Wood vs Foam vs Inflatable Yard Dice: Which to Buy

Q: Are wooden or foam yard dice better?

Wood outdoors, foam indoors. Wood lands and stays and sounds right on a patio; foam is quiet and safe indoors. Both GoSports sets are 3.5 in.

Q: Can you use giant inflatable dice in a pool?

They are the only dice we would use near a pool. GoSports states indoor or outdoor use for its 6 in set but publishes no pool rating or material.

Q: How big are giant yard dice?

GoSports publishes wood and foam at 3.5 in and inflatable at 6 in. Inflatable is biggest and lightest; wood is smallest and heaviest.

Q: What games can you play with yard dice?

Any dice game. The foam and inflatable sets include a scoreboard for Rollzee and Farkle. For a game built around giant dice, see Left Right Middle.

The short answer

Quick picks

Ranked on published specs, not on play we have not done. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up further down this page.

Ranked picks with what each is best for, our published-spec score and a live price link.
#	Product	Best for	Score	Price
1	No photo GoSports Giant 3.5 in Wooden Playing Dice Set Six 3.5 in hand-sanded pine dice with heat-stamped numbers that will not rub off, plus a dry-erase scoreboard and a canvas bag.	Best overall	7.9/10	Check price on Amazon #ad How we make money
2	No photo GoSports 3.5 in Giant Foam Playing Dice Set Six red foam dice at a published 3.5 inches, with a double-sided dry-erase scoreboard for Rollzee and Farkle and a carrying case — the same size as the wooden set, without the noise.	Best for kids and indoors	7.0/10	Check price on Amazon #ad How we make money
3	No photo GoSports 6 in Giant Inflatable Dice, 6-Pack Six inflatable dice at a published 6 inches each, with a 2-in-1 dry-erase scoreboard for Rollzee and Farkle, stated for indoor or outdoor use — the biggest dice for the least weight.	Best for pool and beach	6.4/10	Check price on Amazon #ad How we make money

Yard dice are the simplest giant game there is: six oversized dice, a scoreboard, and any dice game you already know. The one real decision is the material, and each of the three is right for a different place.

Side by side

The three materials

GoSports published figures for its three giant dice sets.
	Wood	Foam	Inflatable
Published size	3.5 in	3.5 in	6 in
Dice	6	6	6
Material	Hand-sanded pine, heat-stamped numbers	Soft foam	Not published
Scoreboard	Dry-erase, with canvas bag	Rollzee and Farkle (dry-erase)	Rollzee and Farkle (dry-erase)
Carry	Canvas carrying bag	Carrying case	Not published
Best on	Patio, grass	Indoors, patio	Pool, beach, grass
Noise	The satisfying clatter	Silent	Silent

Size and weight run in opposite directions. The inflatable dice are the biggest at a published 6 inches and weigh almost nothing. The wooden dice are the smallest at 3.5 inches and the heaviest. That trade decides where each one works: weight keeps a die where it lands on a lawn; lightness makes a die safe to throw near people and water.

Decision

Where each one belongs

Wood — the patio

Hand-sanded pine with heat-stamped numbers, which will not rub off the way painted ones do. The clatter on a patio is half the fun. Wood is the right choice for adults and for any outdoor game where the dice need to land and stay. It is the set on our main yard dice page.

Foam — indoors and small children

The same 3.5-inch size, silent, and unable to dent a floor or bruise a toddler. Foam is the version for a rainy afternoon, a playroom or a garage game night. It is too light for a windy lawn.

Inflatable — the pool and the beach

Six inches a side and practically weightless. It is the only version we would use in or beside a pool, and the only one that packs flat. On concrete it bounces unpredictably, which makes it the worst of the three on a hard patio — yard games for pool parties.

Criteria

How we picked

Verified in stock at the maker. A fourth set — 2-foot inflatable dice — was sold out and is not included.
A published die size for every set.
A scoreboard in the box, because a dice game without one is an argument.

We have not used them. Figures are GoSports' own — how we pick. For a dice game that is built around giant dice rather than scored on a card, see giant Left Right Middle.

The picks in full

Every pick, with its published specs

Best overall

GoSports Giant 3.5 in Wooden Playing Dice Set

GoSports

No product photo

Our spec score

7.9/10

Spec completeness: 7/10
Footprint clarity: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Pack-down: 9/10

Scored on published specifications only. We have not played this set.

Six 3.5 in hand-sanded pine dice with heat-stamped numbers that will not rub off, plus a dry-erase scoreboard and a canvas bag.

