12 dice games for two people
Games you can play with a pair of dice, a scrap of paper and someone across the table. Rules first, then who it suits.
Updated September 2026 · 7 min read1. Pig
Roll one die as many times as you dare, adding up the pips. Roll a 1 and you lose everything from that turn. Stop whenever you like to bank your score. First to 100 wins.
Good for a couple with ten minutes and a grudge. The whole game is one decision made over and over, and the correct answer is boring: bank at about twenty. Watching someone ignore that is most of the fun. Full rules for Pig.
2. Ship, Captain and Crew
Five dice, three rolls. You need a 6 for the ship, then a 5 for the captain, then a 4 for the crew, and they must arrive in that order. Whatever the last two dice show is your cargo, and the bigger cargo wins the round.
It plays fast and rewards knowing when to stop, because a good cargo on roll two is often worth keeping rather than chasing.
3. Beat That
Roll two dice and arrange them into the highest two-digit number you can. A 5 and a 2 makes 52. Your opponent then rolls and has to beat it.
Use more dice for bigger numbers. It is quietly excellent with a child who is learning place value, because the arithmetic is the game rather than a chore attached to it.
4. Going to Boston
Three dice, three rolls. Each roll, set aside the highest die and roll what is left. Your score is the total of the three you set aside.
Simple enough to teach in one sentence, which is exactly the point when somebody at the table is not in the mood to learn a game.
5. Drop Dead
Roll five dice. Any 2 or 5 scores nothing and is removed from the game. Everything else is added to your total, and you roll again with what remains.
When your last die goes, your turn is dead. Highest total after both players have gone wins. Turns can end on the first roll or run for twenty, which is what makes it worth playing.
6. Yacht
The game Yahtzee came from, and it plays well with two. Twelve categories, three rolls a turn, and you must fill one box every turn even when nothing fits.
With two players the tension is different from a full table: you can see exactly what your opponent still needs, and you can see them failing to get it. Yahtzee rules cover the modern version.
7. Chicago
Eleven rounds, numbered 2 to 12. In each round you roll two dice once, and you score that round's number only if you roll it. Round seven, roll a seven, score seven.
Pure luck, no decisions, over in five minutes. It is the dice equivalent of War, and it belongs on this list for the same reason.
8. Mexico
Two dice, read as a two-digit number with the higher die first: a 4 and a 1 is 41. Doubles beat everything, and 21 beats even doubles. Lowest score each round loses a life, and three lives lost puts you out.
Best with a group but sharp with two, especially with the bluffing variant where the first player may hide their roll and simply announce a number.
9. Sevens Out
Roll two dice and keep rolling, adding up your total. Roll a seven and your turn ends with nothing. Doubles count double. First to 100.
It is Pig with two dice and a slightly crueller failure condition, since seven is the most common roll there is.
10. Farkle
Six dice, a scoring table and one long argument about whether three pairs is worth 1,500. Set aside scoring dice, decide whether to bank or push, and lose the lot when a roll scores nothing.
The best two-player game on this list if you want something that lasts half an hour. Full rules and the scoring table.
11. Liar's dice
Five dice each, hidden under a cup, and bids on how many of a face are on the table between you. With two players it becomes a very direct reading contest, since every bid is about your dice and theirs and nothing else.
Rules for Liar's dice, including the wild ones.
12. Twenty-One
Blackjack with dice. Roll one die at a time, adding up, and stop before you pass 21. Go over and you are out. Closest to 21 wins.
Everyone already knows the shape of it, so there is nothing to teach. Useful when a game needs to start in the next ten seconds.
Which one to pick tonight
Short on time, play Pig. Want bluffing, play Liar's dice or Mexico. Playing with a child, play Beat That. Want the evening to have a shape, play Farkle or Yacht.
Cannot agree at all? Put the twelve names on the wheel and spin once.