Play Stuck in the Mud Online

What Is Stuck in the Mud?

Stuck in the Mud is a five-dice adding game. You roll all five dice; any 2 or 5 gets stuck and stays where it is for the rest of the turn, while the other dice are added to your score. Then you roll only the free dice, stick any new 2s and 5s, add the rest, and carry on until all five dice are stuck. Your turn total is written down and the dice pass to the next player. Highest total after an agreed number of rounds wins.

There are no choices to make, which is exactly why the game works so well with children. Every throw is a small arithmetic problem: spot the 2s and 5s, add up whatever is left, add that to what you had before. A turn is about six throws long, the running total climbs past 30 or 40 in a satisfying way, and the ending is always the same gentle anticlimax of the last die finally sinking into the mud. Compared with Drop Dead, its stricter twin in which a single 2 or 5 wipes out the whole throw, Stuck in the Mud scores more than twice as much and almost never hands a player a zero.

A Short History of Stuck in the Mud

The name comes from the playground. Stuck in the Mud (or stuck-in-the-mud tag) is a British chasing game in which a tagged child must stand still with legs apart until a free player crawls through to release them. The dice game borrowed the name and the idea: a die that shows a 2 or 5 is “stuck” and cannot move, and unlike the playground version nothing frees it until the next turn.

Beyond the name, the game’s past is a blank. We could not find it in R. F. Foster’s Complete Hoyle (1922), which is where Drop Dead first appears, nor in John Scarne’s Scarne on Dice (1945), which documents dozens of bar and street dice games of the era. What we can find is a steady stream of teaching material: an Australian primary-school mathematics worksheet from 2013 that presents it as “an addition dice game” for pairs of children playing ten rounds, British family activity sites that list it alongside Beetle as a rainy-day game, and rules pages for dementia-care activity coordinators who value it for the same reason teachers do, which is that it needs no memory of previous turns and no decisions.

Two versions circulate under the same name. In the version played here, and in the school worksheets, only the 2s and 5s are lost and the other dice score. In some rule sheets, including one that explicitly calls the game “also known as Drop Dead,” any 2 or 5 in a throw makes the whole throw score zero. We think of the second version as Drop Dead with a friendlier name and treat it as a variant below. Whether Stuck in the Mud is a children’s re-working of Drop Dead or an independent invention that later collided with it is a question no source answers, so we hedge: the game is probably a few decades old, probably British or Commonwealth in origin, and definitely a game of the classroom and the kitchen table rather than the pub.

Stuck in the Mud Rules

Equipment

• Five six-sided dice
• Pen and paper or a printed score chart with a row for each round
• Two or more players; the game scales to a whole classroom in pairs

Object

Score the most points. Each turn is worth whatever you add up before all five dice are stuck. On Dice.now you and the computer take one turn each per round for three rounds, and the higher three-round total wins. School versions often use ten rounds; some family sites play to a target such as 500 points.

How a Turn Works

1. Roll all five dice.
2. Stick the 2s and 5s. Set aside every die showing a 2 or a 5. They are stuck in the mud for the rest of your turn and are not rolled again.
3. Add up the free dice. Every die that is not a 2 or a 5 counts its face value. Add the total to your turn score. If the throw had no 2s or 5s, nothing is stuck and all five dice score.
4. Roll the free dice again. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with however many dice are left.
5. When all five dice are stuck, your turn is over. Write down your turn score and pass the dice.

There is no limit on the number of throws and no choice to stop early. A throw of one free die scores its face if it is a 1, 3, 4 or 6, and ends the turn if it is a 2 or a 5.

Scoring Table

A free die scores an average of (1 + 3 + 4 + 6) ÷ 4 = 3.5 per throw, the same as an ordinary die, because 2 and 5 are one low face and one high face.

Worked Examples

Here is the example turn from the Australian school worksheet, which is a perfect illustration of a normal turn:

• Throw 1: 1-1-3-4-6. No 2s or 5s, so all five dice score: 1 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 6 = 15.
• Throw 2: 2-3-3-5-6. The 2 and the 5 are stuck. The other three score 3 + 3 + 6 = 12. Turn score 15 + 12 = 27.
• Throw 3 (three dice): 2-4-6. The 2 is stuck. 4 + 6 = 10. Turn score 37.
• Throw 4 (two dice): 5-6. The 5 is stuck. Turn score 37 + 6 = 43.
• Throw 5 (one die): 1. Scores 1. Turn score 44.
• Throw 6: 2. Stuck. All five dice are in the mud; the turn ends on 44, a slightly above-average score.

