How to Play Penny Drop: Official Rules and Strategy

Updated October 6, 2026

Penny Drop is Dave Janelle's wooden dice game, recommended for 2 to 10 players. The goal is to get rid of your pennies. After each safe roll, you decide whether to keep rolling or end your turn. An occupied hole makes you take back all the pennies showing on the board.

Watch the existing Creative Crafthouse rules video. Written rules below cover the full turn and tricky situations.

Set up the game

Use a Penny Drop board, one six-sided die and pennies for each player. Creative Crafthouse recommends Penny Drop for 2 to 10 players; the printed Penny Drop rules allow two or more, with no maximum. Each starts with twelve pennies. The printed instructions allow ten or eleven instead, provided everyone starts with the same number.

Roll to decide who starts: the highest initial roll goes first. Continue clockwise. Start with the numbered holes clear. Coins and dice are small parts; supervise play appropriately and check the product's guidance.

For a first round, place the board where everyone can see holes 1 through 6. Let one person read the turn rules aloud while another demonstrates. Keep each player's pennies in a separate pile so a take-back is easy to follow.

The official turn rules

Roll the die. You must roll at least once on your turn.
If the matching numbered hole is empty, place one of your pennies into it.
If you roll 6, the penny drops through the hole into the box. It stays out of play for this round.
If you roll an occupied number, take all the pennies showing on the board into your hand. Your turn ends.
After a safe roll, choose to roll again or end your turn. Continue until you stop, trigger a take-back or have no pennies left.

The first player with no pennies wins. The occupied-hole rule concerns the visible board, not pennies already dropped inside the box.

The decision after a safe roll

You have fewer pennies in your hand.
Look at occupied holes 1 through 5 to judge the next-roll risk.
Stop and pass the board, or roll again and accept that risk.

After every safe roll, the player decides whether to pass the occupied board or risk another roll.

Situations worth settling before play

Situation	Ruling
You roll another 6.	Drop another penny. Hole 6 does not become occupied, so repeated sixes carry no take-back penalty.
You roll 3 and hole 3 holds a penny.	Take every penny showing in holes 1 through 5, not just the one in hole 3. Your turn ends.
You want to pass before rolling.	You must roll at least once on your turn.
You have one penny left and roll an empty hole or 6.	Place or drop the penny and win immediately.
You take back the visible pennies.	The next player starts with those visible holes empty. Pennies inside the box stay there until the round is reset.

Know the risk of the next roll

For a fair six-sided die, each occupied hole from 1 through 5 accounts for one take-back result. If two holes are occupied, two of six die faces end your turn with a take-back. Hole 6 always accepts a penny and never adds to the occupied count.

Occupied holes become take-back faces

1 occupied hole

1/6 take-back risk on the next roll

2 occupied holes

2/6 take-back risk on the next roll

3 occupied holes

3/6 take-back risk on the next roll

4 occupied holes

4/6 take-back risk on the next roll

Count holes 1 through 5. With five occupied holes, only a 6 is safe. These are next-roll probabilities, not whole-game win probabilities.

Occupied holes	Take-back risk	Safe-roll chance
0	0/6 = 0%	6/6 = 100%
1	1/6, about 17%	5/6, about 83%
2	2/6, about 33%	4/6, about 67%
3	3/6 = 50%	3/6 = 50%
4	4/6, about 67%	2/6, about 33%
5	5/6, about 83%	1/6, about 17%

When to keep rolling or stop

A clear board makes the first roll safe. As more holes fill, the next roll becomes riskier. That makes occupied-hole count useful, but it is not the only detail in the decision.

Look at how many pennies you hold. With one left, any safe roll wins; that is a different situation from holding a large handful. Also look at who plays next. A take-back clears the visible board for them, whereas stopping passes its occupied holes to the next player, who must roll.

For example, with four occupied holes, your next roll has a four-in-six take-back risk. Passing hands that immediate risk to the next player. Continuing gives you a chance to shed a penny, but risks taking the visible four. Use the board to understand the choice rather than treating a simple rule as a guaranteed winning strategy.

Walk through one turn together

Imagine the board is empty and you have twelve pennies. You roll 2 and place a penny in hole 2. You keep going, roll 6 and drop a penny into the box. You now hold ten. If the next roll is another 2, take the one penny showing on the board; you finish the turn with eleven. The penny inside the box stays there. This short example separates the two places a penny can end up.

A suggested score sheet for several rounds

The official goal decides each round: first to no pennies wins. For a longer session, you can agree on this optional scoring variant before starting. The winner scores zero; everyone else records the pennies left in their hand. After five rounds, the lowest total wins. Empty the box and reset equal starting pennies for each new round.

Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Player 1
Player 2
Player 3
Player 4

Choose the original game

Dave Janelle invented Penny Drop in 2015. Creative Crafthouse makes the original Penny Drop game. Compare the current Penny Drop editions to choose a size and read what comes with that particular version.

This rules guide uses pennies. Penny Drop Giant uses poker chips; check its supplied components and instructions. For engraving, read the current option on the item you choose rather than relying on a fixed character limit here.

Questions before you choose

Do I take the pennies inside the box after an occupied roll?

No. Take the pennies showing on the board. The pennies dropped through 6 stay inside until resetting the round.

Can I play with ten pennies each?

Yes. The printed instructions allow ten or eleven instead of twelve when all players start equally.

Are pennies included?

Players supply their own pennies for the standard game. Arrange the same starting count for each player, and check the exact edition's included components when ordering.