Dice Hammer Throw Game: Rules, Turns and Odds

Dice hammer throw is a throwing contest for two to six athletes. Before every throw you decide how many turns to spin: three or four. Each turn is one die that adds speed, but a wobble can throw you off balance, and a bad release sends the hammer into the cage. Everyone gets three throws, and the best one counts. A contest takes about ten minutes.

What you need

• Five six-sided dice, or a dice roller. Four are turn dice and one is the release die, so use a different colour for the release die if you can.
• A score sheet with a row for each athlete and three boxes for their throws.
• A pencil.
• A random name picker to set the throwing order.

Who throws first

Put every athlete’s name into the random name picker and draw them one by one. That is the throwing order for all three rounds. The order does not change anyone’s chance of winning, but the last thrower knows the mark to beat.

How to play

1. Before your throw, say “three turns” or “four turns”.
2. Roll that many turn dice and the release die together.
3. Turns: every turn die of 2 to 6 adds 2 m for each pip. A turn die of 1 is a wobble and adds nothing. Two or more wobbles in one throw is a foul.
4. Release: a release die of 1 hits the cage and the throw is a foul. Otherwise, add the release die in metres.
5. Your distance is 30 m plus the turns plus the release. For example, three turns of 4, 5 and 1 with a release of 3 give 30 + 8 + 10 + 0 + 3 = 51 m.
6. Every athlete throws once per round, for three rounds. Your best throw counts, and the longest best throw wins. If two athletes tie, the one with the better second-best throw wins, and if that is also a tie, they throw once more.

This is a simple home version, not an official game. In a real hammer throw, the athlete swings a metal ball on a wire, usually spins three or four times inside a 2.135 m circle, and throws from inside a tall safety cage. The men’s hammer weighs 7.26 kg and the women’s 4 kg. At the time of writing, the men’s world record is 86.74 m by Yuriy Sedykh from 1986, and the women’s is 82.98 m by Anita Włodarczyk from 2016. The longest possible throw in this game is 84 m.

The turn chart

In the tables below, the first column is the roll, the middle column is what it does to the throw, and “Chance” is the exact probability out of the 6 ways one die can land.

The release chart

Every die is a fair 1 in 6 to show a 1, as our guide to dice probability explains, so each extra turn adds speed but also one more chance of a wobble. With three turns, a throw is a foul 37 times in 162, about 23%. With four turns, it is 239 times in 864, about 28%.

How far will one throw go?

This table compares one throw with three turns and with four turns. Each column gives the exact chance of that result, rounded.

A fair throw with three turns goes 55 m on average, and with four turns about 62.4 m. Four turns foul a little more often, but they add so much distance that they are better on average.

How far is your best of three?

This table shows the chance that an athlete’s best throw reaches each distance, if they always use three turns or always use four, rounded.

The average best throw is about 58 m with three turns and about 65 m with four turns. An athlete who always spins four times beats one who always spins three times in about 79% of contests. Three fouls in a row are rare: about 1 in 84 contests with three turns, and about 1 in 47 with four.

What wins?

With six athletes who all spin four times, the winner is the one with the longest best throw. In this table, “Chance” is the exact probability of each winning distance, rounded.

Most six-athlete contests are won with 71 m or more. Two athletes share the longest throw in about 11% of contests, so the second-best throw sometimes decides the winner.

Tips

• If you have no mark after two fouls, three turns is the safer choice for your last throw.
• Say “three turns” or “four turns” out loud before you roll, so nobody changes their mind.
• Line up the turn dice in the order you rolled them and add them up one by one, so everyone can check the distance.
• Write down every throw, not just the best one. You need the second-best throw for ties.

Classroom ideas

• Mental maths: work out 30 + 2 × each turn die + the release for every throw.
• Probability: why is one wobble fine but two a foul? List the ways three dice can show two or more 1s.
• Risk and reward: talk about why four turns is better on average even though it fouls more often.
• Data: half the class always spins three times and half four times. Compare the best throws after five contests.

Variations

• Two turns: allow a quick two-turn throw that fouls only on the cage, for a safe first throw.
• Six rounds: after three rounds, the best three athletes get three more throws, as in a real final.
• Weight throw: a heavier hammer: every turn die adds only 1 m per pip, and the base is 40 m.
• Hard cage: a release die of 1 or 2 hits the cage.

For more throwing events with dice, try the dice discus, the dice shot put or the dice javelin, or play ten events in a dice decathlon.

FAQ

How do you play hammer throw with dice?

Choose three or four turns, then roll that many turn dice and one release die. Each turn die adds 2 m per pip, but a 1 adds nothing, two 1s are a foul, and a release of 1 hits the cage. The throw goes 30 m plus the turns plus the release.

How many players can play?

Two to six athletes. With more players, the contest just takes a little longer.

Should I spin three or four times?

Four turns are better on average: about 62.4 m per fair throw against 55 m. They foul a little more often, about 28% against 23%.

What is the longest possible throw?

84 m, with four turns of 6 and a release of 6.

What usually wins?

With six athletes who all spin four times, usually a best throw of 71 m or more.

What is the real hammer throw world record?

At the time of writing, 86.74 m for men by Yuriy Sedykh in 1986, and 82.98 m for women by Anita Włodarczyk in 2016.