Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Tabletop Tuesday - Liar's Dice

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the game of tough bluffs that is Liar's Dice.


Players: 2+
Time: 15+ minutes
Genre: Party Game



If you've never played this game, but it sounds familiar, you may recall such being played in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.  Liar's dice is a simple game game to setup and play, and loads of fun for large groups.  All that is needed is 5 six-sided dice and one cup per player, and you're ready to roll (pun intended).  Keep in mind that there are many variations to this game, so below is simply one way you can play this game:

Each turn, everyone rolls their dice, looks at their roll, and then hides such under their cup from the other players.  Let's pretend we have three players; that means there are 15 dice on the table, but each player only knows what 5 of the dice are (what they rolled).  Also, in our version, any 1's rolled are wild, which means they can count as any number.  Using this limited information, players will take turns making bets as to how much of a particular number they believe to be on the table.  Each subsequent player must raise the bet or else call that player a liar.  When liar is called, everyone reveals their dice and it is determined if the accused was lying or telling the truth.  If they were lying, they lose a die.  If they were telling the truth, the accuser loses a die.  Whoever lost a die starts the next round.

There is also a rule change when one player gets down to one die left.  That player will then lead off all bets until eliminated, 1's are no longer wild, and whatever number they lead the bet with, players are not allowed to change that number.  This is supposed to give that player more of a fighting chance to stay in the game and can make for some wild and fun comebacks.  If another player gets down to one die, the player who was down to one die first continues to lead until eliminated.  When the game is down to only two players left, rules return to normal.  The game ends when only one player has dice left.



At surface value, it may seem like a game largely based on luck, to which luck certainly does play a factor in this game.  But if you keep track of how many dice are on the table and know a thing or two about probability, this can become an intense battle of strategy and wits.  And as the name implies, there is also the strategy of misleading players.  Say if you have no 2's, but you make a bet of five 2's on the table, other players will think you have 2's under your cup, but you have now given them false confidence that you can capitalize on.  By that same token, you must be aware to assess other people's bets with the same skeptical approach.  I recommend this game for large groups and those who enjoy loud noises.  Keep in mind, more players, more fun, more time.  Expect to add 5-7 minutes to total time per player.

If you have any questions about Liar's Dice, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, look forward to future installments of Tabletop Tuesday.  Until then, happy dice rolling!

Bonus Tip: If you buy the game Tenzi, you'll have 20 dice and a nice container that can double for use with Liar's Dice.  That would support up to 8 players for Liar's Dice!


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