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Pig (dice)


Pig is a simple dice game first described in print by John Scarne in 1945. As with many games of folk origin, Pig is played with many rule variations. Commercial variants of Pig include Pass the Pigs, Pig Dice, and Skunk. Pig is commonly used by mathematics teachers to teach probability concepts.

Pig is one of a family of dice games described by Reiner Knizia as "jeopardy dice games". For jeopardy dice games, the dominant type of decision is whether or not to jeopardize previous gains by rolling for potential greater gains. Most jeopardy dice games can be further subdivided into two categories: jeopardy race games and jeopardy approach games. In jeopardy race games, the object is to be the first to meet or exceed a goal score (e.g. Pig, Pass the Pigs, Cosmic Wimpout, Can't Stop). In jeopardy approach games, the object is to most closely approach a goal score without exceeding it.

Each turn, a player repeatedly rolls a die until either a 1 is rolled or the player decides to "hold":

The first player to score 100 or more points wins.

For example, the first player, Ann, begins a turn with a roll of 5. Ann could hold and score 5 points, but chooses to roll again. Ann rolls a 2, and could hold with a turn total of 7 points, but chooses to roll again. Ann rolls a 1, and must end her turn without scoring. The next player, Bob, rolls the sequence 4-5-3-5-5, after which he chooses to hold, and adds his turn total of 22 points to his score.

Optimal play for 2-player Pig was computed by Todd W. Neller and visualized by Clifton G. M. Presser in 2001. At any time, the relevant decision information includes the player's score, the opponent's score, and the turn total. Such information corresponds to a 3D point in the graph's space. If this point is inside the gray solid, the player should roll. Otherwise, the player should hold.

Many 2-dice variants have been analysed, and human-playable Pig strategies have been compared to optimal play.

Common rule variations include:


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