How to play “Pass the pigs”
Set up
Number of players
PASS THE PIGS is a game for 2 to 6 players from 6 years old.
What you need
The game is played with two small piggies that are used as dice. At the bottom of the page you will find a Guide and buying tips.
Piggy poses – how they land
The piggies have a dot on one side and their design allows them to land on the table in 6 different ways:
SIDEWAYS
The piggy lands on one of its sides. This is the most probable landing.
STANDING
The piggy lands on its feet. Yep, it happens more often than you’d think!
WITH THE LEGS UP
The piggy falls on its back and is left with its legs up. Just as likely as landing on your feet, but more fun.
HEAD DOWN
The piggy lands supported between its snout and front legs. Very unlikely, but possible.
LEANING JOWLER
The piggy lands supported between its snout and one of its front legs (or an ear). It’s practically magic, but it has happened.
Rounds and turns
PASS THE PIGS is played in clockwise turns. In each round there will be a turn for each player.
Who’s first?
The youngest player goes first.
Goal of the game
Objective
The objective of PASS THE PIGS is to be the first player to reach 100 points.
PASS THE PIGS rules: game development
How to play in one turn
The player whose turn it is throws the two piggies at the same time and scores points based on how they land (we will see the scoring system later) until one of these situations occurs:
The player decides to stop and keeps the points earned in that turn.
PIG OUT
Both piglets land sideways, one with the point up and the other with the point down.
The player loses all points accumulated in that turn, adds nothing to his overall score in that turn.
OINKER
Both piglets touch each other. No matter how they fall, if they touch each other… we have bad news… The player loses all their total points.
PIGGY BACK
Worse than an OINKER? Yep – the dreaded PIGGY BACK… in which one of the piggies is on top of the other and does not touch the table. The probability of this happening is very small, but if it does happen… the player is eliminated!
PASS THE PIGS scoring system
This is how they score each of the piggy landings. 🐷🐷 🤣
At least one of them sideways
SIDER
1 point
Both pigs lie on their sides in the same way, both with the point up or both with the point down.
What if one is left with the point up and the other with the point down? Nothing good. We will explain it later. Let’s continue with the scores.
TROTER
5 points
One of the pigs lands on its feet and the other on its side.
It doesn’t matter if the point is above or below.
RAZORBACK
5 points
One of the pigs lands with its feet up and the other on its side.
It doesn’t matter if the point is above or below.
SNOUTER
10 points
One of the pigs lands in a pike, leaning between the nose and its front legs, and the other on its side.
It doesn’t matter if the point is above or below.
LEANING JOWLER
15 points
One of the pigs lands on its nose and one front leg (or ear) and the other on its side.
It doesn’t matter if the point is above or below.
non-double COMBOS
If none of the pigs fall sideways, and they fall in different positions, the scores are added together:
RAZORBACK + TROTER
5 + 5 = 10 points
RAZORBACK + SNOUTER
5 + 10 = 15 points
RAZORBACK + LEANING JOWLER
5 + 15 = 20 points
TROTER + SNOUTER
5 + 10 = 15 points
TROTER + LEANING JOWLER
5 + 15 = 20 points
SNOUTER + LEANING JOWLER
10 + 15 = 25 points
DOUBLE COMBOS
DOUBLE TROTER
20 points
DOUBLE RAZORBACK
20 points
DOUBLE SNOUTER
40 points !
DOUBLE LEANING JOWLER
60 points!
Game over – who takes the crown??
Game over
The game continues until, in some round, one of the players reaches 100 points, although that still does not make him the winner because all players must exercise their turn within that last round.
And the winner is…
The player with the most points at the end of the last round wins.
Tips for playing BIG PIG
Playing time
You can play longer or shorter games by adjusting the target score.
Buying guide and tips
We bought our PASS THE PIGS a few years ago.
Here are some pictures:
Full transparency: some of the products we recommend include affiliate links. If you buy through them, we get a small commission — at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
