How to Play Pass the Pigs and Score Points

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Learn the scoring positions for this fun and easy game for all ages

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• Scoring Positions
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• How to Play
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• Tips

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Pass the Pigs is the perfect casual game to play with a group of friends, and how the pigs land after you roll them determines how many points you earn. While most of the pigs’ positions add points to your score, some may end your turn immediately or wipe out your total score. Even though there are a handful of positions to remember, we’ve made an easy cheat sheet to track your scores. We’ll show you exactly how many points you earn from each of the pigs’ positions, plus give you a quick refresher on the game’s rules so you can start playing now.

Things You Should Know

• Players: 2 or more
• Required Materials: Pass the Pigs game, pencils
• Objective: Be the first to earn 100 points by rolling 2 pigs as dice so they land in scoring positions

Steps

Section 1 of 2:

Scoring Positions

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   1
   Pig Out: 0 points When one pig lands on its right side and the other pig lands on its left side (so the dot is showing), earn 0 points for the entire turn. This position immediately ends the current player’s turn.
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   Sider: 1 point Both pigs land on the same side. If they’re on their right sides, no dot will be showing. If they land on their left sides, each pig will have a dot showing on top.
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   Trotter: 5 points One pig lands on all 4 feet while the other pig lies on its side. It doesn’t matter what side the second pig is lying on.
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   Razorback: 5 points One pig lands on its back with all 4 feet in the air and the other lies on its side. The second pig can be lying on either side.
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   Snouter: 10 points One pig lands so it’s balancing on its snout and 2 front feet. The second pig lands on its left or right side.
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   Leaning Jowler: 15 points One pig lands so it balances on its ear, snout, and one front leg. The other pig lies on its left or right side.
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   Mixed Combo: 10–25 points Any combination of Trotter, Razorback, Snouter, or Leaning Jowler is considered a mixed combo and is worth the sum of the individual positions. For example, one pig in a Trotter position and the other in a Razorback position is worth 10 points. If one was a Snouter and the other was a Leaning Jowler, then they are worth 25 points.
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   Double Trotter: 20 points Both pigs land so they’re on all 4 feet.
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   Double Razorback: 20 points Both pigs land on their backs so all 4 feet are in the air.
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    Double Snouter: 40 points Both pigs land so they’re balanced on their snouts and 2 front legs.
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    Double Leaning Jowler: 60 points Both pigs land so they’re balancing on their snout, ear, and one front leg.
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    Oinker: lose all points If the pigs are touching each other in any position, then the player who rolled them loses all the points they’ve gained during the game and goes back down to 0. This position also ends the player’s turn immediately.
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    Piggyback: eliminated from the game If one pig lands on all 4 feet and the second pig lands with all 4 feet on top of it, then the player who rolled them is out of the game. It’s possible for all players to be eliminated from the game, which means no one is the winner.
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Section 2 of 2:

How to Play

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1. 
   1
   Roll both pigs on the table like dice. Choose a player at random to go first. Take the pigs and toss them into the air so they land on a smooth surface, like a tabletop or hard floor. Check the positions of the pigs when they land and note down how many points were earned.

   • Some versions of Pass the Pigs come with a dice cup you can use to roll the pigs, but you don’t need one to play the game.
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   Keep rolling to try earning more points on your turn. As long as a player didn’t roll a Pig Out, Oinker, or Piggyback, they can choose to risk their points and roll the pigs again to add more to their score on their turn. Keep track of the points they earn.
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   Stop rolling to add the accumulated points to your total. If a player doesn’t want to risk losing any points, they can choose to end their turn after making a roll. Take any of the points they accumulated during their turn and add it to their total. Then, that player passes the pigs to the next person so they can take their turn.
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   Win the game by earning 100 total points. As soon as a player reaches or goes over 100 points on their turn, they win the game! It’s possible for a really lucky player to earn that many points in one turn, but the game will usually go for a couple of rounds.
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Tips

• Try the Hog Call variation to add an exciting twist to the game. Before a player rolls the pigs, any other player with at least 20 points can say “Sooee!” and guess the position the pigs will land in. If they’re correct, they earn double the point value and the rolling player loses that many points. If they predict wrong, then they lose double the position’s point value and the rolling player gains that many points.
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