Liar's Dice

Players

2-6 players

Equipment

Each player starts with 5 dice.

Objective

Be the last player with dice remaining.

Setup

Each player rolls their dice secretly — only you can see your own dice. Other players' dice are hidden.

Gameplay

Players take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you must either raise the bid or challenge the previous bid.

Bidding

A bid is a claim about the total number of a specific face value across all players' dice combined. For example, "three fives" means you claim there are at least 3 dice showing 5 among all players.

To raise a bid, you must either:

• Increase the quantity (e.g., "four twos" beats "three fives"), or
• Keep the same quantity but name a higher face (e.g., "three sixes" beats "three fives")

Aces Are Wild

Dice showing 1 (aces) are wild — they count as any face value. For example, if you bid "three fives", every die showing 1 or 5 counts toward that total.

Exception: When someone bids on 1s specifically, only actual 1s count (no wild).

Bidding on 1s (Aces)

Because aces are wild and count double for other faces, special rules apply when transitioning to or from ace bids:

• Non-ace → Ace bid: The quantity must be at least half the current bid (rounded down) plus 1. For example, if the current bid is "six threes", an ace bid must be at least 4 aces (⌊6÷2⌋+1).
• Ace → Non-ace bid: The quantity must be at least double the current ace bid. For example, if the current bid is "3 aces", a non-ace bid must be at least 6 of any face.
• Ace → Ace bid: Simply increase the quantity (e.g., "4 aces" beats "3 aces").

Challenging

Instead of raising the bid, you may challenge the previous player's bid. When you challenge:

1. All dice are revealed
2. Count all dice matching the bid's face (including wild aces)
3. If the actual count is greater than or equal to the bid → the challenger loses a die
4. If the actual count is less than the bid → the bidder loses a die

After a challenge, all remaining players re-roll their dice and a new round begins. The player who lost a die starts the new round.

Elimination

When you lose all your dice, you are eliminated and skip all future turns. The game continues with the remaining players.

Winning

The last player with dice remaining wins the game.

Strategy Tips

• Pay attention to how many total dice are in play — it affects what bids are plausible
• Remember that aces are wild, roughly doubling the expected count for any non-ace face
• Your own dice give you partial information — use it wisely when deciding to bid or challenge
• As players are eliminated and dice counts drop, high bids become riskier