Pig (1945)

About this game

Scarne did not create Pig. He describes it in 'Scarne on Dice' (1945), saying, 'I suspect that the game was invented by the con men and is simply a variation of their favorite swindle The Tat dressed up in new clothes.' Therefore the game is almost certainly older than that. Highly doubtful that Scarne, or anyone else, sold a boxed set for this game. It only uses one regular d6 die. Each turn, a player repeatedly rolls a die until either a 1 is rolled or the player decides to "hold": If the player rolls a 1, they score nothing and it becomes the next player's turn. If the player rolls any other number, it is added to their turn total and the player's turn continues. If a player chooses to "hold", their turn total is added to their score, and it becomes the next player's turn. The first player to score 100 or more points wins.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. The player count is not recorded for this one.
• Rules load. At 1.0/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 8 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.