This fun double down dice game will have players rolling dice as a group to try and earn prizes individually! It’s a press your luck style game that will have players having to decide whether to keep their winnings or go for more, knowing that they could lose it all! It’s perfect for sleepovers, birthday parties, game nights, and more!
Dice Risk or Reward Game
As I’ve created more and more party games over the past decade, I’ve found that the ones that feature a risk and reward factor – like this Don’t Eat Santa game, Deal or No Deal, and our Halloween monster march game – tend to be some of our most popular ones. People love the chance to press their luck.
So I’m always looking for games that play on that same press your luck concept. This particular double down dice game is actually inspired by one of my favorite board games for groups – Incan Gold.
In that game, you have to decide each round whether you’re going to stay in the temple to try and earn more money or leave the temple with what you have (and lose out on the chance to earn more).
This double down game is similar. In the game, players have to decide whether they’re going to walk away with what they have in their hands before each roll or keep going to try and earn more, with the risk of losing it all. It’s one of our favorite birthday party games but could easily be played for any occasion!
What Makes This Game Great
- Good for multiple ages – the concept is simple enough that young kids can play but fun enough that even adults will want to! It’s the perfect multi-generational game – just make sure the kids understand that they could lose what they’ve earned if they don’t walk away!
- Good for any size group – this game works the same with four people as it does with forty. The only difference will be the number of “prizes” you need to have available.
- Easy to learn and setup – you can set this game up in minutes and learn it in even less time, making it perfect to play whenever!
Supplies Needed to Play this Dice Game
The great thing about this game is that there is very little setup besides gathering the supplies. Here’s what you are going to need to play.
- A single dice – I highly recommend using a large dice so everyone can easily see the number but a standard-sized dice works too, especially if you want to sit around a table.
- Free printable dice cutouts – you can download these at the bottom of this post – there’s a black and a red dice cut out for each number on a standard 6-sided die. There are a large version (for a poster board) and a small version (for a standard piece of paper).
- Tape – you’ll also need tape simply to tape the dice to the board (if you want to do that).
- Sturdy board – this is optional, but I prefer to mount my dice on a poster board or piece of cardboard so everyone can see where you’re at the game at all times!
- Basket of small prizes – I’ve included a section all about prizes below, but you’ll want small individual prizes that work for the age of your players. Stick to your budget and the people you’re buying prizes for!
- Large prize – this is also optional but a way to make the game even more engaging is to have a larger prize for the person who ends up the big winner!
How to Set Up the Game
Once you’ve gathered all of your supplies, all you need to do is create your game board.
- Download the free printable dice cutouts at the bottom of this post.
- Print the dice cards in color – one is black and one is red.
- Cut out each individual dice.
- Tape or glue the set of black dice onto the poster board.
- Set cut out red dice aside until ready to play.
Tip!
If you don’t have access to a printer you can send the cards to your local print shop to be printed. You can also draw them by hand if you prefer, just make sure you have a black and white set of dice and a red set (or some color that’s not black and white).
How to play double down dice game
This game is really simple to play making it the perfect game to have in the back of your pocket for any party!
This game is played in rounds. Determine how many rounds you want to play before the game so everyone can strategize based on how many rounds they have left. I typically play five rounds but have added more when teens were obsessed with the game!
For each round:
- Have everyone playing stand or sit in a circle, then place the dice game board somewhere everyone can see.
- Give the six-sided die to someone in the circle and have them roll the die. Whatever number they roll gets covered on the dice board with its red counterpart. So if they roll a five, the five would get covered with the red die showing five.
- Pass around the prize basket and have everyone choose one prize.
- Ask who wants to continue to the next round and who wants to leave the circle and keep their winnings for this round. Anyone who chooses to leave the circle, steps out of the circle and puts their prize in their winnings pile. They’re out for the remainder of this round. Anyone who continues stays standing in the circle.
Important!
One other thing to note is that everyone playing will have two different prizes piles – one is a temporary this round prize pile that can be lost at any time during the round, the other one is their permanent winnings pile that is theirs regardless of what happens during the round.
- Pass the six-sided die to the next person in the circle and have them roll it.
- If they roll a number that has already been covered, everyone who is still in the circle puts all of their prizes from this round (not their winnings) back into the prize basket – they’ve lost everything for the round and the round is over.
- If they roll a number that has not already been covered by a red die, then cover the new number with the corresponding red die. Then go through and repeat steps 3 and 4 above (giving out one prize per person, then asking who wants to continue).
Special Bonus for a completed board!