A less lucky turn from the same sheet:

• Throw 1: 3-4-5-5-5. Three 5s stuck at once. 3 + 4 = 7.
• Throw 2 (two dice): 6-6. Nothing stuck, +12. Turn score 19.
• Throw 3: 1-6. Nothing stuck, +7. Turn score 26.
• Throw 4: 2-5. Both stuck. Turn ends on 26.

And two extremes:

• Throw 1: 2-5-2-5-2. All five stuck. Turn score 0. Odds: 1 in 243.
• Throw 1: 6-6-6-4-3 (+25), throw 2: 6-6-1-3-4 (+20), throw 3: 4-6-6-6-1 (+23), throw 4: 5-2-6-3-1 (+10, two stuck), and so on. A turn that starts with three clean throws often finishes above 80.

The Odds

Stuck in the Mud has a rare property for a dice game: its expected score can be worked out exactly in one line.

Expected score of a turn

Each die, on every throw in which it is free, has a 2 in 3 chance of staying free and a 1 in 3 chance of getting stuck. The number of throws a die survives is therefore geometric with success probability 1/3, and the expected number of throws in which it scores is (2/3) ÷ (1/3) = 2. Each scoring throw is worth 3.5 on average. So each die is worth 2 × 3.5 = 7 points, and five independent dice are worth 35 points per turn.

That figure is exact, and a million simulated turns agree: mean 35.0, standard deviation 20. The distribution is skewed, with a long tail of big turns:

The first throw

• Probability that no die is stuck (all five score): (2/3)⁵ = 13.2%.
• Probability that all five are stuck: (1/3)⁵ = 0.41%.
• Most likely outcome: one or two dice stuck (33 percent and 33 percent respectively).
• Expected score of the first throw: five dice, each free with probability 2/3 and worth 3.5 when free, gives 5 × (2/3) × 3.5 = 11.7 points.

How long a turn lasts

A turn ends when the last die sinks, and the expected number of throws is 6.13, the same as in Drop Dead because the dice die at the same rate. About one turn in three is over by the fifth throw; a turn of ten or more throws happens roughly one time in eight, and those long turns are where the 70-point scores come from.

Stuck in the Mud versus Drop Dead

The two games remove dice at the same rate. The difference is entirely in what a “bad” throw scores. In Stuck in the Mud a throw with two stuck dice still scores the other three; in Drop Dead it scores nothing. That difference more than doubles the expected turn (35 against 16.07), removes almost all zero turns (0.4 percent against 20.5 percent), and makes the totals far less swingy. For a child, “I scored 30 and you scored 40” is a much nicer sentence than “I scored 0 and you scored 40.”

Stuck in the Mud Strategy

There are no decisions inside a turn, so this section is about playing the game well in the wider sense: choosing formats, teaching with it, keeping it fair and keeping it fun.

1. Use the averages to set expectations

A turn averages 35 and lands between 15 and 55 two times in three. Tell new players that before they start; a 20-point turn then feels ordinary rather than disappointing, and a 60 feels like the event it is (about one turn in nine).

2. Make the addition the game

For children the value is in the arithmetic. Say the sum out loud on every throw: “four plus six is ten, ten plus twenty-seven is thirty-seven.” Have the other player check it. The online version writes out every throw’s sum, which is a good model for how to do it on paper.

3. Give the “stuck” job to the other player

The classroom worksheet has a neat idea: the player who is not rolling is responsible for spotting and removing the 2s and 5s. It keeps both children engaged, halves the errors, and teaches the rule faster than any explanation.

4. Choose the number of rounds to fit the attention span

Three rounds is a five-minute game and is what Dice.now plays. Ten rounds, as in the school version, gives totals around 350 and a real chance for a slow starter to come back. A race to 500 points works but can take fifteen turns each.

