Dice Javelin Game: Rules, Angles and Odds

Dice javelin is a throwing event for two to six athletes, played with two dice of different colours. One die is the release angle and the other is your run-up speed. Get the angle right and a fast run-up sends the javelin flying, but a flat landing is a foul. Every athlete gets three throws, the best one counts, and the dream is the perfect 100 m throw. A competition takes about ten minutes.

What you need

• Two six-sided dice in different colours: one for the angle, one for the speed. A dice roller works too if you agree which die is which.
• A score sheet with a row for each athlete and three boxes for their throws.
• A random name picker to set a fair throwing order.

Who throws first?

Put every athlete’s name into the random name picker and draw them one by one to set the throwing order. Keep the same order in all three rounds. The order does not change anyone’s chance, because every athlete gets the same three throws.

How to play

1. In each round, every athlete throws once, in the throwing order.
2. Roll both dice together.
3. Read the angle die first. On a 1 the javelin lands flat: foul, no mark.
4. Otherwise, your speed is the speed die plus 4, so from 5 to 10. Multiply the speed by the number for your angle to get the distance.
5. Write the distance on the score sheet, or an X for a foul.
6. After three rounds, each athlete’s best throw counts. The longest best throw wins. On a tie, compare second-best throws, then third-best, then throw once more.

This is a simple home version, not an official game. In real javelin, the metal tip must strike the ground before any other part of the javelin, and the throw must land inside the marked sector. The javelin used by men was redesigned in the 1980s because the best throws were getting long enough to worry stadium organisers, and today’s men’s world record, Jan Železný’s 98.48 m from 1996, is just short of the perfect throw in this game.

The angle die

In the first table, “Angle die” is the number on the angle die, “Result” is what happens to the throw, and “Chance” is the exact probability.

One throw in six is a foul, so the chance of fouling all three throws is only 1 in 216. A perfect angle comes up one time in three.

The speed die

In the next table, “Speed die” is the number on the speed die, “Speed” is that number plus 4, and “Perfect-angle distance” is how far the javelin goes with a perfect angle. For a good angle, multiply the speed by 8 instead, and for a steep angle by 6.

The perfect 100 m throw needs a perfect angle and a 6 on the speed die: 2 ways out of 36, about 6% of throws. A valid throw goes 63 m on average, and the most common single distance is 80 m, which can come from a perfect angle with speed 8 or a good angle with speed 10. Our guide to dice probability shows how to count ways like this.

How far will you throw?

This table compares one throw with the best of three. “One throw” is the exact chance that a single throw, fouls included, reaches that distance, and “Best of three” is the chance that your best throw does.

Three throws make a big difference: one throw reaches 80 m only about 22% of the time, but your best of three gets there more than half the time. The most common best throw is 80 m.

What distance wins?

With four athletes there are twelve throws in total. In this table, “Chance” is the exact probability that the competition is won with that distance, rounded.

Half of all competitions with four athletes are won with the perfect 100 m throw, so ties at the top are common. That is when the second-best throw decides the winner.

Tips

• Say which colour is the angle die before the first throw, and never swap.
• Keep a times table nearby for younger players, or write the distances for each angle on a small chart.
• Cheer loudly for a 100 m throw. It deserves it.
• Keep each athlete’s best throw as a personal record to beat next time.

Classroom ideas

• Multiplication: make a table of every distance: speeds 5 to 10 in the rows, angle numbers 6, 8 and 10 in the columns.
• Probability: why is 80 m the most common distance? Find all four ways the two dice can make it.
• Science: throw a paper dart at a low, a medium and a high angle. Which goes furthest, and why?
• Data: record every throw in the class and work out the average. Is it close to 63 m?

Variations

• Six throws: after three rounds, the top half of the athletes get three more throws, as in big real competitions.
• Wind: before each round, flip a coin. Heads means a headwind: subtract 5 m from every valid throw.
• Hammer throw: same rules, but a 6 on the angle die is a foul instead of a steep throw.
• Team event: teams of two add their best throws together.

For more throwing and aiming, try our dice shot put game or our dice archery game, or jump into a dice long jump game.

FAQ

How do you play javelin with dice?

Roll an angle die and a speed die. A 1 on the angle die is a foul. Otherwise the distance is the speed die plus 4, multiplied by 10 for a perfect angle (3 or 4), 8 for a good angle (2 or 5) or 6 for a steep angle (6). Your best of three throws counts.

What is the longest throw in the game?

100 m, with a perfect angle and a 6 on the speed die. It happens on about 6% of throws.

How many athletes can play?

Two to six athletes work well. With more athletes, ties at 100 m become more common.

What happens on a tie?

Compare the second-best throws, then the third-best. If still tied, each athlete throws once more.

Does the throwing order matter?

No. Every athlete gets the same three throws, so the order does not change the odds.

Why is a flat landing a foul?

In real javelin, the tip must hit the ground first. The game uses an angle die of 1 to stand for a throw that lands flat.