Celebrate the outdoors with fun backyard games played with these giant yard dice. You can play so many different outdoor games with a set of dice. It is a great DIY outdoor game you can make.
The week before a family reunion, I came across Rogue Engineer’s plans for yard dice. I knew my family would love them! We are big fans of the dice game Farkle, and tend to play it whenever we get together, so I figured we could play outside with giant yard dice.
The plans by Rogue Engineer call for using a Forstner Bit to makeΒ the dice numbers. But I don't have one of those, so I improvised.
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Instead I used my selection of colored craft paints to make brightly colored dots for my dice! And any excuse to add lots of color to a project makes me happy :)
One of the things I love the most about these yard dice, you can make 4 sets of 6 dice from one 8' 4x4 board. I got my 4x4 for $10 so it would cost about $2.50 per set.
They are also really easy to makeThe longest part is waiting for paint to dry.Β You could easily whip up 4 sets at once and gift them for summer hostess gifts. Who doesn't love a good outdoor game for a summer bbq?
After I cut my dice out according to Rogue Engineer's instructions, I sanded them till they were nice and smooth. Then it was time to add the numbers. To make my life easier, I made up a stencil with my Silhouette.
If you want to make a stencil you can download the Silhouette cutting file by clicking here, or a PDF by clicking here. I cut my stencil out of a plastic tab divider for 3 ring binders. I love using these for stencils because they are cheap but are sturdy.
I made my stencil 2 different ways, one was a large dot and the other just a little dot. I wasn't sure what I would want to use. I decided it would be easiest to use the small dots to mark the center of my circles. The stencil has all the dots that you need to mark all the numbers, just only mark the ones you need for number you are doing.
Then I used a round foam brush and just dabbed it on the mark to make my dot.
I didn't want to have to wait for the numbers on one side to dry before doing the numbers on the other side, so I propped the dice up on the corners and it worked to let the number on the bottom not get touched while it was wet!
I got creative finding things to hold them up and made sure to put the #1 on the bottom so I only had to worry about the one dot in the center.
I let these dry overnight, then I wanted to seal the wood to protect it from wet grass. I used some clear deck waterproofer and put a coat on all sides. Again, I propped the dice up on a couple pieces of scrap wood so I could seal all sides at the same time.
After they dried overnight, we were ready to play! Unfortunately, our reunion was rained out so we weren't able to play as a family. But when the rain finally stopped, the kids and I played at home and had a blast!
We picked a simple game to play with the kids. I put a hola hoop on the grass and then the kids took turns throwing the dice at the hula hoop. You collected the points for the numbers showing on any dice that landed inside the hula hoop. And it helped them to use math in the summer :)
I am excited to be able to use our yard dice to play many more fun games. Rogue Engineer also has a link to a list of games to play with yard dice on his tutorial. Make sure to take a look, there are a lot of fun ideas there!
How are you enjoying your summer?
This looks so much fun & engrossing for all kids. Great way to engage little ones for long hours in such interesting outdoor play. I personally like involving my kids in outdoor activities. Your blog has truly given given me an awesome idea for my young ones. I am pretty sure they will definitely love playing this game. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you! My kids have had many hours of fun with these dice and love to make up their own games too.
Hi Katie, I tried to download the PDF file for the dice stencil, but received an error. Have tried several times with same result.
Can you let me know what error you are getting? That will help me trouble-shoot the problem. Thanks!
Error: Failed to load the PDF document.
Thanks for letting me know. I have corrected the link.
Thanks!!! so ready to make these π
I’m using cricut design space. Is there any way to convert this file so it can used in design space??
I can add it to my list of things to work on, but I don’t know how soon I can get to it. Is it possible to open the PDF and use that in Cricut? I am a Silhouette user, so I am not familiar with the program.
I don’t use it often and I’m not really adept at it. But I will ask a friend of mine if she can figure it out. Thanks.
Thank you so very much for this!! Could you tell me what setting you had your Silhouette set at to cut the material you used to make the stencil??
thanks bunches, and have a super day!!
I don’t remember exactly, but I believe the blade was an 8 and the thickness was the deepest possible. Use a slower speed (about 4) and a test cut to make sure.
Would you be interested in selling the stencil?
I don’t really have things set up for selling right now. If you don’t have a way to cut the plastic material, you could always cut it out of cardstock with scissors. It would work for a short term stencil.
