Official Chicken! Rules

Last Updated on July 16, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Chicken! is a light and exciting dice game by Keymaster Games, perfect for families and groups of 2-8 players. It’s a game of press-your-luck and quick turns, where you roll dice to collect chickens, hatch more dice, and avoid those pesky foxes!

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How to Play Chicken!

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Overview

Welcome to Fox Hollow, where life is peaceful—except for the pesky foxes! As a farmer, your job is to collect as many chickens as you can without getting caught by foxes.

First player to reach 25 points wins the game!

• Players: 2–8
• Time: 10–20 minutes
• Ages: 8+

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Contents

• 4 White Dice
• 4 Yellow Dice
• 4 Orange Dice
• 8 Player Tokens
• 1 Cloth Board
• Rules

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Setup

1. Lay out the cloth board so everyone can reach it.
2. Each player picks a Player Token and places it on the starting space. Set unused tokens aside.
3. Place all yellow and orange dice in rows inside the Coop on the board.
4. The player who most recently touched a real chicken goes first. Otherwise, choose randomly.
5. Give the 4 white dice to the starting player.

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Gameplay

Each turn, you must choose one of these two options:

1. Go For It!

Take all dice passed to you and roll them to start your turn.

2. Chicken Out!

Put all yellow and orange dice you were passed back into the Coop and lose 1 point.
Exception: If you’re still on the starting space, you don’t lose a point for chickening out.
Then roll only the 4 white dice.

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Rolling Dice

After your first roll:

• Move any Chickens rolled to the right. These are potential points.
• Move any Foxes to the left. They’re dangerous!

If at any time you roll 3 or more Foxes, you bust (see “You Busted!” below) and score 0 points.

Hatching Dice

For each Egg you roll:

• Add one die from the Coop to the middle dice pool.
  • Add Yellow Dice first.
  • If no yellow remain, add Orange Dice.
• Newly added dice are treated as blanks until rolled.

Tip: When adding dice, turn them to the blank side so you don’t confuse them with rolled results.

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Keep Going or Count Chickens

If you didn’t bust, you now choose:

Reroll

Roll all dice in the middle again (including blanks, eggs, and new dice).

• You may reroll once per turn only.
• If you still haven’t busted, hatch any new eggs and move to “Count Your Chickens.”

Count Your Chickens

End your turn and score 1 point per Chicken you’ve rolled.

• Move your token forward 1 space per point.
• Double Chickens (on orange dice) are worth 2 points.
• Pass all dice clockwise to the next player.

Tip: As the dice pool grows, use the dice tube to roll everything more easily.

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You Busted!

If you ever have 3 or more Foxes showing:

• Your turn ends immediately.
• All chickens are lost!
• Return all yellow and orange dice to the Coop.
• Score 0 points.
• Pass the 4 white dice clockwise to the next player.

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Winning the Game

As soon as a player reaches 25 or more points at the end of their turn, the game ends—
they win immediately!

Tips and Strategies:

• Manage Your Luck:  While rolling more dice can be tempting, be mindful of the risk of rolling foxes. Knowing when to stop re-rolling is crucial.
• Hatching Wisely:  Decide strategically when to hatch eggs. Adding more dice to the pool increases your chances of both good and bad rolls.
• The Power of “Chicken Out!”: Don’t underestimate the “chicken out” option. It can be a wise choice to guarantee some points and avoid a disastrous fox roll.
• Observe and Adapt: Pay attention to what other players are rolling and consider adjusting your strategy accordingly.

With a dash of luck, strategic decisions, and maybe a little bit of “chicken-ness,” you can become the champion chicken collector in Chicken!