Dice games have always been with us. We know that the Romans diced away at banquets; northern Europeans rolled literal knuckle bones; and the sea shells used to play Parcheesi all those centuries ago were still basically dice. Dice lend themselves to seemingly endless games one way or another. I think that human beings are simply innately interested in dice. Pass the Pigs is a dice game, a simple one, but one whose novelty factor makes it a winner.

Ruleswise, Pass the Pigs is, in all honesty, a variation on the old push your luck game Pig, which I know is centuries old and probably has twenty-six other names. Considering that you could play a close approximation of the game with two regular six sided dice, why should you even be interested in spending the money Pass the Pigs?

Why, because the dice are pig shaped!

Instead of rolling two cubes, you are rolling two rubber pigs. Who wouldn’t want to roll little rubber pigs? It’s hard to find someone who isn’t charmed by the silliness of this game. People who would normally cross the street rather when they see you holding a game board will get into Pass the Pigs.

If you have ever played Farkel or Cosmic Wimpout, Pass the Pigs is even simpler than either of those games. The goal is to be the first player to break one hundred points. However, if you push your luck too hard, you could lose all of your points.

The Winning Moves edition that I own comes with a hard plastic traveling case about the size of a checkbook, very durable and very portable. Inside are the two cute little rubber pigs, along with instructions, score pad, and two stubby little pencils, the kind that I will forever personally associate with Yahtzee. However, truth to tell, Pass the Pigs is even more portable than that, since all you really need to play are the two pigs.

The two pigs are small, a hair smaller than most dice. They are made out of hard, bouncy rubber and sculpted to look as cute as possible, with little smiles and big ears. They also have a dot on their on their right side so you can tell at a glance which side is up when they are on their sides. One of the neatest things about the pigs is their irregular shape. You can figure out the odds pretty easily on a pair of cube-shaped dice. It’s not so easy when you’re rolling pigs.

The game doesn’t include any way of determining who goes first, which, considering the theme, is probably a good thing. All you need to set up the game is a way to keep score and the pigs.

On your turn, you roll them pigs. Depending on the position that they land, the two little piggies will earn you some points. The baseline position is on their side. If they are both on their side, you will get one point. If one of them is on their side and the other one is in another position, you get more points. The more unlikely the position, the more points it is worth. If both pigs are in the same position, they are worth even more points, with the famed double leaning jowler which is worth sixty points. If they are in two different non-sider positions, those acrobatic pigs are worth fifteen points, which helps simplify the scoring.

After you make a scoring roll, you have two choices. You can stand, keeping the points you have earned and pass the pigs to the next player. Or, you can roll again and try to get more points.

However, life is not all points in the world of Pass the Pigs. It wouldn’t be much of a push your luck game if bad things couldn’t happen.

If the pigs come out on opposite sides, you have rolled a pig out. Your turn ends immediately and you lose all the points that you have earned that round. If the pigs land touching each other, even worse things happen. You have rolled the dreaded oinker and not only does your turn end, you lose all of the points you have earned in the game.

If the pigs somehow land on top of each other, my set of rules says that you are out of the game entirely. However, I have also been told that that position is an automatic game winner in other versions of the game.

If you end your turn with at least a hundred points, you have won. Personally, I like to let every other player get one last turn in to try and beat your score. Obviously, there’s plenty of room for different rules and variations.

For instance, the Winning Moves edition comes with a hog call variation. After you have earned twenty points, you can make a hog call. Only one player per roll can make one and they can only make it on someone else’s turn.

When you make a hog call, you’re predicting how the pigs are going to land for that player’s roll. If you call it correctly, you earn twice as many points as that roll was worth and the rolling player loses that many points. If your fortune telling skills fail you and the pigs land differently, you lose twice as many points as the real roll was worth and it’s the roller who earns twice as many points.

Pass the Pigs is an awfully simple beer and pretzels game. In fact, given the waterproof nature of the pigs, this is a perfect game to play in a bar! However, don’t estimate the power of those pigs. They will draw players in and keep them coming back for more. There are hours of fun wrapped up in those little guys.