Liar's Dice
Hide your dice, bid on what is under all the cups, and catch the liars.
How to play Liar's Dice
Liar's Dice is a classic bluffing game from South America, also known as Dudo. Every player has five dice hidden under a cup. You only see your own dice, but you bid on all the dice on the table. Here you play against 1 to 5 computer players.
Goal
Be the last player with dice left. You lose a die each time you lose a challenge.
Turn by turn
- Everyone shakes their cup and looks at their own dice.
- The first player makes a bid, like three 4s. It means: "On the whole table there are at least three dice showing 4."
- The next player must either raise the bid or call Liar!. A raise is more dice of any face (four 2s), or the same number of a higher face (three 5s).
- When someone calls Liar!, all cups are lifted and the dice are counted. If there are at least as many as the bid said, the bid holds and the caller loses a die. If there are fewer, the bidder loses a die.
- The player who lost a die starts the next round. A player with no dice is out.
Wild 1s
With the wild option on, every 1 counts as any face. A bid of five 3s counts all 3s and all 1s. A bid on 1s counts only 1s, so it needs about half as many: after five 3s you may bid three 1s. To leave 1s you must double the number and add one: after three 1s, the next bid on another face is at least seven. The first bid of a round cannot be on 1s.
Spot on
With this option on, instead of Liar! you can call Spot on. You claim the bid is exactly right. If it is, you win back a lost die. If not, you lose a die.
Playing here
Pick a face, set the number with − and +, and press Bid. Only legal bids can be chosen. On a keyboard, press 1–6 for the face, the arrow keys for the number, Enter to bid, L for Liar! and S for Spot on. There is no money or betting of any kind.
Strategy tips
- Know the average. Each die shows a given face one time in six, or one time in three with wild 1s. With 20 dice on the table, about six or seven show any face when 1s are wild.
- Count your own dice first. If you hold three 5s, a bid of six 5s only needs three more among the other dice.
- Listen to the bids. Players usually bid on faces they hold. A face that several players have bid on is likely to be common.
- Raise small. A big jump makes the bid hard for you to defend. Raise by one step unless you want to push a risky bid onto the next player.
- Bluff now and then. Bidding on a face you do not hold can lead others into a bad bid. Do it when the bid is still believable.
- Call when the odds are low. When a bid needs far more dice than the average, calling Liar! is usually right.
Liar's Dice FAQ
Is this the same as Perudo or pirate dice?
Yes, it is the same classic game. Perudo is a brand name for a boxed set, and the bluffing dice game in pirate films follows similar rules. Here you can turn wild 1s and Spot on on or off.
Do the computer players cheat?
No. Each computer player only knows its own dice, the number of dice on the table and the bids made so far, just like you.
Can I undo a bid?
Only before the next player answers it. Once a computer player has acted, undo is off, because it would let you change your move after seeing new information.
How strong is the computer?
Easy guesses and often makes odd bids. Medium works out the odds from its own dice. Hard also reads the bids of the other players, learns who bluffs, and bluffs itself from time to time.