Skip this if

Skip this if your lawn slopes. Giant dice roll further than you expect and a slope turns every throw into a search.

What works

Heat-stamped numbers instead of printed ones is the difference between two seasons and ten
The scoreboard turns a bag of dice into an actual game with rules
Also offered at 2.5 in if the yard is small

What does not

No published set weight
Pine soaks up dew if the dice are left out overnight

Published specifications

Footprint: About 8 ft x 8 ft of clear rolling space
Die size: 3.5 in
Dice: 6
Material: Hand-sanded pine, heat-stamped numbers
Included: Dry-erase scoreboard and canvas carrying bag
Players: 2 or more
Set weight: —

Manufacturer listing: GoSports product listing

Check price on Amazon

#ad How we make money

Best for kids and indoors

GoSports 3.5 in Giant Foam Playing Dice Set

GoSports

No product photo

Our spec score

7.0/10

Spec completeness: 6/10
Footprint clarity: 5/10
Durability: 5/10
Pack-down: 9/10

Scored on published specifications only. We have not played this set.

Six red foam dice at a published 3.5 inches, with a double-sided dry-erase scoreboard for Rollzee and Farkle and a carrying case — the same size as the wooden set, without the noise.

Skip this if

Skip this for a windy lawn. Soft foam is light, and GoSports publishes no weight; a gust moves a foam die in a way it will not move pine.

What works

Quiet on a patio or indoors — no clatter
The same published 3.5 in size as the wooden set
Scoreboard for two games included
Nothing to hurt a small child or dent a table

What does not

Light, so wind moves it
No published weight or age floor
Foam dents and marks over time in a way wood does not

Published specifications

Dice: 6, 3.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 in
Material: Soft foam
Scoreboard: Double-sided dry-erase, Rollzee and Farkle, with pen
Games: Stated to work with any dice game
Carry: Carrying case
Weight: —
Age floor: —

Manufacturer listing: GoSports product listing

Check price on Amazon

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Best for pool and beach

GoSports 6 in Giant Inflatable Dice, 6-Pack

GoSports

No product photo

Our spec score

6.4/10

Spec completeness: 3/10
Footprint clarity: 5/10
Durability: 4/10
Pack-down: 10/10

Scored on published specifications only. We have not played this set.

Six inflatable dice at a published 6 inches each, with a 2-in-1 dry-erase scoreboard for Rollzee and Farkle, stated for indoor or outdoor use — the biggest dice for the least weight.

Skip this if

Skip this for a hard patio game. GoSports publishes no material for these, and an inflatable die bounces and rolls — fun on sand or in a pool, frustrating on concrete.

What works

The largest dice in the range at a published 6 in
Inflatable, so the whole set packs flat
Scoreboard for two games included
Nothing to break if it lands on someone

What does not

No published material
Bounces unpredictably on hard ground
An inflatable can puncture; nothing published on repair

Published specifications

Dice: 6, 6 x 6 x 6 in each
Scoreboard: 2-in-1 dry-erase, Rollzee and Farkle
Use: Stated indoor or outdoor
Material: —
Pool use: —
Weight: —
Age floor: —

Manufacturer listing: GoSports product listing

Check price on Amazon

#ad How we make money

FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Are wooden or foam yard dice better?

Wood outdoors, foam indoors. Wooden dice have weight — they land and stay, and they sound right on a patio. Foam dice are quiet, cannot hurt anyone and will not dent a floor, which makes them the indoor and small-child choice. Both GoSports sets publish the same 3.5-inch size.

Can you use giant inflatable dice in a pool?

They are the only dice we would put near a pool, because they float by design and cannot break anything. GoSports states indoor or outdoor use for its 6-inch inflatable set but does not publish a pool rating or a material.

How big are giant yard dice?

GoSports publishes its wooden and foam sets at 3.5 inches a side and its inflatable set at 6 inches. The inflatable dice are the biggest and the lightest; the wooden dice are the smallest and the heaviest.

What games can you play with yard dice?

Any dice game. The GoSports foam and inflatable sets both include a dry-erase scoreboard printed for Rollzee and Farkle, the two most common. For a game built around giant dice, see Left Right Middle.

Why you can check our work

We have not played these. Every figure above is copied from a manufacturer's published listing or a governing body's published rules, and named so you can verify it. Where a maker publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled in. How we pick explains the whole method, including what would change a recommendation.

Every figure on this page is copied from one of these sources. If you find one that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

Wood vs foam vs inflatable yard dice

Quick picks

The three materials