Dice Baseball

Posted on 2026-05-16 by thelittleman

Summertime and baseball are in full swing right now, so it’s about time I dust off this old favorite—Dice Baseball! Whether played solo or head-to-head, this simple game should be America’s pad-and-paper pastime.

My dad passed down to me the old-school 2-die game when I was probably 6. Wanting something more intricate, I eventually updated the rules to match true MLB statistics more closely. The 3-Die Rules (updated) are now about as accurate as I can get without advancing to 4.

Treat this article like an instruction booklet for the best Dice Baseball game out there—and happy rolling!

Game Rules (for all game types)

EQUIPMENT

  • Paper (preferably graph) for your box scores
  • Pen
  • 2 or 3 die (depending on the version you play)

SETUP

  • Choose your teams (real or imagined). I’ve played many Milwaukee Brewer games over the years, though I’ve also built teams of family and friends.
  • Draw 2 separate Box-Score Tables (see image below) and write player names in the lineups.
  • Be sure to include space for at least 10 innings. You may need extra paper if the game goes into extras!

RULES

  • Roll the dice once per plate appearance.
  • Check against your game’s Die Rules (though very quickly, you’ll have it memorized).
  • Mark the results on your Box-Score Table.
  • Track the base runners, and keep score as you go. I use superscripts for runs.
  • 3 outs per team per inning; high score after 8.5 or 9 innings wins; extra innings possible.
Example Box-Score Table of a completed Brewers @Mets (2009). The Crew lost 2-3 

There are 4 separate versions you could play, from super easy to…well, still pretty easy. In the “updated” version, I have included the statistical probabilities of dice rolls against MLB’s actual statistics (in parentheses). You can see how much closer a 3-dice game is to reality than 2!

Die Rules: 2 Dice

Die Rules: 2 Dice (original)

  1. NA
  2. Triple (3)
  3. Double (2)
  4. Single (1)
  5. Walk (W)
  6. Single (1)
  7. Out (O)
  8. Out (O)
  9. Strike out (K)
  10. Single (1)
  11. Double (2)
  12. Home Run (4)

Die Rules: 2 Dice (updated)

  1. NA
  2. Triple (2.8% chance against 0.25% actual)
  3. Single (with 4, 12.9% against 8% actual)
  4. Single
  5. Reroll
  6. Out (with 7,8,10 – 53% against 46% actual)
  7. Fielder’s choice or out
  8. Sacrifice or out
  9. Strikeout (11% chance against 12.6% actual)
  10. Double-play or out
  11. Double (5.6% chance against 1.8% actual)
  12. Homer (2.8% chance against 1.7% actual)

Die Rules: 3 Dice

The 3-dice version follows the same set-up, though I’ve added some tidbits to make it more statistically interesting, especially if you play genuine lineups and track player stats.

OPTIONAL RULES (3-die specific)

  • Copy lineups from genuine game-day Box Scores of your favorite teams and note substitutions. This helps if you want to compare how your version of players do against reality.
  • TRIPLE-DICE: All triple-dice rolls are an event: 1-1-1 (Triple), 2-2-2 to 6-6-6 (Home Runs).
  • BUNTS: Choose before you roll (esp. useful to advance runners)
    Roll any triples = single and runners advance (even Shohei Ohtani couldn’t bunt a Homer)
    Roll 4-9 = out with no runner advance
    Roll 10-17 out but runners advance
  • EXTRA BASE:
    When a runner is on 1st and the batter hits a single or double OR when a runner is on 2nd and the batter hits a single: Roll 1 die. 1-3 = no extra base; 4-6 = extra base.
    When a runner is on 2nd with 2 outs and the batter hits a single: Roll 1 die: 1-2 = no extra base; 3-6 = extra base.
    Runners on 3rd will always score with a hit.
  • PITCHERS: If you have a pitcher in the lineup who is not Shohei Ohtani: Roll twice and accept the worst of the two outcomes.

3-Die Rules (original)

  1. NA
  2. NA
  3. Triple (3)
  4. Double (2)
  5. Single (1)
  6. Single (1)
  7. Sac-fly (all runners advance) and/or out (S)
  8. Out or double-play (with runner on 1st) (D)
  9. Strikeout (K)
  10. Out (O)
  11. Out (O)
  12. Sac-fly (all runners advance) and/or out (S)
  13. Walk (W)
  14. Single (1)
  15. Single (1)
  16. Double (2)
  17. Double (2)
  18. Home Run (4)

3-Die Rules (updated)

  1. NA
  2. NA
  3. Triple (0.5% chance against 0.25% actual)
  4. Double Play/out (1.4% against 1.2% actual)
  5. Single (with 7, 9.7% against 8% actual)
  6. Walk (4.6% against 4.4% actual)
  7. Single
  8. Groundout
    (with 13,14,15, 43% against 46% actual)
  9. Fielder’s choice: advance runner out or out (with 12, 23.2% against 22.1% total)
  10. Strikeout (12.5% against 12.6 actual)
  11. Reroll
  12. Flyout
  13. Flyout
  14. Groundout
  15. Error/Hit-by-Pitch = free base + runners advance (4.6% against 2% actual)
  16. Double (2.8% against 1.8% actual)
  17. Sacrifice: out, runners advance
    (1.4% against 1.2% actual)
  18. Home Run (with other triple-dice;
    2.3% against 1.7% actual)

Before I got into nature photography, board games and game design was perhaps my biggest hobby. I think it’s time I dust off the old dice again and see how the Crew are doing. Like every single year since 1982—I think this is their year.

©2026 E.T.

[A version of this article originally appeared on my hobby site hobbieswithelliot on February 2, 2025]

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