If all six numbers get rolled without rolling a duplicate – anyone who stays in for the entire thing gets to double what they’ve earned in that round after the final number gets rolled. Since they will have earned five prizes so far (for the five rolls), they’ll earn a total of ten prizes if they stay in through a completed board. The round ends and those prizes go immediately into their winnings.
How Does A Round End?
If at any point, someone rolls a number that has already been rolled (covered with a red die), that round ends and everyone still in the round gives back all of their temporary prizes. Anyone who has left the circle for the round adds their prizes to their winnings pile.
Everyone is back in the game for the next round and you play in the exact same way until you’ve played through the pre-determined number of rounds.
Tip!
Store red dice on the back of the game board during each round until it is rolled, so it’s clear which dice have been rolled.
Tape the very top of the red die over the black die so they don’t stick to the black dice and rip the paper.
Then just remove any red dice at the end of the round and put them back on the back of the board to start the new round!
How to Win the Double Down Dice Game
At the end of the pre-determined number of rounds, count up the total number of prizes that everyone has in their winning pile. Whoever has the most prizes in their winning pile wins the large prize (if you want to have one). If you have a tie, have the players in the tie roll one die and whoever rolls the highest wins.
Double Down Prize ideas
As you can probably tell, the prizes are a big part of this game. It’s not fun if you’re risking prizes no one cares about. Choose your prizes based on your budget, your group, and the people in your group.
But also remember that similar to our Let’s Make a Deal game, you could be giving out a lot of prizes if people don’t roll duplicate numbers. Everyone who plays will end up with somewhere between 0 and 50 prizes in a game of five rounds but 50 would mean no one rolls any duplicates – and that’s just unfeasible.
The most likely scenario is that most people playing will end up with somewhere between 5-15 prizes per game (1-3 prizes per round), so I recommend planning for 20 prizes per person playing knowing that you’ll likely have extras.
Some prize ideas that we’ve used in the past that have worked well include:
- Pieces of candy – just get a giant bag of candy and fill your basket, this works great for kids and teens.
- Dollar store items – small but practical items like chapsticks, puzzle books, notebooks, face masks, card games, nail polishes, and so on make great prizes!
- Snacks and drinks – the teens we teach at church LOVE snacks. You could do a basket that combines pieces of candy with individual snacks (like Goldfish, Takis, individual Oreos) and individual drinks.
- Money – think quarters for kids and dollar bills for teens and adults.
- Lotto tickets – this one is for adults only but $1 or $2 lotto tickets are one of my family’s favorite bingo prizes and would be a fun one here too!
- Small toys and favors – bouncy balls, slap bracelets, and other goodie bag or pinata style favors for younger kids.
- Gift cards – if you have a small group and really want to up the ante (and budget), gift cards are always a win!
You could also do a combination of any or all of these ideas. There are no rules that say you can’t have a basket that includes a variety of prizes that people can choose from – just make sure everyone knows they have to choose their prizes quickly!
Game FAQS
How many players can play at one time?
This game can be played with as many players as you want, though I recommend having at least four players.
How do I make the game longer?
To make the game longer, you can add more rounds to the original game. Or you can play the game with two dice instead of one – just make a board that has the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 and use that instead of the dice printouts I’ve provided in this post. Cover them up as they’re rolled and play the exact same way.
What do we do if there is a tie?
If you have a tie, have anyone who is tied roll a die and the person who rolls the highest wins.
How many prizes do I need?
The number of prizes you’ll need for the game depends on the number of players and the number of rounds you’ll be playing. For a five round game, everyone could technically win up to 50 prizes in a perfect, no doubles rolled game. That’s not going to happen, but I do recommend having 20 prizes per person available.
More Dice Games
Don’t stop after just one game. Keep the fun going with these other fun dice games that are great for all ages!
- Saran wrap game – roll the dice for a chance to unwrap prizes in a saran wrap ball!
- Lucky dice game – a game that will have you rolling to keep coins and ultimately win prizes!
- Math dice game – this one’s for the kids who likes math or need a little help with it! It makes match fun!
- Vegas gift game – this fun gift exchange game combines dice rolling and cards!
- Roll a snowman game – see who can build a snowman first simply by rolling a dice that matches its pieces!
Download the double dice cutouts
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable free download PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes. Print on card stock and you’re on your way.
If you’d prefer to not provide your email address, you can get a copy in my shop here.
If you do not see the form, click here to get to it.
If you do not see the email with the printable design templates immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders!
The file will include:
- One set of black die cutouts
- One set of red die cutouts
- Printable game instructions
- Use policy – all files are for personal use only
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