How to Play Twenty-Five

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Twenty-Five is a straightforward push-your-luck dice game for two to six players in which everyone races to accumulate exactly 25 points. Each turn you roll five dice, choosing which to keep and which to re-roll across up to three rolls, then bank your score. The tension comes from knowing when to stop: go over 25 and your score resets, so caution and nerve matter in equal measure.

The game is popular at kitchen tables and family gatherings because the rules take under two minutes to explain, rounds are short, and the scoring threshold keeps every player in contention until the final roll. It travels well, needs nothing beyond a set of five standard dice and something to write with, and works for a wide age range.

A little history

The origins of Twenty-Five as a distinct dice game are unclear. Dice games built around a fixed target score have existed across many cultures for centuries, and games sharing Twenty-Five's core push-your-luck structure appear in various European parlour-game collections from the nineteenth century onward. The specific name and ruleset described here are traditionally associated with British family play, but no single authoritative source documents when or where this exact version was codified.

Setting up

1. Seat all players around a flat surface with enough room to roll five dice comfortably.
2. Designate a score-keeper and prepare a simple tally sheet with each player's name.
3. Decide the winning target before play begins: the standard target is exactly 25 points, but the group may agree on a different figure for a shorter or longer game.
4. Determine who goes first by each player rolling one die; highest roll goes first, with ties re-rolled. Play then proceeds clockwise.

How to play

1. On your turn, take all five dice and roll them together.
2. After the first roll, examine your dice and set aside any you wish to keep. You must keep at least one die after each roll.
3. Roll all non-kept dice for your second roll. Again, set aside at least one additional die.
4. Roll any remaining non-kept dice for your third and final roll. You may not re-roll dice you have already set aside.
5. After your third roll, add together the face values of all five dice to get your turn total.
6. Add your turn total to your running score and record it on the tally sheet.
7. If your running score exceeds 25, your score resets to zero and your turn ends immediately. You must build back up from zero on subsequent turns.
8. If at any point after a roll all five dice show the value you want and you are happy with your total, you may choose to stop rolling early and bank that total without taking further rolls.
9. Play passes clockwise to the next player, who takes their turn in the same way.
10. Continue until one player's running score reaches exactly 25.

Winning and scoring

The winner is the first player whose cumulative score reaches exactly 25. If a player's score would exceed 25, their total resets to zero rather than staying at the over-25 figure, and they must work back up from scratch. There is no bonus for reaching 25 in fewer turns; the sole objective is hitting the target exactly. In the event two players reach 25 on the same round of play, the player who reached it first in turn order on that round is the winner.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns the bust rule: some players assume the score simply stays where it was rather than resetting. The standard ruling is a full reset to zero, which is the mechanism that gives the game its tension and prevents a cautious player from stalling at 24. Agree this before play begins. A related question arises when a player on exactly 24 rolls a total of 1: a single die showing 1 is legal and wins the game, but the player must still commit to keeping at least one die after each roll, so they cannot simply pocket four dice and roll one hoping for a 1 without having set those dice aside in prior rolls of the same turn.

Players sometimes ask whether they must take all three rolls. The answer is no: you may bank your result after the first or second roll if you are satisfied with your total and do not want to risk busting. However, once you declare your turn over and record your score, you cannot change your mind and roll again. Keep the order of play strict so no player feels pressure to hurry a decision.

How to win more often

• Track your distance from 25 precisely before each roll. If you need exactly 4 more points, count how many dice combinations give you 4 or fewer and weigh that against the bust risk before deciding whether to re-roll.
• In the early game, be more aggressive: rolling high totals quickly when you are far from 25 costs little because a bust from a low base still resets you to zero, which is not much worse than where you were.
• When you are within 6 or 7 points of 25, slow down. Keep any die showing a useful low number and re-roll only the dice that could push you over.
• Watch your opponents' scores. If a rival is on 23 or 24 and it is almost their turn, you may need to take a risk to reach 25 before they do rather than playing safely.
• If you are holding dice that sum to exactly what you need, stop rolling. There is never a reason to take a third roll when the first two have already given you the winning total.

Variations

Fifty

Played identically to Twenty-Five but with a target score of 50. This extends the game considerably and suits groups who want a longer session. The bust rule remains: exceed 50 and your score resets to zero. A lower intermediate bust threshold of 25 is sometimes added as a house rule, resetting any player who passes 25 during the race to 50.

Team Twenty-Five

Players pair up into teams of two, with partners seated opposite each other. Each player still takes individual turns, but the team's combined running score must reach exactly 25. Both teammates contribute to a single shared total, so communication about when to stop rolling becomes part of the game. Bust resets the whole team score to zero.

Wild One

In this variant, any die showing a 1 is treated as a wild and may count as any value from 1 to 6 chosen by the player after all three rolls are complete. This reduces bust frequency and speeds up the endgame, making the variant better suited to younger players or shorter sessions. All other rules remain unchanged.

Elimination Twenty-Five

Rather than racing to reach 25, players are eliminated when their score exceeds 25. There is no reset: a bust means that player is out of the round. The last player remaining without busting wins. This variant works best with five or six players and produces a quicker, more dramatic finish than the standard version.

Twenty-Five: frequently asked questions