Ever since my son was little and we did this roll a dinosaur game for his birthday party, he’s loved roll a XYZ games. I’ve already shared roll a Jack O Lantern, roll a Christmas tree, and roll a rainbow games so I thought it was about time to make a roll a turkey game. Like all of our other dice games, this game is super easy to setup and super easy to play. Plus, kids will love it because who doesn’t love a good dice game? If they love this one, they’ll probably also love this roll a Thanksgiving feast game! This free printable roll a turkey game is like combining one of these cute turkey crafts with a game all in one fun activity! And it’s perfect for last minute Thanksgiving fun because all you have to do is print out the turkey’s body and turkey parts and some dice! Play this roll a turkey game, this other Thanksgiving dice game, and some of these minute to win it Thanksgiving games for the ultimate Thanksgiving celebration!
Supplies
What you’ll need for this game depends on how you’re going to use it. If you’re going to print out a copy for everyone in a classroom to play for instance, it’s going to be slightly different than if you’re just playing it with your own kids at home. Here’s what you’ll need:
Roll a Turkey game sheet (get the printable file at the bottom of this post) – you need one copy per person Roll a turkey item sheets (included in the printable file) – you can either print out a copy of the items for every individual OR you can just print out enough so that there is at least one choice per person playing for each of the items (i.e., print out 2 feather pages with 2 sets of feathers on each if you have four kids playing who will need feathers)Six-sided die – one per person Scissors – either one set you use to cut out all the individual pieces before playing OR one set of kid-friendly scissors for each individual to cut out their own pieces as they play.
Setup
The first thing you need to do is decide how much prep work you personally want to do for the game. The idea of the game is that kids will roll the die and based on what they roll, they’ll add that item to the turkey. Their overall goal is to roll a 1 through 6 at some point to finish their turkey completely. I’ve included different setup options based on the amount of prep work below.
Most Prep Work
Print out one game set per person and cut out the individual pieces per person. Put all those pieces plus a die in a Ziploc bag. When you’re ready to play, give them one of the turkey game sheets and a prepared Ziploc bag. This option will be your best bet for really young kids or anyone who you don’t want using scissors. This also gives them the most options for customizing their turkey.
Medium Prep Work
If you still want some prep work but not as much, another option is to print out a turkey sheet for everyone and then just a handful of sets of the turkey items for the group to share. You’d then cut out all of the items (but it won’t be as many since you’re going to just cut out enough for everyone in the group to choose one, not see/choose all of them). Put each different type of item in a Ziploc bag (e.g., all the feet in a bag, all the accessories in a bag). When you’re ready to play, give everyone a roll a turkey game and a die. Then spread out the community pieces you cut out so that everyone has access to them to use. When people are playing, they’d then choose one of the items from the community pieces to add to their turkey. One caveat to this is that while people will still be able to roll and complete their turkey, they may not get the exact piece they want to use. So for instance, if they want the pink glasses and someone else has already taken the pink glasses, they might be stuck with something else. It’s not a big deal if they’re good at sharing but bringing it up anyway.
Least Prep
If you want to do the least amount of prep work possible, print out a full set of the roll a turkey game for each person playing. Don’t cut anything out (other than the turkey head…. see my note in how to play below) beforehand. Give everyone a full roll a turkey game set, a pair of kid-friendly scissors, and a die. Then when they roll something, they can use the scissors and cut out the piece they want. Less cutting for everyone and it helps with motor skills for kids with cutting practice! This method obviously saves you time personally but it will make the game go longer (could be a good or a bad thing) and it’s not as much of a speed game as a Thanksgiving activity. That also could be what you want or not what you’re going for.
How to Play
This game is really simple to play, but there are a few things to keep in mind, so I’m going to walk you through it anyway. When you say go, everyone should roll their die. Depending on what they roll, they would add a piece to their turkey. For example, if they roll a 1, they would choose a set of eyes and add it to their turkey. Then they’d roll again and place another item depending on what they’d roll. If they roll something they already have, they’d skip it and roll again until they get something they don’t have. Keep rolling until they’ve rolled all six numbers and completed their turkey. If you want to have someone win, you can have the first player to complete their turkey get a prize! But I think it’s so much fun to just let kids build their turkey without making this a competition. It’s a great activity to have at the Thanksgiving table for kids, something kids can do after Thanksgiving dinner (instead of watch football), or even something small groups can do together while the meal is being cooked!
Expert Tips
Laminate the game and game pieces then when you’re done store it away for next year. Kids will forget all about it and love playing it every year until they’re old enough to outgrow the game.
Balance this sit down game with a more active one like Thanksgiving charades or Thanksgiving Family Feud.
Stop stealing dice from other board games and just buy a set of bulk dice instead if you like games like roll a unicorn. That way next time you try to play those fun board games , you won’t be missing the dice!
Make the feathers go behind the turkey by carefully cutting around the turkey’s neck before handing out the roll a turkey game. That way you can slide the feathers behind the turkey and place everything else on top.
Let kids use tape to save their complete turkey (unless you’re laminating and wanting to keep them for another day).
Prize Ideas
Giving out fun Thanksgiving themed prizes to kids when they finish their turkey can make this even more fun! Just make sure all the prizes are similar in nature so it doesn’t turn into a race or people getting sad because it’s a competition (unless you want to of course). We did surprise dinosaur eggs that were perfect because no one knew what they were going to get! If you need prize ideas, you could use any of these OR put anything in a Thanksgiving favor bag and let people choose one without knowing what’s inside. Or you could do some Thanksgiving candies with one of these Thanksgiving gift tags – always a safe bet!
DIY Thanksgiving braceletsMake a Turkey sticker setsPilgrim ducksMini footballsChocolate turkey treats
More Thanksgiving Games
If you want even more fun Thanksgiving games, try one of these themed activities that work for the whole family!
Thanksgiving would you rather – holiday versions of a classic game of would you rather, with questions appropriate for the kids! Thanksgiving i spy – a free printable i-spy activity that’s a great free printable game to keep kids entertained. Thanksgiving bingo – a Thanksgiving version of the classic favorite! Gratitude game – grab a bag of Skittles and this printable for my favorite way to share things we’re grateful for!Thanksgiving outburst – how many of the items in the list can you get before the time runs out??
Download the Printable
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes. If you would rather not fill out the form, you can get a copy in my shop here! If you do not see the form, click here to get to it. If you do not see the email immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders! The file will include:
InstructionsOne roll a turkey game boardOne page of feather optionsOne page with feet and wattle optionsOne page with accessoriesOne page with eye and beak options
Please note that all files are for personal use and cannot be sold or used for commercial purposes.
