Dice Baseball Game: Rules, Chart and Odds
Dice Baseball turns two dice into a whole ball game. Every roll is one batter: the sum tells you whether it is a hit, a walk or an out. Three outs and the other side bats. After nine innings, the team with more runs wins. You need two dice, a sheet of paper and a pencil, and it plays well on a rainy afternoon or as a classroom game between two teams.
What You Need
- Two six-sided dice, or our Dice Roller set to two dice.
- A score sheet with nine innings for each team.
- A small diamond drawn on paper, with coins or counters for the runners.
- Two players or two teams.
Who Bats First
Toss a coin with our Coin Flip. The winner of the toss chooses to bat first or second, just as in many real leagues. Batting second has a small advantage: in the last inning you know exactly how many runs you need.
How to Play
There are many dice baseball charts. This is a simple home version we use, so feel free to change it before you start.
- Roll two dice for each batter and look up the sum in the chart below.
- Hits move runners: on a single every runner moves one base, on a double two bases, on a triple three bases, and a home run clears the bases.
- A walk puts the batter on first. Runners move only if they are forced.
- Three outs end the half-inning. Clear the bases and the other team bats.
- Nine innings: after nine innings the team with more runs wins. If the score is tied, play extra innings until one team leads at the end of an inning.
The Dice Chart
In the chart, “Sum” is the total of the two dice, “Result” is what happens to the batter, and “Chance” is the exact chance of that result on one roll, out of 36 equally likely results.
| Sum | Result | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12 | Home run | 1/36 each |
| 3 | Double | 2/36 |
| 4 | Walk | 3/36 |
| 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 | Out | 21/36 together |
| 7 | Single | 6/36 |
| 11 | Triple | 2/36 |
The rarest sums are the big hits, so home runs are exciting, while the common 7 gives a single. A little more than half of all rolls are outs, which keeps the game moving. For more on why some sums come up more than others, see our dice probability guide.
How Many Runs to Expect
We simulated 60,000 nine-inning games with this chart. In the table, the left column is what we measured and “Simulated estimate” is the result. The share of batters reaching base is exact, not simulated.
| Simulated estimate | |
|---|---|
| Runs per team, 9 innings | about 9.5 (typical 9) |
| Innings with no runs | about 56% |
| Games tied after 9 innings | about 6% |
| Batters reaching base | 15 in 36 (42%), exact |
That is more runs than in most real games, because 42% of batters reach base, while in real professional baseball it is usually closer to one in three. If you want a lower-scoring game, try the “caught at the wall” variation below.
Tips
- Keep a box score. Write the runs for each inning so you can follow comebacks.
- Name your batters. Give each team nine named batters and keep track of their hits for a season of games.
- Play a series. One game is mostly luck. A best-of-seven series feels more like a real competition.
- Speed it up. For a short game, play three or five innings.
Dice Baseball in the Classroom
Split the class into two teams and let a different child roll for each batter. Count bases on a diamond drawn on the board. It practises adding sums to 12, and after the game the class can compare the chart with a tally of the rolls: did singles really come up most often? Older students can design their own chart and test whether it gives more or fewer runs.
Variations
- Caught at the wall: make 12 an out instead of a home run. In our simulation that cut scoring to about 7 runs per team.
- Slugfest: make 6 a single and 10 a double. In our simulation that chart gave about 33 runs per team, so keep it for fun games.
- Double plays: with a runner on first and fewer than two outs, a roll of 8 is a double play.
- Stolen bases: before a roll, a team can try to steal. Flip a coin: heads the runner moves up, tails the runner is out.
- Pitcher dice: the fielding team rolls one die and the batting team the other, so both sides feel part of every batter.
- One die: for young children, 1 is out, 2 is out, 3 is out, 4 is a single, 5 a double and 6 a home run.
For more short games with two dice, see our easy dice games and Dice Golf.
Where Does the Game Come From?
People have been playing baseball with dice for a very long time, and many charts and board games have been made, some with player cards and detailed statistics. This simple version is one of many home charts, and we found no reliable record of who first played baseball with two dice.
FAQ
How do you play dice baseball?
Roll two dice for each batter and look up the sum on a chart of hits, walks and outs. Three outs end the half-inning. After nine innings, the team with more runs wins.
What is a good dice baseball chart?
Give the rare sums the big hits and the common sums outs and singles. Our chart uses 2 and 12 for home runs, 3 for a double, 11 for a triple, 4 for a walk, 7 for a single and the rest for outs.
How many runs are scored in dice baseball?
With our chart, each team scored about 9 or 10 runs per nine-inning game in our simulation. Changing the chart changes the scoring a lot.
What is the chance of a home run in dice baseball?
With 2 and 12 as home runs, the chance is 2 in 36, about 1 batter in 18.
Can you play dice baseball alone?
Yes. Roll for both teams and keep a box score, or play a whole season of games between your favourite teams.
Can you play dice baseball with an online dice roller?
Yes. Set our free Dice Roller to two dice, and use our Coin Flip to decide who bats first.