These are so colorful and beautiful, and I would love some for my yard. Thanks for sharing with us at Totally Terrific Tuesday Link Party. Be sure to stop by Sparkles of Sunshine tonight to see your feature!
Thank you for the feature Christie π
These look like so much fun!! Thanks so much for sharing! π
Thanks Georgia. We have been able to have lots of fun with them so far!
Love this idea! It is so much fun and great colors! Great for the summer. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday. I have pinned your post and chosen it as one of my favorites for the week. Please be sure to stop by and collect your button!
Thank you Stephanie π I am excited for the party tonight!
This is such a cute idea!! Perfect game for kids, and I am sure that they will start to come up with their own games using them too!
Thanks for sharing this at Totally Terrific Tuesday! Pinned and shared π
Jess
Thank you Jess! They definitely are making up their own games. I love anything that encourages thinking and creativity π
These are just too perfect! My son just turned two so he’s still a little too young to enjoy these (well, I guess I mean enjoy appropriately….right now I think he’d just have fun throwing them at Daddy). π I’m sure in a year or two he would love them, so I’m pinning these for later! I’m also featuring you at this week’s Merry Monday! Thank you so much for the inspiring idea! π
Throwing large wooden dice at daddy could be a fun game π Thanks for the feature!
Kati, These are just so much fun! Love them!
I’ll be featuring your post on the next Brag About It Link Party!
Party starts Monday at midnight – hope you can join us!
~Laurie
Thanks Laurie! I am so excited for the feature π
What a cute idea! I would love these for a party! Thank you so much for linking up to Merry Monday this week! I am sharing your post today on my FB page! We hope to see you next week for another great party! Have a great week!
Best,
Kim
Thanks for sharing my dice Kim π They are so fun for any get together, or even just a quiet evening outside with the family!
This is a great idea. My students would love this game. I may have to get hubby to make these for me to use this coming school year. Great game and idea. Visiting from Three Kids and A Fish Making Memories link-up.
Using them in school is such a great idea! I might have to make a set for my sons teacher next year. I love that he will happily add up the numbers from the dice without even realizing I’m making him learn in the summer π I love being sneaky like that!
These are SO cute! I love the neon colors you chose! Hope I can make some cute ones, too. π
Shared this on Twitter!
Thanks Kristina! I am glad I went with the bright colors too. They make everything so much more fun π
Looks like a lot of fun for both the grown-ups and the kiddos! Stopping by from Funtastic Friday. We’d love for you to share this with our readers at the Summer Family fun party. Pinned it!
Thanks Shirley! It is definitely fun for adults and kids alike. There are so many different games you can play with just 6 dice π
These are so cute! I love that you used lots of bright colors. I’ve been wanted to do something like this – thanks for the tutorial!
Thanks Meredith! I am glad I did all the fun colors, I think it makes them more fun.
I love these dice! We sell a set where I work but they are seriously over priced!! These are even cuter with colored dots. Great idea!
Thanks Chandra! I love that these are so inexpensive. Even if you only make one set for the price of the 4×4, that’s only $10. And for as much as we have played with them so far, they are well worth that!
How fun are these? I love the idea of having yard games for entertaining. I’m in the process of buying a home and have been getting excited about having a backyard. We do a lot of entertaining and plan to set it up for cookouts and parties. This would be such a fun addition! Thanks for sharing it with the Wednesday Showcase.
Congrats on buying your home! Having a backyard is awesome (lots of work, but awesome). There’s nothing better than having a place to cook-out and entertain!
These would be so much fun to take to the beach. We love playing “zilch” and these would be perfect to play with a large group! Pinning for later!
These would be so much fun at the beach. I wish I was closer so I could play with mine at the beach π
Those are too cool! I love the bright colors you used! I’m a pretty big fan of Farkle, too, but I’ve never played it with giant dice! π
Thanks Rachel. The hardest part of playing Farkle with the yard dice, is tossing all the dice at the same time π My hands aren’t big enough to hold the 6 dice.
Oh my gosh these are so cute! I live the bright colors and my boys would have so much fun playing with them too I’m sure. Stopping by from The Wednesday Showcase!
Hello Sydney! I’m glad I went with all the fun colors. The kids love to be able to pick their favorite color to play with. And I love that they can get creative with their games π
pgduplantis@yahoo.com would you be interested in selling the stencil?