Sex Dice: How to Play, Better Rules, Making Your Own

Updated November 1, 2026

Sex dice are about the simplest game there is. You usually get two dice, one showing a move and the other a place on the body. You roll them and do what they say. Many couples get them as a stocking stuffer and leave them in a drawer after one evening, which is a shame, since only the execution lets the idea down.

Store-bought sets usually have six faces per die, for 36 combinations, and a few of those you won’t ever want. By the third game you’ve seen most of them. The fix is easy: more faces, faces you chose yourselves, and a couple of house rules so that the dice do more than issue orders.

Playing a good game

Take turns rolling, and give each roll about a minute. That’s long enough to enjoy and short enough to make you want the next one. Whoever rolled does the move to the other person, unless you agree that the roller receives it instead, which is a nice way to change up an evening.

Read the faces together before you begin. If “tickle” is a dealbreaker for one of you, take it off. During the game, “reroll” should be available to anyone, for any reason. When you know a bad combination can’t trap you, you relax into all the rest.

Faces worth having

Twelve per die is a good number. It gives you 144 pairings, enough to keep things fresh without filling the dice with oddities. Here’s what we use in our online sex dice, and you’re welcome to borrow from it.

Notice that the places are spread out. Good sets include spots people forget about, since the inside of a wrist never comes to mind until it’s being kissed. “Whisper to ankle” is plainly absurd, and it stays on the list for that reason. Whoever rolled it has to bend down and tell an ankle a secret, and it’s very hard to stay nervous after that.

House rules that keep it interesting

The third die. Add a die for how long or how: ten seconds, one minute, eyes closed, no hands, very slowly, your choice. Combinations multiply fast and the game suddenly has texture.

Keep one of three. Roll three times and choose your favorite, while your partner watches you decide.

Banked rolls. Save one roll for later in the evening, written on a scrap of paper, to be redeemed when you say so and your partner’s still keen.

The clothing rule. Whatever spot comes up has to be uncovered, if you’re both happy with that. It turns the dice into a slow strip game with very little effort.

Reverse day. The person rolling doesn’t do the move but tells their partner how they’d like it done to them. It’s a sly way to learn what your partner likes, and it’s the one variation that usually stays in the game.

Making your own set

You don’t need much. Blank wooden cubes from a craft shop and a fine marker work well, and a dab of clear varnish keeps the writing on. Six faces per die is the limit of a cube, so if you want twelve options, use two move dice and two place dice, then pick which pair to roll each turn.

Paper dice are even easier. Draw a cross-shaped net of six squares on card, write your faces, fold, and glue. They’re light and look homemade, which is part of the charm.

No time for crafts? The online version lets you rewrite any face and add up to 24 per die, saved only on your own phone. Our guide to couple games online says what to look for in the others.

Writing faces that work

Use verbs you’d actually say out loud. A face that makes you both cringe won’t get rolled twice. Keep moves about how something’s done, not how far it goes, because a slow kiss works just about anywhere on the body. And write some faces that are purely silly, since laughter keeps the game from getting too earnest.

Include a place you’ve never paid much attention to, and leave one blank that means “partner’s choice”. That single face turns every sixth or twelfth roll into a small negotiation, and those negotiations are where you find out most about each other.