Have you ever been to a winter carnival? If you have then you know how much fun and excitement there is at one. Growing up every year we had a winter carnival in the village where we lived. I have such fond memories of those days that I wanted to relive them—but snug and warm inside—so I created these Winter Carnival Dice Games. These games bring all the fun and spirit of the winter carnival games of those days right to the game table. So grab a partner and some dice and get ready for all the winter carnival fun you can handle.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Hockey Dice Game
Is there anything more winter than a hockey game? Certainty no winter carnival games would be complete without hockey. And this hockey dice game is perfect for family dice fun. You can play one big game where all members play for one of two teams or you can play a round robin style tournament where winning teams play other winning teams for the gold. You can learn how to play Hockey Dice here and get the free print out in our Fun Library.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Egg Toss
One of my biggest memories of the carnival is of two massive lines of kids facing each other waiting for the word go to toss an egg back a forth. Now we could have made this game about tossing a dice back and forth but we created a game that takes less space and won’t have anyone sliding and crashing into anything.
To play this winter carnival dice game, you first need to break into teams of two. Second, each team needs five dice per player.
To start, one player from each team rolls all of his dice. Next, his partner rolls all of her dice and tries to match one of his dice. The dice that match are set aside. If there are more than one pairs, only set aside one pair.
Next, the second player rolls the four remaining dice. Next, her partner rolls his four dice trying to match one of her dice. Again, the matching set is set aside.
The next round has player one rolling the three remaining dice and his partner trying to match.
When a team is unsuccessful in matching, they are out of the game.
When a team gets down to one remaining dice, they don’t set the dice aside, instead they continue with just one dice trying to make a match.
The last team still in the game is the winner.
In the event of a tie, you have two options. First, you can call a tie and both teams win. Second, you can call a re-throw and each team gets to roll again, trying to match until one team is successful.
Tug Of War Carnival Game
After the egg toss, the two lines of kids would then divide into two teams for the popular Tug of War. This dice tug of war game requires lucky rolling instead of strength and leaves no rope burn. Again, you can choose to play as one big group or have teams of two that compete against other teams in a tournament style. You can learn how to play Dice Tug of War here. You can get your free Tug of War game board in our Fun Library.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Lumberjack
The next Winter Carnival Dice game is inspired by the log sawing completion we had one year. It was quite a sight to see those big logs set up and players with those large two person lumberjack saws. Don’t worry, this game won’t endanger your wood furniture.
To play, players will break into teams of two. Each team member will need three dice. Log Sawing is a racing game so teams should play at the same time. Otherwise, you will have to use a timer to see how long each team takes to saw through their log.
When all players have their dice, someone says go. The first team member rolls her dice trying to get a one. When she gets a one, she sets it a side and says “lumber” to her partner.
He then rolls all of his dice trying to get a one. When he rolls a one, he sets it aside and says “Jack” to his partner.
Next, she rolls her two dice, trying to get a two. When the two is rolled, it is set aside and she says “lumber” to her partner.
He then rolls his dice, setting aside a two and saying “Jack.”
Next, she rolls her last dice trying to get a three. When she does get a three again she says, “lumber” and it’s up to her partner to get the last three. When he rolls a three he shouts out “Lumberjack” to announce that his team is finished sawing through the log.
The winner is the first team to make the rolls and yell out Lumberjack.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Snowball Fight
This winter carnival dice game is an individual game. Each player will need three dice—two for rolling and one for keeping track of their hits. To start the Snowball Fight dice game, all players turn their hits die to show the number one. Next, all players roll their two rolling dice. Players should roll all at the same time.
After everyone has rolled, players tally up their roll. The player with the lowest sum is the player who was hit with the snowball and turns his hits die to show the number two.
When the number has been changed, players will again roll both of their rolling dice and tally up their sum. Again, the player with the lowest sum has been hit with the snowball and will have to movie their hits die to the next largest number.
When a player has turned her die to the number six, she has one more hit lest. When she has the lowest sum, she is out of the game.
If there is a tie and two or more players have the lowest sum, then all players with the lowest sum take a hit and change their number.
The player who is last in the game wins the Snowball Fight dice game.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Curling
All that throwing and yelling leads us to our next winter carnival dice game Curling. Instead of making a game where you slide the dice down the table, we created one where there is a number target. You can learn how to play our Curling Dice Game here.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Roll a Snowman
Winter isn’t complete without building a snowman and a winter carnival wouldn’t be complete either. For this winter carnival dice game, you will need one die, and a pencil and paper for each player. To play, each player will take a turn rolling the die and drawing the corresponding number. The catch is that, just as in real snowman building, you need to start with the largest ball and the head before you can put the finishing touches on. You can get the free printable Roll a Snowman sheet in our Fun Library for easy referance.
Here’s the rolls:
One – largest snowball (needed first)
Two – head (need second)
Three – face
Four – hat
Five – scarf
Six– arms
The player who completes their snowman first is the winner of the game.
Winter Carnival Dice Game: Roll a Number
Our next winter carnival dice game comes from a game that I played at a summer carnival but is as much fun in the winter as it is in the summer.
To play, each player will need one dice and five bingo chips or candies. You will also need an extra die for rolling; a big foam die is nice to use that way players know which die to pay attention to.
To start, each player puts in a chip or candy. Next, each player turns their die so a number of their choosing is face up. It is okay if more than one player has chosen the same number.
After everyone is ready, someone rolls the rolling die. If the rolling die show the same number as a player’s die, then that player wins the pot and takes all the chips or candies in the middle. If there are more than one winner, the pot is split evenly with any extras being left for the next round.
For the second round, players will again put a chip or candy in and then choose a number on their die. Again, the rolling die is rolled and any player with a matching die wins.
When a player is out of chips, he is out of the game.
The last player with chips is the winner.
Alternative play is to play a certain amount of rounds and the player with the most chips at the end if the winner.
Fortune Telling Dice
Our last winter carnival dice game is less of a game and more just for fun. Carnivals often have a fortune teller and our winter dice carnival is no different. This fun print out is winter themed and easy to play. Simply roll the die and see what the future has in store for you. You can get your Winter Fortune Telling Dice in our Family Game Shelf Shop to see what the dice see for your future.
Winter Olympic Dice Game
The 2022 Winter Olympic games inspired us to great several winter themed games. These games include the dice games Bobsledding and Ski Jump. Now most winter carnivals don’t have bobsled courses or ski jumps but you could play these anyways as it fits with the winter sports them. You can check out our Winter Olympic games here.
Rosy Cheeks and Tired Out Hands
At the end of a day of winter carnival games you’re ready for a good rest. Now that our winter carnival dice games have ended you can play your favorite game again or pack the dice away and laugh with each other over all the fun you had.
Need more dice? We love having lots of different colours for our dice games. Shop dice here. Canadians can shop dice here.
And if you’re looking for more fun dice games checkout our dice section where you’ll find games like Ohio, Whacky Putt Golf and Stuck in the Mud. If you’re looking for more winter fun, take a look at our Winter Minute to Win it Games.
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