How to play Drop Dead

Drop Dead is played with five dice, paper and a pencil. Two or more can play, and the game works just as well with a big group. The goal is to score the most points before all your dice are dead.

On your turn you roll all five dice. If none of them show a 2 or a 5, you add up the pips and add the sum to your turn total. Then you roll all the dice again.

If one or more dice show a 2 or a 5, the roll scores nothing. Every die showing 2 or 5 is dead and is set aside, and you keep rolling with the ones that are left.

An example: 3-4-6-6-1 scores 20 points, and you roll all five again. 2-3-3-5-6 scores nothing, and two dice are set aside.

You continue like this until your last die dies. Your turn is then over, and the turn total is your score for the round.

When every player has finished their turn, the round is over and the highest score wins. If you want a longer game, agree on a number of rounds in advance and add up the scores at the end.

Drop Dead is pure luck, and that is exactly why it works so well as a family game. Some play that you may stop while you still have live dice and keep your total, which gives the game a touch of Pig. Others swap the 2 and 5 for other dead numbers, just for variety.

If you like simple dice games where the points just keep rolling in, try Sevens Out as well.

The name comes from what happens when your last die dies. Dice showing 2 or 5 are set aside one by one, and when the last one goes, the player is said to have dropped dead. The turn is over, no matter how well it went along the way.

Yes, very much so. There are no decisions to make, so nobody can play wrong, and children get good practice adding up dice. Most can join from around 6 years old, and an adult can help keep score.