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How to Play the Beetle Game

This is the perfect game to play at the dinner table or while waiting for your waitress or your food if you are at a restaurant. Beetle is a simple game that both kids and adults enjoy and requires only a die, paper and pencil. It is largely a game of chance, as you draw the 13 body parts by rolling the corresponding number with the die. Play on cocktail napkins to pass the time before your food arrives. Just remember to throw a die in your purse.

Things You'll Need

Paper pieces
Pens
Die

Instructions

- 1
  Gather at least 2 people.
- 2
  Distribute a piece of paper and pen to each player. Everyone needs their own pen and paper. You will also need a die but it is shared among the group.
- 3
  Roll the die to see who goes first. Play clockwise after the first person is chosen.
- 4
  Build the beetle by rolling the corresponding number with the body part. Everyone gets to throw the die one time at each turn. You may not continue on until you have rolled the number corresponding to the next body part.
- 5
  Roll a 1 in order to build the body, which is drawn as a medium size circle on the paper. If you do not roll a 1, you must pass the die to the next player and try again on your next turn. You may not move forward until you roll a 1.
- 6
  Add the head to the body by rolling a 2. You cannot move on until you have rolled a 2. The head is drawn as a small circle attached to the larger circle of the body.
- 7
  Include a tail by rolling a 3 on your turn. This is just a small dash at the opposite end of the body from the head.
- 8
  Affix two eyes by first rolling a 4 and then another 4. The eyes are simply two small dots within the head.
- 9
  Draw two feelers by rolling a 5 and then another 5. Feelers are two squiggly lines off the top of the head.
- 10
  Append the six legs by rolling a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 during your turns, in order.
- 11
  Win the game by completing your beetle first.

Kids Games