So many activities for the elderly, and especially crafts, are often more enjoyed by women than men. So, since our men tend to be more competitive and love games, here are two dice games that they will enjoy. They are easy to play and require no more equipment than a pair of dice and a deck of cards. In fact, the first game only needs the dice…
A version of PIG
Best with 2, but can be played with up to four players.
Will need… 2 dice, paper and pen to score.
Goal… Be the first player to reach 100 points.
How to play… Each player, in turn, rolls the two dice together. He has three pitches. He adds up his points as he goes.
If a 1 is rolled, that player’s turn ends and no points are scored. If after one or two rolls he decides to “hold on” (rather than risk rolling a 1 on his next roll and losing all his points), he keeps his score and passes the dice to the next player.
Punctuation examples…
Example 1: Peter rolls a 3 and a 4 and decides to continue. He then rolls a 6 and a 1. Since he rolled a 1, Peter’s turn ends and he earns 0 points.
Example 2: Jack rolls a 6 and a 2 and decides to continue. He then rolls a 6 and a 5 and decides to “hold”. Jack scores 19 points.
Example 3: Mike rolls a 2 and a 3 and decides to continue. He then rolls a 4 and a 2 and continues with his third roll of a 4 and a 3. He gets 18 points.
NOTE: If a double is rolled, the player doubles that amount. For example, a double 4 will be 8 x 2 = 16 points, a double 6 will be 12 x 2 = 24 points. If a double 1 is rolled, the player gets 25 points for that roll. Just a single 1 will end the players turn.
When a player reaches a total of 100 or more points, the game ends and that player is the winner.
The second game is a huge family favourite, enthusiastically played by all ages 5 and up…
black or red
for 2 players
Will need… A dice, A deck of cards, 20 chips (or matches or some kind of “money”) Paper and pen to record
Goal… Be the first player to win 10 games
How to play… Each player receives 10 tokens. Place the well-shuffled deck of cards between the players. The first player rolls the dice. Then take a card.
If the card is RED (hearts or diamonds) pays the other player the number of chips based on their dice roll.
If the card is BLACK (clubs or spades) the other player must pay you the number of chips according to your roll of the dice.
It is then the turn of the other players to roll the dice and the game continues as above.
The first player to win all 20 tokens wins the game.
The first to win 10 games is the winner. (or less if you want)
I hope you enjoy introducing these games to your older men. If you want to find more crafts and activities for seniors, visit My BLOG
