Two Dice Roller

Roll a pair of dice

This two dice roller rolls two six sided dice and adds them up for you. The dice show pips like the ones in a board game box, the total appears in large type, and doubles are called out. Use it when the dice have vanished under the couch, when you play a board game over a video call, or when a younger player needs help with the sum.

How to use the two dice roller

1. Press Roll, or press the space bar.
2. The two dice shake and land.
3. Read the total. The line underneath shows each die, such as 6 + 2.
4. If both dice match, that line reads “Doubles” instead.
5. Check the History list for earlier rolls, newest first.

The page rolls once as soon as it opens, so a result is already waiting.

Totals from 2 to 12

Two dice can make any total from 2 to 12, but the totals are not equally likely. The pair can land 36 different ways, and the middle totals have more of them:

• 2 or 12: 1 way each
• 3 or 11: 2 ways each
• 4 or 10: 3 ways each
• 5 or 9: 4 ways each
• 6 or 8: 5 ways each
• 7: 6 ways

Why 7 comes up most

A 7 can be made with 1 and 6, 2 and 5, or 3 and 4, and each pair can land either way round. That is six combinations out of 36, so a 7 shows up about once every six rolls. A 2 needs both dice on 1, which happens once in 36 rolls on average. Game designers lean on this. Spaces or numbers that pay out on a 6, 7 or 8 get hit far more often than those on a 2 or 12, and some games make 7 the roll that triggers a special event for exactly that reason.

Doubles

Six of the 36 combinations are doubles, so expect them about one roll in six. Plenty of games hand out an extra turn on doubles, which is why the roller points them out.

Ways to use it

• Family board games. Most games that move pieces around a board use two six sided dice. Roll and count the spaces.
• Backgammon. Roll for your move and use the two values separately. Doubles are flagged, so you remember to play the number four times.
• Teaching probability. Have a class roll 50 times, tally the totals on the board, and watch 7 climb to the top of the chart.
• Making your own game. Assign a reward or a forfeit to each total, keeping the best prizes on 2 and 12 since they are the rarest.
• Quick decisions. Even total means one choice, odd total means the other.

Fair dice

Each die gets its own value from your browser’s cryptographic random generator (crypto.getRandomValues). Each face has a 1 in 6 chance, so the totals follow the same pattern as a real pair of dice.

Need a different number of dice or other shapes? Use the dice roller. For card games, the random card generator draws from a full shuffled deck.