing with all adults, a variation on the Yarkle rules is that anyone who farkles has to indulge in an adult beverage. When a player makes hot dice AND continues to throw, they earn the chance to make another player indulge.

A snake eyes yard dice game is another great way to spend time with your family, friends and set of wood dice! You’ll need six dice (we like the Trademark Innovations Giant Dice Set with extra-large snake eye markings) and a hoop or rope to make a three-foot circle. Players take turns trying to throw the dice in the circle. Points are awarded based on the value of dice that land and stay in the circle each round, and the game is played to a set score point, usually 21. It’s not as easy as it sounds to get the dice to stay in the circle! If any player rolls “snake eyes” — all 1s in a single turn — that player wins immediately.

Like other yard dice games, there are adult variants — one variation of the game might encourage players to drink whenever a snake eye, or die with one pip showing, makes it into the circle. You’re free to make up your own house rules as well; after all, it’s your house!

This is one of the lawn dice games that’s great for teaching kids math without them even knowing it! It’s a fun game for everyone to play. It’s usually played with three dice, but younger kids may want to start out with two (it can also be played with four or more). Try the Tactic USA Big Dice Game set.

The first player rolls the dice and puts them in order to create the highest number possible; for instance, dice showing 3, 7 and 4 can be arranged to make 734. The dice are then passed to the next player with a challenge to “beat that!” The player with the highest number wins that round and scores one point. For older kids who can handle sums, the winning number can be the point total for that round — this results in spectacularly high scores and a lot of addition practice!

This yard dice game is also a gambling game by nature, but it can easily be modified for kids by playing for marbles, jellybeans or other small tokens. It requires two dice, and we recommend the GoSports Giant Dice Inflatable with Rapid Valve.

All players start out with the same amount of tokens and agree in advance how much each round will be worth. The first player to roll dice can roll up to three times and choose the highest score. However, every other player can roll as many times as the first player did, so the first player can make the strategic choice to limit the amount of rolls the other players can make. The player with the lowest score puts the agreed-upon amount of tokens into the pot, and the next round starts. When there is only one player left with any tokens, they are the winner and they take the entire pot.

This game has been played for a long time, and its name may have originated from sailors‘ journeys. Any number of players can participate, but more than six can be unwieldy. The game is played with three dice. Players decide ahead of time how many rounds they want to play.

In each round, players take turns throwing the dice. On the first roll, the highest-scoring die is set aside. The player rolls the remaining two dice, and the higher-scoring die is set aside. The last die is thrown once again, and the values for all three dice are totaled. That’s the player’s score for the round. After the agreed-upon number of rounds, the scores are added up and the player with the highest score wins. If there is a tie, one more round is played.

In its classic form, this is a game best suited for adults since it’s a gambling-based game. It’s easy enough to make it family-friendly for kids of all ages by playing for jellybeans or marbles though. You’ll need five dice (check out the Hey! Play! Giant Dice Set) and whatever you’re using as tokens.

In this yard dice game, 6 represents the ship, 5 represents the captain and 4 represents the crew. Players ante into the pot and the fun begins! Each player has three throws. A player must roll 6-5-4 either simultaneously or in order to be able to load the ship with cargo; the remaining two dice are the cargo and the most valuable cargo wins the round and the pot. Any players who do not achieve the 6-5-4 sequence are disqualified and must re-ante for the next round.

Balut is another dice game that’s somewhat similar to the classic Yahtzee, but it definitely has a personality of its own. Balut tournaments in Denmark, Singapore and other locales are high-class affairs with dress codes and formal codes of conduct, but you can enjoy the game in your own backyard. We recommend the Franklin Sports Dice Solid Wood Giant Games with Carrying Case.

Players throw five dice and record their scores in seven different categories, such as 4s, 5s, 6s and straights. Five of a kind is a Balut, which is announced to all players. Players get three chances to re-roll any or all of the dice to improve their scores. Before the game starts, players guess how many Baluts will be rolled in total and the winner can get a prize (separate from winning the game). You can download and print Balut scoresheets, or you can create your own.

This is a deceptively simple dice game, but it’s often used by mathematics and computer science professors to teach the concept of probability. It’s played with one large die, and we like the bright red GoSports 3.5″ Foam Playing Dice Giant Game.

A player rolls the die repeatedly until they either roll a 1 or they decide to “hold.” For each roll that is not a 1, the value of the die is added to that turn’s score. If/when the player holds, the score for that round becomes official. If the player continues rolling and a 1 comes up, all is lost and the score for that round is zero.

Variations on Pig include: Two-Dice Pig, which is played with two dice; Big Pig, which is also played with two dice and awards a player 25 points if double 1s are rolled; and Skunk, which is designed for large groups.

Many of us have learned and loved the Double Whammy dice toss as a drinking game, and it can certainly be enjoyed that way, but it can also be played as a healthy or family-friendly variation by substituting jumping jacks or another mini-challenge.

You’ll need two giant yard dice for this game and we recommend the Triumph Sports USA Big Roller Wooden Lawn Dice Giant Games set. Players take turns tossing the dice, and the objective is to make a roll that doesn’t require you to take a drink (do a jumping jack). If your roll includes a 6 or adds up to 6, you take one drink. If you roll double 1s, 2s, 4s, or 5s, you take that many drinks. But — and this is the double whammy — if you roll double 3s or double 6s, you have both rolled doubles and hit the “6” target. You need to take six drinks. Play continues until you make a roll that requires no drink, and then it passes to the next player.