Dice Sizes Explained: 12mm vs 16mm vs 20mm Dice

What Dice Size Should You Use?

Dice can look almost identical in photos while feeling completely different once they’re on the table. A few millimeters makes a surprisingly big difference in how easy dice are to read, roll, store, and use during a game.

Three common D6 sizes are 12mm, 16mm, and 20mm. None is automatically better than the others — each size works better for different types of games and different jobs on the table.

Here’s how they compare.

12mm Dice — Small and Space-Efficient

12mm dice are noticeably smaller than the dice most players think of as a standard D6.

Their biggest advantage is space. You can keep a large number of them on the table without covering cards, miniatures, tokens, or other game pieces. That makes them especially useful when a game calls for large dice pools or when several values need to be tracked at once.

They’re a good choice for:

• Large dice pools
• Board games
• Wargames and miniature games
• Tracking several values at once
• Players who want compact dice storage

The tradeoff is readability. Smaller faces naturally mean smaller numbers and symbols, so they may not be the best choice if visibility is your main concern.

If you want compact dice that take up as little room as possible, you can browse our 12mm D6 dice collection to get a better idea of how this size looks.

16mm Dice — The Familiar All-Around Size

16mm is the size most people recognize as a traditional D6.

It strikes a good balance between readability and table space. The dice are large enough to see clearly without feeling oversized, which is why 16mm works well across so many different tabletop games.

We also use 16mm for many of our MTG counter dice. The extra face space keeps symbols such as +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters easy to read while the dice remain small enough to sit comfortably around cards, tokens, deck boxes, and other game pieces.

16mm dice work especially well for:

• Magic: The Gathering counters
• Tabletop games
• Board games
• General-purpose D6 rolling
• Players who want a familiar, middle-of-the-road dice size

If you aren’t sure which size to choose, 16mm is usually the easiest starting point.

20mm Dice — Bigger and Easier to Read

20mm dice have a noticeably larger presence both in your hand and on the table.

The larger faces make numbers, symbols, and markings easier to see from a distance. They can also feel more substantial when rolled, which some players simply prefer.

20mm dice are a strong choice for:

• High-visibility counters
• Larger gaming tables
• Players who prefer easier-to-read dice
• Display pieces
• Games where only a handful of dice are needed at once

The main downside is space. A few 20mm dice are easy to manage, but a large group of them can take over a play area much faster than 12mm or 16mm dice.

12mm vs 16mm vs 20mm at a Glance

12mm: Best when you need lots of dice and want to save table space.

16mm: A balanced general-purpose size that works particularly well for counters and everyday tabletop play.

20mm: Best when visibility and a larger physical feel matter more than saving space.

Does Dice Size Affect How They Roll?

For normal tabletop play, choosing between 12mm, 16mm, and 20mm is mostly about comfort, visibility, and available table space.

Larger dice need a little more room to roll, while smaller dice are easier to roll in groups. For most players, the best size is simply the one that fits the way they actually play.

Which Dice Size Should You Choose?

If you regularly roll large groups of dice or need to track lots of different values, 12mm is a practical choice.

If you want an all-purpose size that works well for most tabletop games, counters, and everyday rolling, 16mm is hard to go wrong with.

If you prefer something larger and easier to see across the table, 20mm may be the better fit.

There isn’t one correct dice size for every game. Plenty of players use different sizes for different jobs — smaller dice for tracking, standard dice for everyday play, and larger dice when visibility matters most.

If you want to compare more styles and types, browse all of our dice and see what fits your table best.