Dice Cycling Race Game: Rules, Dice Chart and Odds
Dice cycling is a bike race on paper for two to six riders. Each roll of two dice moves your rider along a 60-square course: most rolls are steady pedalling, some are slow climbs, a few are breakaways and sprints, and now and then a puncture costs you a turn. The first rider across the line wins. You need two dice, a pencil and a strip of 60 squares, and a race takes about fifteen minutes. Below are the rules, the dice chart and the exact odds.
What you need
- Two six-sided dice, or a dice roller set to two dice.
- A course of 60 squares in a line, drawn on paper, with a start and a finish line.
- A counter for each rider, such as a coin, a button or a small toy bike.
- Two to six riders, and a random name picker to set the start order.
Who starts first?
Put every rider’s name into a random name picker and draw them one by one. The order of the draw is the order in which the riders take their turns. Because of the finish rule below, going first gives no advantage, so the draw just sets the order fairly.
How to play
- All the counters start behind the first square.
- On your turn, roll both dice, add them up and look at the chart below. Move your counter the number of squares it shows.
- Puncture: on a 2 you stay where you are and miss your next turn while you fix the tyre.
- Finishing: when a rider crosses square 60, the other riders still take their turns in that round. Everyone who crosses the line in the same round counts how far past square 60 they went, and the one who went furthest wins.
- Photo finish: if two riders went past the line by the same amount, toss a coin flip to decide.
Real road races have climbs, breakaways and sprint finishes, and riders do lose time to punctures. The chart is a simple home version, not an official game, so agree on it before the start.
The dice chart and the chance of each roll
In the table, “Roll” is the total of the two dice, “What happens” is the move it gives, and “Chance” is the exact probability out of the 36 ways two dice can land.
| Roll | What happens | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Puncture: stay put and miss your next turn | 1 in 36 |
| 3 or 4 | Climb: move 2 squares | 5 in 36 |
| 5 to 9 | Steady pedalling: move 4 squares | 24 in 36 |
| 10 or 11 | Breakaway: move 6 squares | 5 in 36 |
| 12 | Sprint: move 8 squares | 1 in 36 |
Two rolls in three are steady pedalling, because the middle totals are the most common, as explained in our guide to dice probability. Climbs and breakaways are equally likely, 5 in 36 each, so they balance out. On average a rider moves exactly 4 squares per roll. A puncture comes 1 time in 36, and about one rider in three gets at least one puncture during a race.
How long is a race?
A rider needs 15 turns on average to finish 60 squares, counting any turns missed with a puncture. The fastest possible race is 8 turns, with eight sprints in a row, which almost never happens. In the next table, “A rider finishes in” is the number of turns one rider needs to cross the line, and “Chance” is how likely that is, rounded.
| A rider finishes in | Chance |
|---|---|
| 12 turns or fewer | about 1% |
| 13 to 15 turns | about 49% |
| 16 to 18 turns | about 42% |
| 19 or 20 turns | about 6% |
| More than 20 turns | about 1% |
With two riders, both cross the line in the same round about 17% of the time, so the “how far past the line” rule matters often. A true photo finish, with both riders past the line by the same amount, happens in about 7% of two-rider races. Every rider has the same chance to win, one in two with two riders and one in six with six. These numbers are worked out exactly from the rules, not simulated.
Tips
- Draw a few hills and a sprint banner on the course to make it look like a real race.
- Give each rider a team name and a jersey colour.
- For a short race, use 30 squares. For a grand tour, race three stages and add up the finishing places.
- Let one player be the race commentator and call out every breakaway.
Classroom ideas
- Counting on: younger pupils move their counter and count the squares out loud.
- Averages: after a race, each rider divides 60 by the number of turns they needed and compares it with 4.
- Probability: why are climbs and breakaways equally likely? List the ways to roll 3 or 4 and the ways to roll 10 or 11.
- Data: record how many turns each race takes and make a bar chart for the class.
Variations
- Mountain stage: mark squares 20 to 40 as a mountain, where every move is halved, rounded up.
- Slipstream: a rider who ends a turn on the square right behind another rider moves 1 extra square.
- Team time trial: riders race in teams of two or three, and a team’s time is when its last rider crosses the line.
- Spare tyre: each rider has one spare tyre per race, which cancels one puncture.
If you like sports played with dice, try dice bowling or dice archery next.
For a race in the pool, try the dice swimming race, four lengths with turns at the wall.
FAQ
How do you play a cycling race with dice?
Each turn, roll two dice and move along a 60-square course: 2 is a puncture, 3 or 4 a climb of 2 squares, 5 to 9 is 4 squares, 10 or 11 a breakaway of 6 and 12 a sprint of 8. The first rider across the line wins.
How long does a race take?
About 15 turns per rider, and about nine races in ten take between 13 and 18 turns.
What happens with a puncture?
On a 2 the rider stays put and misses the next turn. It happens 1 time in 36.
Does it matter who goes first?
No. Everyone finishes the round, and the rider who went furthest past the line wins, so the order does not change the odds.
What if two riders finish together?
The one who went further past square 60 wins. If they are level, toss a coin.
How many players can play?
Two to six riders. Bigger groups can race in teams.