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My husband introduced me to a game that is a favorite for our family now. He played it as a kid and remembered it as a game we could easily teach our girls. We love board games! We probably gather around the table for a board game at least once a week. This one pops up as a frequent favorite. This game has been around for a while, but I had never heard of it until Matt taught me. Just in case you’re like me, and missing out on it, let me introduce you!
Help Your Neighbor (Card & Dice Game)
- You will need numbered cards that go up to 12 and a pair of dice. (We prefer SkipBo, but Phase 10, or Rook work well too.)
- Everyone starts the game with 10 cards in front of them, face up. Each person needs these specific card numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Notice how there is not a number 1 or 7.
- The goal of the game is to turn all the cards face down. The first person to turn them all down is the winner.
- On your turn, you roll the dice. Whatever is the sum of the dice is the card that needs to get turned face down. If you roll a card number that is still turned up, you turn it face down. If you already have that card face down, you go clockwise around the table, the first person that still has that card turned face up gets to turn over the card and then it becomes their turn to continue rolling the dice. You just “helped your neighbor”. If everyone has that card turned over, as often is the case near the end of the game, the person rolling gets to continue rolling.
- You get to roll again every time you are able to turn a card face down.
- If you roll a 7, you have to turn a card of your choice back to face up and then pass the dice to the person next to you clockwise.
I love this game because it is easy for even younger kids and fast-paced and everyone is constantly involved.
Have you ever played this before? What games do you play with your family?
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Cool! Never heard of it!
So fun!! Tell me what you think!
How many people are needed to play the game? Looks like fun.
I think at least 4 to be fun, but there isn’t really a set number. Enjoy!!
thanks for responding. Hope to play the game soon.
That sounds like fun. I can’t wait to try it!
We really love it! Fun and fast-paced, a good combo for keeping everyone’s attention!
Wish I had known about this when mine were younger !!!!! Love your blog and your topics — keep up the good work !!!
Oh, thank you! That is so nice of you to say!
I learned this game a little bit ago at a MOPS group and then taught it to my kids!! I made my own cards with just some scrap paper. Even my 4 year old was able to play it, they just love it!! Helps with math skills too!! I keep a set with dice in my purse and we pull it out when we have to wait for a while somewhere 🙂
It is an awesome game!! I love that you made home made cards – how fun!
I used to play this game with my sister and great grandmother as a little girl. She passed away 2 years ago at 100 and I was just thinking of her. I googled the rules of the game. We would play this and drink 7up. Such great memories.
Thanks for sharing! It really is a fun game and still one of our favorites. We played it 2 nights ago!!
Looks like a great game I love if you email me rules please
The rules are on the website whenever you need them. 🙂
Played it all the time but we use pennies. You ante a penny to start and every time a 7 is rolled a penny gets added to the pot..
What a fun variation.