Liar's Dice: rules and a game to play here
Liar's Dice is a bluffing game with five dice and a cup each: bid on what is hidden under everyone's cups, raise, or call the last bid a lie. Play it below against one to five computer players that bid from real odds, in the common game or Perudo-style with wild ones, then use the odds helper at a real table.
Play Liar's Dice
Your dice
Game log
Settings: players, rules, computer
Liar's Dice in 30 seconds
- Each player has five dice and a cup. Everyone shakes, turns the cup over and peeks at their own dice only.
- The first player bids on all the dice on the table, such as "six 4s": at least six dice, counting everyone's, show a 4.
- The next player raises or calls "Liar!". A raise is more dice (seven of any face) or the same number of a higher face (six 5s).
- On a call, everyone lifts their cup. Bid met: the caller loses a die. Bid short: the bidder loses a die.
- Whoever lost a die starts the next round. Out of dice, out of the game. Last player with dice wins.
Perudo-style bidding with wild ones
Perudo, the South American version, makes ones (called aces) wild: they count toward whatever face is bid, so "six 4s" counts every 4 and every 1. That changes the bidding:
- No opening on ones. The first bid of a round must name a face from 2 to 6 (in a palifico round ones are not wild, so the opener may name any face).
- Switching to ones: halve the quantity, rounded up. After five 3s you may bid three ones.
- Switching back: double the ones and add one. After three ones you need at least seven of a face.
- Spot on (calza), optional: instead of raising or calling, say the bid is exact. Exact: you win a die back, up to five. Not exact: you lose one. Not allowed in a palifico round or once only two players are left.
- Palifico, optional: the round after someone first drops to one die, ones are not wild and the face cannot change. Only the number goes up.
Our game uses these rules in its Perudo-style setting. In the common game there are no wild dice, ones are simply the lowest face, and any face may open.
Is the bid true? Odds helper for a real table
Reading the odds
Say four of you are left with five dice each. You hold 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, and the bid in front of you is six 4s. You can see two 4s, so the bid needs four more among the 15 dice you cannot see. Each shows a 4 one time in six, which puts the chance the bid is true at 23.2%: a good moment to call. With ones wild, each hidden die matches one time in three, and if your 2 were a 1 you would count three already; the same bid is then true 92.1% of the time, and you should raise instead.
Where sources differ
- Wild ones. Wikipedia's Liar's dice article says ones are often wild; in Perudo they always are, except in palifico rounds.
- When spot on is allowed. gamerules.com rules it out in a palifico round and once only two players are left, and only the player who says it can gain or lose a die. Wikipedia's Perudo article allows it only while more than half the starting dice are still on the table, and says a wrong call costs one or two dice depending on the table. Our game lets the player whose turn it is say it, follows gamerules.com on palifico and two players, and a wrong call costs one die.
- Palifico details. Some tables let the player on one die change the face during palifico; others do not. Ours keeps the face fixed for everyone and, as our own reading, skips palifico once only two players are left.
- Two games under one name. Wikipedia also describes a "single hand" game where each player bids poker-style hands to the next player. This page covers the "common hand" game, where every bid is about all the dice on the table.
Tips
- Know the expected count. Each die you cannot see shows a given face one time in six (one in three with wild ones, for faces 2 to 6). Bids far above that are bluffs.
- Bid the face you hold. Raising on a face you have several of makes your bid safer and steers others toward your dice.
- Watch dice counts. When one player is down to one die, their bids say a lot about that one die.
- Small raises keep you safe. Jumping the quantity does not protect you; it only makes the next call more likely.
Play online or at home
Online: the game at the top of this page against one to five computer players.
At home: five dice and a cup per player (paper cups work). No cups? Players can shield their dice with a hand or a book. Short of dice? Our dice roller rolls any number, though you will need to keep your screen private.
Liar's Dice questions
How do you play Liar's Dice?
Everyone rolls five dice under a cup and looks only at their own. Players take turns bidding on how many dice of one face are on the whole table, such as "six 4s". Each bid must go higher: more dice, or the same number of a higher face. Instead of raising, you can call the last bid a lie. Everyone lifts their cup: if the bid was short, the bidder loses a die; if it was met, the caller does. Lose all your dice and you are out.
Are ones wild in Liar's Dice?
In Perudo-style play, yes: ones (aces) count as any face that is bid. Wikipedia's Liar's dice article says ones are often wild, so tables differ. Our game has both: "common" with no wild dice, and "Perudo-style" with wild ones.
How do you bid ones in Perudo?
To switch to ones, you may halve the current quantity, rounded up: after five 3s, three ones is enough. To switch back from ones, you need at least double plus one: after three ones, seven of a face. You may not open a round on ones.
What is spot on (calza)?
An optional Perudo rule: instead of raising or calling, you say the bid is exactly right. If the count is exact, you win a die back (up to five); if not, you lose one.
What is palifico?
Another optional Perudo rule. The round after a player first drops to one die, ones are not wild and nobody may change the face; you can only raise the quantity.
What is a good opening bid in Liar's Dice?
A bid near the number you expect: count what you hold of a face, then add a sixth of the dice you cannot see (a third, for any face except ones, when ones are wild). The odds helper on this page does the sum for you.