TallynightPass the Pigs scoring chart
Score each roll by how the two pigs land, and keep your turn's total in your head as you go. These are the points in the rules that come with the game.
- Sider: both on their sides, the same way up, with both dots showing or neither
- 1
- Pig Out: both on their sides, opposite ways up, one dot showing
- 0, and you lose the turn's points
- Razorback: one pig on its back
- 5
- Trotter: one pig standing on all four feet
- 5
- Snouter: one pig on its snout and two front feet
- 10
- Leaning Jowler: one pig propped on its jowl, snout, an ear and one front foot
- 15
- Double Razorback or Double Trotter
- 20
- Double Snouter
- 40
- Double Leaning Jowler
- 60
- Mixed combo: each pig in a different scoring position
- Add the two: a Trotter and a Snouter is 15
- Oinker (Makin' Bacon): the pigs land touching
- Your whole score goes back to 0
- Piggyback: one pig on top of the other
- You're out of the game
A Razorback, Trotter, Snouter or Leaning Jowler on its own means the other pig lies on its side, either way up, and adds nothing. Two pigs in the same position score double their sum: two Snouters are 40, not 20.
Nothing goes on the score pad until you stop. Then the whole turn is added at once.
Your turn: roll, bank or push your luck
Roll both pigs together onto a smooth surface. After each roll, choose: stop and bank the points from this turn, or roll again to add more.
Your turn ends when you stop, when you roll a Pig Out, which loses the points from this turn, or when you roll an Oinker, which loses every point you've banked in the game as well. Then pass the pigs to the player on your left.
One player keeps the score pad for everyone. The rules call them the swineherd.
Winning, and rules that vary
- First to 100
- The first player to reach a total of 100 wins at once. When your score and your turn add up to 100 or more, stop rolling. The rules give nobody a last turn.
- Oinker or Makin' Bacon
- Two names for the same roll. The rules in the box take your whole score back to 0. Some tables only take away the turn's points, so agree on it before you start.
- Piggyback
- A pig standing on the other puts you out of the game.
- A pig off the table
- The rules don't cover it. Agree before you start, for example that you roll again.
Hog Call, the variant in the rules
The rules add an optional way to play. Before someone rolls, any other player with at least 20 points can call "Sooee" and predict how the pigs will land. A Pig Out, Oinker or Piggyback can't be called, and a mixed combo has to name both positions.
Call it right, and the caller scores double the roll's points, and the roller loses the same amount. Call it wrong, and the caller loses double the roll's points, and the roller gains the same amount. Nobody's score can go below 0.
How often each roll comes up
In one study of nearly 12,000 rolls of a single pig, it landed on its side about two times in three: 35% with the dot down and 30% with the dot up. It landed on its back 22% of the time, on its feet 9%, as a Snouter 3% and as a Leaning Jowler less than 1%.
With two pigs, that makes a Pig Out about one roll in five, which is why it pays to bank a good turn.
A scoring example
Three players near the end of a game to 100. They take their turns in order: Ana, then Ben, then Cleo.
| Ana | Ben | Cleo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before these turns | 62 | 75 | 81 |
| Next turn | +21 | +0 | −81 |
| The turn after | +0 | +40 | No turn |
| Final | 83 | 115 | 0 |
Ana rolled a Razorback (5), a Sider (1), then a Trotter with a Snouter, a mixed combo worth 15. She stopped on 21 and banked it, for 83.
Ben rolled a Double Trotter for 20, rolled again and got a Pig Out, so the 20 was lost. Cleo rolled a Trotter, then the pigs landed touching: an Oinker, and her 81 went back to 0.
Ana's next turn ended in a Pig Out. Ben needed 25, and his first roll was a Double Snouter, 40, for 115. He stopped, and with 100 or more he wins. Under the rules, Cleo gets no last turn.
Keep score for Pass the Pigs in Tallynight
Pass the Pigs isn't one of Tallynight's built-in games yet, but it takes a minute to set up. Choose Something else, then Running score, "Add points as they happen", with Highest winning. Turn on Play to a target and set it to 100. Leave 1 · 5 · 10 points per tap, and Show whose turn it is on.
Tap the star to add it to your favourites, then Start game. When a player stops rolling, add their turn: tap + or tap their total and type it. After a Pig Out, add nothing. Tallynight doesn't know the pigs, so after an Oinker, tap the player's total and type all of it with the minus key, back to 0. After a Piggyback, open Change the game and tap Take out.
- Points per tap of 1, 5 or 10
- Tap a total to type a whole turn
- A minus key to send a player back to 0
- Offers to end the game when someone reaches 100
A Pass the Pigs score sheet to print
Playing on paper tonight? Print a free Pass the Pigs score sheet, or save it as a PDF.
Pass the Pigs score sheetQuestions
How do you score Pass the Pigs?
Each roll scores by how the two pigs land: a Sider is 1, a Razorback or Trotter 5, a Snouter 10 and a Leaning Jowler 15. Doubles score 20, 20, 40 and 60, and two different positions add up. Bank your turn before a Pig Out wipes it out. The first to 100 wins.
What is a Pig Out in Pass the Pigs?
Both pigs on their sides, opposite ways up: one with its dot showing and one without. You lose the points from that turn and pass the pigs on. Points banked on earlier turns are safe.
What happens when the pigs touch in Pass the Pigs?
That's an Oinker, also called Makin' Bacon. Under the rules in the box, your whole score goes back to 0 and your turn ends. Some tables only take away that turn's points, so agree before you start.
How many points is a Leaning Jowler?
15. Two at once, a Double Leaning Jowler, are 60, the most a single roll can score.
What is a Piggyback in Pass the Pigs?
One pig standing on top of the other. Under the rules, the player who rolls it is out of the game.
What do you play to in Pass the Pigs?
100. The first player to reach a total of 100 wins, and the rules give nobody a last turn.
Is Pass the Pigs: Big Pigs scored the same way?
Yes. Big Pigs has larger foam pigs, but the same positions, the same points and the same race to 100.
