Home Rules Blog MexicanTrain  

An image of various game pieces from different games like dice, dominoes, poker chips, etc.

What are some more advanced dice games worth playing? Here are 7 of the best


The best dice games for older kids, teens, and adults


Make your bets with Craps

Popular in casinos and 50's-era British spy novels, Craps is a fun dice game all about betting on the roll's outcome or a series of rolls of two six-sided dice. It has many betting options and strategies, making it complex and high-stakes with money (or candy) on the line.

All you need is two standard six-sided dice.

To start, one player rolls as the Shooter. This role changes each round, but after rolling both dice as the come out roll, there are three possible outcomes:

Once a point is established, the shooter keeps on dice rolling until they either roll the point number again or a 7. If the shooter rolls the point number, players who bet on the "Pass Line" win. If the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point number, players who bet on the "Don't Pass Line" win.

Bluff your way around the table in Liar's Dice

We've covered Liar's Dice before. Liar's Dice is a game of deception and bluffing and it's all about having good fun in a social setting. Players roll dice secretly and bid on the total number of dice showing a particular value. The catch is that players can lie about their rolls, and the goal is to catch others in a lie while avoiding being caught yourself.

To start, you'll need five standard six-sided dice per player. And a set of cups or containers per player to hide the dice rolls.

Each player rolls all five dice. You can look at your dice.

Then, one player makes a bid on the total number of each other's dice showing a specific value. Like, "Mary has 2 dice showing 1's." The next player can raise the bid by increasing the quantity or changing the value. They can challenge the previous big by saying "Liar", which challenges all players to reveal their dice. This checks the bid.

If the bid is correct (i.e., there are at least as many dice showing the specified value as bid), the challenger loses one of their dice. If the bid is incorrect (there are fewer dice showing the specified value than bid), the player who made the incorrect bid loses one of their dice.

The player who loses a die from a challenge starts the next round. It's an advanced dice game built on a straightforward concept of bluffing your way through a game. It's excellent for socialites who love dice games because most of the fun is in the social strategy, not so much the dice rolling.

Roll for specific combos in Farkle

Farkle has come up several times in our list of interesting alternative dice games. Farkle is a dice game where players roll six dice and try to score points by creating specific combinations, such as three-of-a-kind or a straight. Players must choose which dice to keep and which to re-roll, adding an element of strategy.

All you need are six dice and a score sheet or paper. To play:

  1. Roll all six dice.
  2. Set aside any scoring dice (see scoring combinations below).
  3. You can choose to set aside scoring dice and roll the remaining non-scoring dice again, or stop and score the points you've accumulated.

Farkle scoring works like this:


Farkle is a very simple game, but the advanced part of it comes in the risks, point banking, and decision to roll or keep going. In fact, it's among the few advanced dice games you can play solo.

Build your Ship, Captain, and Crew

This is a game that combines luck and skill. Players roll dice to achieve specific combinations representing a ship, a captain, and a crew. The goal is to roll these combinations in as few rolls as possible.

To play, you'll need a set of six dice.

The player's goal is to build their "ship," which consists of the following dice rolls:

Scoring: Once the player has successfully rolled 6, 5, and 4, set them aside. Now you can score points with the two remaining dice. The value of these two dice is added together to determine the player's score. For example, if you roll a 3 and a 2 with the remaining dice, your score would be 5 points (3 + 2).


Flexible, three-of-a-kind scoring in Cee-Lo

Cee-Lo is a popular street dice game that is often played for money. Players roll three dice and aim to get specific combinations, such as a 4-5-6 or three-of-a-kind. Betting and strategy play a significant role in this game.

Best played with three or more players, your goal here is to roll specific scoring combinations with three dice:

After the shooter's roll, the other players may choose to "challenge" or "accept" the roll based on the scoring combinations. If the roll includes an automatic win (Cee-Lo or 1-2-3), the round ends with the shooter as the winner. If not, players may challenge the shooter's score by rolling against it.

Challenges: Players who choose to challenge the shooter must roll the dice, and the player with the lowest value among the challenging players loses the round. In some variations, those tied players reroll if there's a tie for the lowest value.

Part of the fun here is the flexibility of Cee-Lo, with many house variations that alter scoring combinations, points, and rounds.

The classic, favorite social dice game of Bunco comes online

Bunco is a social dice game usually played in large groups. Players roll dice to match a target number, and the game progresses through various rounds. It's a game of speed and social interaction we're fond of here.

You can read all about how to play Bunco in detail, or, play anytime in your browser at PlayBunco.com. The best way to see what Bunco is all about is to play it!

Our online game is free, no account or login is required, and no downloads are required either. It's true to the original game but makes affordances for speed and how the dice game is played on a screen.

Roll all ten dice to be the first to Tenzi

Tenzi is a fast-paced dice game where each player starts with ten dice and races to roll all their dice to the same number. Various ways to play and score in Tenzi make it versatile and enjoyable.

What makes Tenzi a fun dice game (and probably where its name comes from) is you'll need ten dice!

Each player starts with ten dice of the same color. If you have more than four players, divide into smaller groups with their dice sets.

Everyone rolls simultaneously intending to get all their dice to show the same number (e.g., all sixes, or whatever round you're on or agreed to) first.

While the basic game of Tenzi is simple, players can introduce many variations and additional rules to make the game more challenging or interesting. For example, some players may require that the winning player also rolls a "Tenzi!" with all ten dice showing a specific number (e.g., all sixes). You can also play with rule variations involving certain combinations, like getting all dice to show two different numbers.