Liar’s Dice
Bid it. Bluff it.
The bluffing game where everyone has a secret and nobody tells the truth for long. Shake your dice under a cup, bid on what is on the whole table, and call out anyone you think is lying. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Liar’s DiceGot a room code?
- Players
- 2 to 6
- You need
- Dice and cups
- Style
- Bluff and bid
- Goal
- Keep a die
What is Liar’s Dice?
You can only see your own dice.
Everyone shakes their dice under a cup and peeks at their own. Then, in turn, each player makes a bid about all the dice on the table, yours and everyone else’s: “at least four 5s”. Each bid has to go higher than the last.
When you think the bid before yours is too high, call Liar. Every cup comes up. If the dice are there, you lose a die. If they are not, the bidder does. Lose all your dice and you are out.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the dice in your hand.
Play against three bots with our Classic rules. The coach works out how likely each bid is, and tells you when to call and when to raise.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp bots remember what each player has bid.
- Quick game starts with 3 dice each. Full game starts with 5.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
A little history
A pub game with pirate friends.
Liar’s Dice has been played for centuries under many names: Perudo, Dudo, Cacho, and more. It has a long history in pubs and on ships, and a place in plenty of stories about both.
Like most table classics, it travels with house rules: wild ones, spot-on calls, how many dice to start with. These are our Classic rules.
Fun facts
- Each bid has to go higher than the last, and it is about all the dice on the table, not just yours.
- Call Liar and every cup comes up. If the dice are there the caller loses a die, and if not the bidder does.
- Ones are not wild in our rules, and there is no “spot on” call.
- Lose all your dice and you are out. The last player left wins.
Why people love it
The best part is the table talk.
You know something they don’t.
Your own dice are a secret. What you bid tells them a little, and what you do not bid tells them more.
Everyone is a suspect.
A big bid from the quiet player at the end of the table is either the truth or the best bluff of the night.
Math helps, nerve wins.
You can work out the odds of a bid. Whether to believe the person who made it is another question.
Quick rounds.
A round takes a minute, and there is always another one. The game shrinks as you play it.
How to play
Shake. Bid. Call it.
Setup
- Players: four at our table: you and three bots.
- Dice: three each in our Quick game, five each in the Full game.
- Shake: everyone rolls their own dice and looks at them in secret.
- First bid: you bid first. After that, the loser of a round bids first.
Winning
The last player with any dice left wins the game.
- 1
Make a bid
Say how many dice show a face, among all the dice on the table. “Three 5s” means at least three of them are fives.
- 2
Raise it
Each player raises: more dice of any face, or the same number of a higher face. You cannot lower a bid.
- 3
Or call Liar
Think the last bid is too high? Call Liar. You cannot call before anyone has bid.
- 4
Lift the cups
Count that face across every cup. If there are enough, the bid was true.
- 5
The caller was right
The bid was short. The bidder loses a die.
- 6
The caller was wrong
The bid was true. The caller loses a die.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
6 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Lift the cups
West bid three 4s and North called Liar. When the cups lift, only two of the twelve dice show a 4. Who loses a die?
Scoring
Lose a die. Lose the round.
There are no points. Every round, someone loses a die. When a player runs out of dice they are out, and the last player left wins.
| What happens | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| The bid was true: the caller loses | 1 die | |
| The bid was a lie: the bidder loses | 1 die | |
| No dice left | Out | |
| Last player with dice | Wins |
Our Classic rules: ones are not wild, and there is no “spot on” call. Some tables make ones wild, or let a player call that a bid is exactly right; those are house rules.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Start from what you hold.
Your own dice are the only sure ones. Bid the face you have most of.
Tip 2
Count what a bid needs.
Subtract your own dice from the bid. The rest must come from the hidden dice, about one in six of each face.
Tip 3
Call the stretches.
When a bid needs far more than a sixth of the hidden dice, it is probably a lie. Call it.
Tip 4
Listen to the bids.
A player who bids fives probably has a five. Raise on a face somebody else has shown, and your bid is safer.
Tip 5
Do not raise out of reach.
Every raise is a bid the next player can call. Raise only as far as you can believe yourself.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Liar’s Dice puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Liar’s Dice table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Liar’s Dice? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Bid
- A claim about all the dice on the table: “three 5s”.
- Raise
- A higher bid: more dice, or the same number of a higher face.
- Call
- Saying “Liar!” to challenge the last bid, so the cups come up.
- Cup
- The cup each player shakes and hides their dice under.
- Bluff
- Making a bid you do not believe, hoping nobody calls it.
- Out
- Having no dice left. You are out of the game.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: wild ones, spot-on calls, how many dice to start with. We'll show you what Liar’s Dice can do when it's ready.
In the Dice Games pack
Liar’s Dice is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which dice games join the Dice Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Liar’s Dice is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Liar’s Dice into the Dice Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.