Feral Worlds: Tabletop Games · Dice Games · Classic rules
Liar’s Dice
Bid it. Bluff 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.
How to play
- 1Make 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.
- 2Raise it. Each player raises: more dice of any face, or the same number of a higher face. You cannot lower a bid.
- 3Or call Liar. Think the last bid is too high? Call Liar. You cannot call before anyone has bid.
- 4Lift the cups. Count that face across every cup. If there are enough, the bid was true.
- 5The caller was right. The bid was short. The bidder loses a die.
- 6The caller was wrong. The bid was true. The caller loses a die.
Winning
The last player with any dice left wins the game.
Scoring
| 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.
Key terms
- 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.