5. Handicap with points, not with rules

Because the game is pure luck, a handicap does not spoil anything. Give a much younger player 10 points a round, or a sixth die (worth about 7 points a turn). Do not change the stuck numbers for one player only; that is confusing and gains nothing.

6. Keep stakes per game, never per point

If adults play for a pot, one stake per game is plenty. A per-point wager can swing 80 points on a single turn, which is more excitement than a game this gentle is designed for.

7. Use the game to teach probability, not only addition

Older children can be asked: what fraction of the dice get stuck each throw? (One third.) How many throws does a die last on average? (Three, of which two score.) What is a die worth? (Seven.) What is a turn worth? (Thirty-five.) Then play ten turns and see how close the class average comes. This is the most natural introduction to expected value we know.

8. Do not read the mud

Three stuck dice on one throw say nothing about the next throw. The dice have no memory. The best attitude in a decision-free game is cheerful indifference to streaks in either direction.

Common Mistakes

• Scoring the stuck dice. A 5 that has just got stuck does not add 5. Only 1s, 3s, 4s and 6s score.
• Re-rolling a stuck die. Once stuck, always stuck until the next turn. Move stuck dice physically out of the way.
• Zeroing the whole throw on a 2 or 5. That is the Drop Dead rule. In Stuck in the Mud the free dice score even when others get stuck.
• Forgetting to add the last die. The turn often ends with a single die that scores once or twice before sticking; those points count.
• Losing the running total. Write it down after every throw, or use the on-screen turn score.
• Stopping early to “bank.” There is no hold in the standard game. If you want one, see the variants.

Variants and House Rules

• Drop Dead scoring. Any 2 or 5 in a throw makes the whole throw score nothing, though the free dice still roll on. This is Drop Dead, averaging 16 a turn instead of 35. Some rule sheets present it under the Stuck in the Mud name, so check before you play.
• Ten rounds with a score chart. The classroom format: a printed grid with a column per player and a row per round, totaled at the end.
• Race to 500. Keep running totals and stop when someone reaches 500, roughly fourteen turns each.
• Different mud numbers. Some families make 1 and 6 the stuck faces, which removes both the lowest and the highest scoring die and reduces the average turn to about 30. A single stuck number, such as 1, makes dice last longer and pushes the average turn well above 60.
• Stuck in the Mud with a hold. Allow a player to stop after any throw and keep their total. This adds a Pig-style decision with a twist: the risk is not losing points but losing dice, so holding is rarely right unless a target has been reached.
• Team play. Two children share the dice, one rolling and one removing the stuck dice, then swap.
• Free the mud. A playground-inspired house rule: a throw of all 6s frees every stuck die. It happens too rarely to matter (one time in 7,776 with five dice) but children love the idea.

For the next step up in this family, Drop Dead uses the same bad numbers with harsher scoring, and Threes turns the “set dice aside” mechanic into a real decision by letting you choose what to keep. For other games that are perfect for early arithmetic, try Beetle, Bunco and the running-total race of Going to Boston.

Glossary

• Stuck: A die showing a 2 or a 5, set aside for the rest of the turn.
• Free dice: The dice still being rolled.
• Mud: The set-aside area where stuck dice sit; on Dice.now, stuck dice are shown in red in their place.
• Turn score: The total added up over one turn, from the first throw until all five dice are stuck.
• Clean throw: A throw with no 2s or 5s, in which every die scores and nothing is stuck.
• Round: One turn for each player.
• Expected score: The long-run average of a turn, exactly 35 points.

Play Stuck in the Mud Online on Dice.now

The game at the top of this page is Stuck in the Mud against the computer over three rounds, higher total wins. Press Roll to throw your five dice. Any 2s and 5s turn red and stay in place as stuck dice; the free dice turn green and their sum is written out beneath the dice (“4 + 6 + 1 = 11”) and added to your turn score. Press Roll again to throw only the free dice, and keep going until the fifth die is stuck, when your turn score is banked in the scoreboard automatically. The computer then plays its turn in full view, one throw at a time, with every sum in the log.

The two cards above the dice show how many free dice you have and your turn score so far, the status bar keeps both totals and your win-loss record, and your best single round is remembered on your device only. If you are playing with a child, let them do the addition before the game reveals it. Roll the dice.