What Games Can You Play with Lawn Dice?

A set of oversized dice is the most flexible product in the garden game category, because the same five or six blocks support half a dozen different games. That flexibility is also the commercial problem: a customer who does not know what to do with them will not buy them, which is why the rule card matters as much as the dice.

Below are the games that work with a lawn dice set, with the scoring written out properly so a rule card can be printed from it.

What You Need

Five or six wooden dice at around 90 mm, a flat surface, and a score pad. That is the whole requirement, which is why the product travels well and why it works on a patio as well as a lawn.

One naming note before the games: Yahtzee is a registered trademark. The generic description of the five-dice category game is a dice poker or yacht game, and that is the safer term for packaging.

Game One: The Thirteen-Category Dice Game

Five dice, thirteen rounds, and a scoresheet with fixed categories. Each player gets up to three rolls per turn, setting aside any dice they want to keep between rolls, and must then enter a score in one unused category.

The categories are: ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, small straight, large straight, the five-of-a-kind category, and chance. The upper section scores the total of the matching face, with a bonus for reaching a threshold; the lower section scores fixed values for combinations.

Why it works as a lawn game: the decisions are simple, the downtime is short, and the score sheet gives everyone something to look at between turns. It is the version most likely to be played to completion by a mixed group.

Game Two: Farkle

Six dice, and a push-your-luck structure. On each turn you roll all six, set aside at least one scoring die, and choose whether to bank the points or roll the remainder. Roll and score nothing, and you lose everything accumulated that turn.

The scoring that a rule card should carry:

Games are usually played to 10,000. Regional variants abound, so print the version you are shipping and state that house rules are allowed.

Game Three: Dice Bowling

Ten bottles or skittles, a rolling line, and one die. Roll the die along the ground at the pins and score as bowling. It works because the die is heavy enough to topple a bottle and unpredictable enough to be funny.

Two practical notes. Use plastic bottles rather than glass, and fill them a third full with water so they stand up but still fall. And mark the rolling line with something physical, because the line becomes the argument otherwise.

Game Four: Dice Golf

A target, a throwing line, and a par for each hole. Roll the die to see how many throws you get, then throw it at the target. Whoever needs fewer throws over nine holes wins.

This is the best game for children, because the die roll gives a weak player a chance and removes the sense that the game is decided before it starts.

Games for Younger Children

• Number dash. Roll the die and run to a marker with that number. Simple, physical, and needs no scoring.
• Build to the roll. Roll and stack that many blocks. Taller is better until it falls.
• Counting and adding. Roll two dice and add them. It is arithmetic disguised as a game, which is the only kind that gets played voluntarily.

What to Check on a Lawn Dice Set

• Cube tolerance. Around 0.5 mm across all three dimensions. A die that is visibly out of square rolls unevenly.
• Edge radius. Sharp edges do not roll. For grass, a radius of 6 to 10 mm rolls better than 2 mm.
• Weight consistency. All dice in a set should be close in mass. A die with an internal void does not roll fairly.
• Pip method. Engraved and paint-filled lasts; printed wears at the edges. Opposite faces must sum to seven.
• The rule card and bag. A set without them is a bag of blocks. This is the cheapest part of the product and the one that decides whether it gets used.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many dice do I need?

Five for the thirteen-category game and for dice golf; six for Farkle. A six-dice set covers everything, which is why it is the most useful configuration to stock.

What size should the dice be?

Around 90 mm. Large enough to be visible and easy to throw, small enough that six fit in a bag.

Are lawn dice suitable for children?

Yes, and the smaller games in this list are designed for them. A large wooden die is heavy enough to hurt if thrown at someone, so the games should be played with an underarm roll rather than a throw.

Can the dice be branded?

Yes. Each face is a flat surface, so an engraved logo can replace or sit alongside a pip. Confirm which face, because the layout — opposite faces summing to seven — is not negotiable.

Do you supply the rule card and bag?

Yes, and both should be specified. A set that arrives as loose blocks with no rules is a product that generates support emails and does not sell twice.