How to play Dice Golf

Dice Golf is played with three dice, a sheet of paper and something to write with. Give each player a column with nine rows, one for each hole. The game works for two to six players and requires no golf knowledge, just a little patience when the dice refuse to cooperate.

The course has nine holes, and everyone plays one hole at a time. On your turn you roll all three dice until at least two of them show the same number, a double. Every throw without a double is one stroke, so make a mark for each of them. The throw where the double appears is the ball dropping into the hole, and it costs nothing.

If you roll a double straight away, you leave the hole without a single stroke on your card. That is this game's answer to a hole in one.

After each hole, write down your strokes and pass the dice to the next player. Once everyone has played nine holes, add everything up. As in real golf, the player with the fewest strokes in total wins.

A couple of house rules are common:

• Play 18 holes if you want a full round.
• Count the throw with the double as a stroke. A hole in one is then one stroke, just like on a real course.
• Play with two dice instead of three. Doubles come up far less often, and the holes turn long and stubborn.

If you enjoy sports with dice, Ten Pins belongs in the same bag.

With three dice, the chance of at least one double is a little under one in two per throw. Most holes are done in one to three strokes, but now and then the ball gets properly stuck, and that is when the table comes alive.

Yes, from around five or six years old. Kids only need to spot two matching dice and count their own marks, so this works well as a first dice game. Pig is another simple game for the youngest players.