How the dice gift exchange game works
Like the left right game, the dice game is a traditional party game with no official rulebook. A common version has two rounds:
- Setting up. Everyone brings one wrapped gift within an agreed price limit. The gifts go in the middle and the players sit in a circle with one or two dice.
- Round 1: picking. Players take turns rolling. Roll a 6 and you take a gift from the middle; otherwise the dice move on. The round ends when the middle is empty. Some groups let a lucky player take a second gift on another 6, so round 2 has something to even out; others skip anyone already holding a gift.
- Round 2: the timed scramble. Set a timer, often five or ten minutes, and keep rolling. Each number now means an action: pass left, pass right, swap, steal, everybody passes, roll again.
- Time’s up. Everyone keeps the gift in their hands and opens it.
Groups change the numbers freely. Some use a single round with the timer from the start, some open gifts as they go so steals are deliberate, and many families drop stealing entirely when small children play. The four cards above are common versions, not the only correct ones; the blank card is there for whatever your family has always done.
Which version suits your group?
How long will round 1 take? The odds
On a fair six-sided die each number comes up one time in six on average. So when only a 6 takes a gift, it takes 6 rolls per gift on average, and a group of 10 needs about 60 rolls to empty the middle. At roughly five seconds a roll (our guess for passing the dice and cheering), that is about five minutes. Unlucky streaks are common: the chance of ten rolls in a row without a six is (5/6)10, about 16%.
To speed things up, let a 1 or a 6 take a gift: two faces in six halve the wait to about 3 rolls per gift, so 30 rolls for 10 players. With two dice, doubles also come up one time in six (six doubles out of 36 combinations), the same as a single 6.
The on-screen roller uses your browser’s cryptographic random numbers and throws away the few values that would make some faces slightly more likely, so every face really is one in six.
Playing with a big group
With more than about fifteen people, one die going round the circle is slow. Put two or three dice into play at once, started at evenly spaced seats, so several people are rolling at any moment; or split into two circles with their own pile of gifts and a timer each. Seat young children next to a grown-up who can read the actions out, and agree before you start whether a gift that has just been stolen can be stolen straight back.
Using the roller and timer
- Big targets. The Roll button is large enough to tap from across the sofa, and the timer can be read from across the room.
- Keyboard. Press R to roll and T to start or pause the timer, handy with a laptop plugged into the TV. The shortcuts are ignored while you are typing in a box.
- Sound is off by default. Tick Sound for a click on each roll and a chime when time is up.
- Reduced motion. If your device is set to reduce motion, the dice appear without tumbling.
- Your own rules. Make a house-rules card and choose “My house rules” in the roller: the result then shows your wording.
Common mistakes
- No price limit. One luxury candle and one bag of mints make stealing fierce. Agree a limit when you send the invitations.
- Endless steals. A popular house rule: a gift can only be stolen twice, then it is frozen.
- A timer nobody can see. Put it on the TV or a phone propped up in the middle.
- Toddlers and small gifts. If very young children are around, keep small items out of reach. US federal rules ban toys with small parts for children under 3 because they are a choking hazard; in an emergency, call your local emergency number.