Dice Games with 5 Dice: Five Times the Fun!

Did you know that playing dice games with 5 dice is actually 5 times more fun than playing with one die?

True story.

But seriously, these 5-dice games are ever so much fun for families and they are one of the greatest screen-free boredom busters in the entire world. I do not exaggerate You can read more about why we love dice games for kids here. Plus, there is something so very, very satisfying about throwing down so many dice at once and hearing the clickty-clackety sounds on the table. Am I weird for thinking so? Maybe. But you can judge for yourself when you play these games with five dice with your kids!

Note: printable game instructions are at the bottom of this post!

DROP DEAD

This game has the worst name! Sometimes it is called Stuck in the Mud, so you can use that name if "drop dead" is a bit too creepy for you. However, my son LOVES this game so much.

Click here for the full rules of drop dead, or watch the video below.

SHIP, CAPTAIN AND CREW

My kids love this ship themed dice game that uses 5 dice. Some people claim it is a drinking game, but obviously you will be playing it straight with your kids!

Objective: Players want to roll a ship (6), a captain (5) and a crew (4), plus have the highest score possible on the remaining two dice (the cargo). The catch? You must roll the 6, 5 and 4 in descending order. After all, you can't have a captain without a ship, or a crew without a captain!

Instructions: Each player gets three rolls to get his ship and crew together. The first player rolls all five dice in an attempt to get the 6, 5 and 4. If he rolls a 6, he can keep it, but can only keep a 5 or a 4 if he has a 6 or a 6, 5 respectively. On the next two rolls he aims to get a 5 and then a 4. If, by the end of the third roll he has a 6-5-4, he adds up the remaining two dice for his "cargo"  score. If he does not have a 6-5-4, he scores nothing.

For example, if he rolls a 6-3-1-1-4, he keeps the 6 but not the 4 because there is no 5. He can re-roll the 3-1-1-4 for his second roll. If he then rolls 5-4-2-2, he keeps the 5 and 4 and can choose whether or not to re-roll the 2-2. 4 is not a very high score so it might be wise to aim for a higher scoring "cargo."

Play as many rounds as you want!

Alternative: We like to turn this into a betting dice game and play with chips. A set of poker chips adds a fun dimension. I do like to lecture my kids about the evils of gambling for real, however, ha ha ha.

PLUS AND MINUS

You need a pen and paper to keep score. This game is great for practicing early math skills.

Instructions: Each player gets four rolls in a row on their turn. On the first roll, they add the highest two values and then roll the remaining three dice. On this roll, they take the lowest scoring die, set it aside and subtract it from the previous sum. On the third roll they roll the remaining two dice; the higher value die is set aside and added to the current score. On the final roll of the last die, that value is subtracted from the score to make the total. Pass the dice to the player on the left.

For example: The first roll is 6-4-2-4-1; set aside 6-4 for a score of 10. The second roll is 3-2-1; set aside 1 and subtract from 10 for a score of 9. The third roll is 4-2; set aside 4 and add to 9 for a score of 13. The final roll is 6; subtract from 13 for a final score of 7.

Players can decide ahead of time how many rounds they wish to play. Learn more about this addition and subtraction dice game here.

ACES

Don't confuse this game with Aces in the Pot, a dice game played with only 2 dice. There are similarities, but each is interesting enough in its own right.

Required: at least three players.

The first player rolls all 5 dice at once. Any 1s are placed in the center and removed from game play. Any 2s rolled are passed to the player on her left; and 5s are passed to the player on her right.

She continues to roll any remaining dice until she has either given away all her dice or fails to roll a 1, 2 or 5. Once she has failed to roll a 1, 2 or 5 she passes the remaining dice to the player on her left, who has his turn and rolls whatever number of dice he has.

Play continues in this manner until there is only one die left in play and the player left with it rolls a 1 and thus wins the game.

MAFIA DICE

For mafia dice, each player needs 5 dice of their own. Plus, it is such an easy peasy dice game! And super quick, depending on how many rounds you play. Best played with 3 or more players.

Objective: to be the first player to lose all your dice!

Instructions: The first player rolls their dice, passes any 6s to the player on their left and removes any dice showing a 1 from the game. Play continues with the player on the left. Game play continues in this way until one player is left with no dice and thus wins the game!

Watch the video to see a fun variation in which players use chips to play rounds:

THREE OR MORE

This is another game that uses a few basic math skills.

Objective: to have the highest score at the end of ten rounds.

Instructions: 

Players take turns rolling all 5 dice. The goal is to roll at least 3 of a kind.

On a player’s turn one of the following will happen:

1. If the roll contains no matches, the score is zero and the player’s turn is over.
2. If the roll contains 3 or more of a kind, record a score of three and pass the dice to the next player.
3. If the roll contains 2 of a kind, the player may re-roll the remaining three dice. If, after the second roll, there is not at least 3 of a kind, the score is zero. If the roll has 3, 4 or 5 of a kind, record either a score of three for 3 of a kind, six for 4 of a kind or twelve points for 5 of a kind.

Whoever has the highest score at the end of ten rounds, wins.

Watch video to show Three or More in action:

Want more super fun and easy games?

See the collection of all our best dice games for kids! That includes dice games with 5 dice, 2 dice, 1 die, 4 dice and more!