Slam Dice Game

The Slam Dice Game is fast-paced and easy to learn. It’s a fun game for groups with the added twist of having no clear winner but one definite loser.

Background

I ran across this Slam Dice Game back in May when I was looking for activities to keep my students busy during a weird week-long gap where 50-80% of my students were absent due to being exempt from semester exams but it was too early to start semester exam prep.

After having a lot of success playing Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, Circle Tic Tac Toe, and other dice games like Farkle and Martinetti, I turned to google to figure out if there were any other great dice games I didn’t know about.

That’s how I ran across the Slam Dice Game. It is a fast-paced dice game that is great for groups. It differs from many dice games in that it doesn’t have a winner, but it does have a definite loser.

Rules for Playing Slam Dice

Game Supplies

• 3 standard six-sided dice
• Score Sheet [Free Printable PDF at the Bottom of this Page]

Deciding the Slam Number

First, determine the slam number for the game by having one player roll a single die. This number is the slam number.

Scoring

The goal of this game is to score 15 points by rolling the pre-determined slam number.

If you roll 3 dice and end up with 1 slam number, this is called a SINGLE SLAM. It is worth 1 point.

If you roll 3 dice and end up with 2 slam numbers, this is called a SMALL SLAM. It is worth 5 points.

if you roll 3 dice and end up with 3 slam numbers, this is called a GRAND SLAM. It is worth 15 points.

Game Play

On each player’s turn, roll all 3 dice.

• If you roll a single slam or a small slam, add the corresponding points (1 point or 5 points) to your score. Roll again.
• If you fail to roll a slam number, your turn ends.
• If you roll a grand slam, your score automatically changes to 15. You have finished the game. Congrats, you are not the loser!

The goal of the game is to not be the loser. Continue playing until all players have achieved 15 points except 1. After you have reached 15 points, you no longer have to roll.

The loser is the player who does not reach 15 points.

One Note to Keep in Mind: If you roll a grand slam, your score goes automatically to exactly 15 points. This means you are automatically NOT the loser.

However, if you are at 14 points and roll a small slam, this would put your score at 19 points. This is not allowed. Your turn is over. You will have to try and roll a single slam on your next turn.

Printable Score Card and Instruction Sheet

To help my students understand the rules, remember their slam number, and keep track of their score, I created a printable Slam Dice template which I printed for them.

I actually printed the template and placed it in a dry erase pocket so that it could be reused between games and between different groups of students.