The 12 Days of Christmas is possibly the longest Christmas song ever, yet it’s still fun and a favorite to sing. And fun is what we’re all about here at Family Game Shelf. And you know we love Christmas games (Santa Uno, Candy Cane and Christmas Shenanigans card games) and dice games too (Grinch dice, Satan’s Sleigh, Reindeer Dice) so it seems only right that we create The 12 Days of Christmas Dice Game.
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What you Need for The 12 Days of Christmas Dice Game
For this game, you will need five dice and a score sheet. (Any number of dice of three or more can be used but we found that five is the best number.) If you need some more dice, shop here: Canadians, here.
The 12 Days of Christmas
To start, you need to know the presents that the singer’s true love gives on each day.
First day is a partridge in a pear tree.
Second day is two turtle doves.
Third day is three French hens.
Fourth day is four calling birds.
Five day is five golden rings.
Sixth day is six geese a-laying.
Seventh day is seven swans a-swimming.
Eight day is eight maids a-milking.
Ninth day is nine ladies dancing.
Tenth day is ten lords a-leaping.
Eleventh day is eleven pipers piping.
Twelfth day is twelve drummers drumming.
How to Play The 12 Days of Christmas Dice Game
Now that we’ve reviewed the 12 Days, lets learn how to play the game.
On a player’s first turn, she will roll the dice and try to get as many partridges (ones) as she can. When a one is rolled, it’s set aside. She can roll up to three times. Her score is how many partridges (ones) she was able to get.
On a player’s second turn, he will roll all the dice hoping to get as many turtle doves (twos) as he can. However, this time he can add dice to make two. Again, he can have up to three rolls and will set aside any dice that are twos or that add up to two. His score is the amount of times he either rolled two or added up to two.
For the third round, players are trying to get as many French hens (threes) as they can or have the dice add up to three. She can use any number of dice to add up to the number, for example if she rolled all ones she can use three to add up to three and her score would be one.
The rest of the game is played the same with players looking to collect as many of the presents for the number of day that it is (fours for calling birds and so on).
Winning The 12 Days of Christmas Dice Game
After players have had a turn trying to get as many drummers (12s) as they can, the scores are added up. The player would has collected the most presents is the winner.
The Last Day
Although the song is long and a memory test, the 12 Days of Christmas Dice Game is easy and players of all ages—and Christmas super fans—will be singing to play over and over all Christmas season.
If you love the 12 Days of Christmas as much as we do be sure to check out our 12 Days Gift swap game and our Save the 12 Days of Christmas escape room for kids, available as a print-and-play game in the FGS shop or as an activity book on Amazon!
And what makes Christmas dice games more fun? Christmas coloured dice! You can shop them here; Canadians can shop here.
And when you’re looking for more Christmas games to play, be sure to check out our Hallmark Movie Bingo, Candy Cane card game, and Santa’s Sleigh dice game. Be sure to read the reviews for the board games of 12 Days card game, Polar Express and Christmas Trivia.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
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