There are lots of fun dice games you can play using ten dice, and they are perfect for players of pretty much all ages.
Out of the following list of my best dice games for ten dice, there is one shop-bought game, and the others are just simple games you can play with ten dice each.
The best 11 dice games to play with 10 dice are:
- Dice War
- 50 Up
- Tenzi
- Full Run
- Knock-Out Number
- 1 To 5, 5 To 1
- 1 To 5 Towers
- Doubles
- Two Fives
- Higher Or Lower
- 4, 3, 2, 1
I’ll talk you through exactly how to play each game:
1. Dice War
Resources – Ten dice each. It is fine for all the dice to be the same color. You also need a timer (for the timed version of the game)
Players – 2 to 6.
Roll one dice each. Whoever has the highest number is the champion, and takes all the dice and puts them in their pile.
Keep rolling, and repeating the procedure, with the highest number winning that round, and the player taking all the dice.
If two or more dice show the highest number, then that round is a draw. There can only be one dice that is the winner in every round.
The winner of this game is the player that ends up with either:
- (Less popular option) All of the dice! This can take a very long time.
- (More popular option) Set a timer, for example, to go off after 5 minutes. At the end of this time, count up how many dice everyone has, and the person with the most is the champion!
2. 50 Up
Resources – Sets of ten dice each (any color)
Players – 2 to 10
This is a points-based game.
Each player has ten dice.
Everyone rolls all ten at the same time. The idea is to get the biggest run of consecutive numbers. For example, you might get 2,3,4,5,6.
Whoever gets the largest run of numbers is the winner for that round. They get a number of points equivalent to the number of dice in their run. So for a run of 5 numbers, you get 5 points. For a run of 3 numbers (such as 2,3,4) you get 3 points.
Make a note of the score, and then all roll again.
The winner is the first player to get to 50.
3. Tenzi
Resources – Either the shop-bought game or sets of colored dice. You need ten of each color.
Players – 2 to 10 (theoretically more could play at once if you had enough dice)
This is the only shop-bought game on the list. To be honest, you can do the DIY version.
All you need to have is sets of ten colored dice for each player.
First, every player rolls their ten dice on the table and checks out what they get. The idea is to select the number that you have rolled the most, and this becomes your personal target number.
So, if you roll four ‘5s’, then your number is 5. You remove the 5s and put them to one side.
Now it is a race! Someone says, ‘Go!’
Everyone will now be rolling their remaining dice as quickly as possible. They are trying to get their target number (e.g. 5 in the example above).
Whenever they roll that number, they remove the dice and put them to one side.
The winner is the first person to have removed all of their dice, and they will all be showing their target number.
If that didn’t make much sense to you, then you can check out the demo in the youtube video!:
4. Full Run
Resources: Ten dice each per player
Players: 2-10
This one is a bit like poker in a way. You are trying to get a run of consecutive numbers.
The target at the end is to have six of your dice show a run of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and the other six dice show some kind of run of four numbers. This run of four could be 1-4, 2-5, or 3 to 6.
It’s another game of speed this one!
Everyone rolls their ten dice at the same time. Remove any numbers that make up a run.
So, you might roll 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6.
You could remove seven dice to make 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1, 3, 4. That would be a brilliant start! The next step is just to join in the gaps by keeping on throwing the remaining dice.
5. Knock-Out Number
Resources – Ten dice each
Players – 2-6
To begin playing, you must first agree on a knock-out number. The easiest way to do this is for one player rolls just one dice first.
Whatever comes up on this dice (for example, 4) is the knock-out number.
Then one player goes first. They roll ten dice. If any land on 4, then they are knocked out, and they remove them from their pile.
Then the next person goes.
You continue like this, with one player doing one roll at a time.
This is a game of attrition! The winner is the last person standing at the end.
6. 1 to 5, 5 to 1
Resources – Ten dice each
Players – 2-10
This is another game of speed.
The idea is that each player has ten dice. They roll just one dice first. The aim is to get a 1.
They keep rolling until this happens. Then they roll the next dice, aiming to get a 2. Then they move on to a 3.
The target is to go through the numbers 1-5 and then go back from there from 5 down to 1 again.
The first player to get to 1 at the end is the winner.
7. 1 To 5 Towers
Resources – Two sets of 10 dice, and a timer
Players – 2
This is the only game on this list that is a game of teamwork. You work with a partner to create four towers of 5 dice each.
Each player starts with ten dice. Start the timer, and you both roll your two sets at the same time.
The towers you are going to create will start with a 1. Then next number in the tower will be a 2, and you keep going until the top of the tower shows the number 5 pointing upwards.
So, when you’ve rolled the dice, look for any 1s you have got, and start the towers. If you’ve got four 1s then great! Start all four towers, and then move on to putting any 2s on the top.
If not, then just roll again. The idea is to keep on adding to the towers until they are complete. When they are, then stop the timer.
8. Doubles
Resources – Ten dice each
Players – 2 to 10 (potentially you could have a lot more players than this if you wanted)
This is a simple game of doubles. It is another race-style game.
Someone says, ‘Go!’ Everyone rolls their ten dice. The aim is to get doubles – i.e. two of the same number.
Any doubles you get, remove those dice pairs to a pile. Then you roll the dice again and see what other doubles you get.
You often find that you remove lots of doubles to start with, and then things slow down a bit as you move through the game, with the most challenging double being the last one to roll.
The champion in this game is the first person to have removed all their dice through rolling doubles.
9. Two Fives
Resources – Ten dice each – ideally two lots of separately colored dice (for example 5 green dice and 5 blue per player)
Number of Players – 2 to 10
The idea of this game is to finish with five dice showing one number, and five showing another number.
It is a bit like Tenzi, just split into two numbers rather than one.
Everyone rolls their ten dice to start with. Select two numbers that are showing a lot on the roll (for example, 2 and 5). Remove those particular numbers.
Then it is a race! Someone says, ‘Go!’ And you roll the remaining dice rapidly, removing any that land on your two target numbers.
Remember, 5 is the maximum quantity of dice for each number, so after you’ve reached that, it’s all about focussing solely on the other number.
The winner is the person that reaches the two sets of five dice first.
10. Higher Or Lower
Resources – Ten dice each, and a timer
Players – 2
This is based on the classic higher or lower card game.
Have ten dice. One player rolls just one dice. Whatever they get, the other player says, ‘Higher’ or ‘Lower’. They roll their one dice.
If they are correct, then the player that has called wins both dice. If they are wrong, then the player that rolled first wins both dice.
So, as an example, the first player rolls a ‘2’. The second player calls ‘higher’ and rolls a 5. The caller wins both dice.
It makes sense to set a time limit in this game using a timer. When the time limit is over, then the player with the most dice is the champion.
Alternatively, you can play until one player wins all the dice (though this can take a very long time!)
11. 4, 3, 2, 1
Resources – Ten dice per player
Number of Players – 2 to 10
The aim of this game is to get 4 of one number, 3 or another, 2 of one number, and one of another.
Again it’s a race, and this can sometimes happen very quickly (as a warning!)
Someone says, ‘Go!’ Everyone rolls their ten dice. You are trying to get close to that 4, 3, 2, 1 structure.
So, for example, if you roll 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, then you would have:
3 of a number – 2, 2, 2
2 of a number – 6, 6
1 of a number – 3
You leave some dice alone (like those above), and then start rolling the dice that don’t fit your structure. In the above example, if you managed to roll another 2 with your dice, then the 2s could be the number you have 4 of. Getting the four is always the most challenging part of the game.
Keep rolling individual dice until the winner is the person that hits the 4, 3, 2, 1 structure first!