The position finder
Every pig position and what it scores
Check what each landing is worth, with clear drawings showing how the little rubber porkers can rest.
A pig can come to rest six ways. Two of them are the same flop with the inked dot showing or hidden, which looks like a technicality until it wipes out your turn.
0 alone
Sider (no dot)
The pig lies on its side with the blank flank up. It is the landing you get most, and on its own it is worth nothing at all. Both pigs like this: 1 · turns up in 35% of rolls
0 alone
Sider (dot)
The same flop the other way up, with the inked dot showing. Also worth nothing by itself, but the dot decides whether a pair is a score or a wipe out. Both pigs like this: 1 · turns up in 30.2% of rolls
5 points
Razorback
The pig rests on its back with the legs in the air. Common enough to build a turn on. Both pigs like this: 20 · turns up in 22.4% of rolls
5 points
Trotter
The pig lands upright on all four feet. Worth the same as a Razorback and harder to get. Both pigs like this: 20 · turns up in 8.8% of rolls
10 points
Snouter
The pig balances on its snout and front legs. Roughly one roll in thirty. Both pigs like this: 40 · turns up in 3% of rolls
15 points
Leaning Jowler
The pig props itself on a jowl, an ear and one foot. Once in about a hundred and sixty rolls, and the table always reacts. Both pigs like this: 60 · turns up in 0.6% of rolls
Read it as a pair
Both pigs together
Two different landings are simply added. Two of the same landing are worth much more than that, and the jump is steep enough to change how you play.
| Landing | One pig | Both pigs alike | Share of rolls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sider (no dot) | 0 nothing on its own | 1 | 35% |
| Sider (dot) | 0 nothing on its own | 1 | 30.2% |
| Razorback | 5 | 20 | 22.4% |
| Trotter | 5 | 20 | 8.8% |
| Snouter | 10 | 40 | 3% |
| Leaning Jowler | 15 | 60 | 0.6% |
The two siders
Every pig has a dot inked on one flank. Landed flat, it is worth a single point either way, so on its own the dot means nothing at all.
It matters when both pigs are flat. Same side up, that is a score. One dot up and one dot down is a Pig Out, and the turn is over. This is the single rule most new players miss, and it accounts for roughly one roll in five.
Worth checking before the first game: the dot is small and some editions ink it more faintly than others. Everyone at the table should be able to see it from where they sit.
How often each one turns up
Common, uncommon, and the one everybody shouts about
These shares come from a count of nearly twelve thousand rolls of a single pig. Two thirds of the time you get a plain flop. The best landing in the game shows up about once in a hundred and sixty rolls.
Carry on from here
- How to play Pass the PigsRead how a turn works, when to hand the little porkers across, and how the winner finishes.
- Pig Out, Oinker and PiggybackLearn about the few disastrous tosses that wipe out a turn or erase a whole running tally.
- When to stop rollingWeigh the simple arithmetic of greed, deciding whether to risk another toss or bank your points safely.
- Hog Call and other table rulesExplore common house rules people invent around the table, along with where those extra twists came from.