Liar's Dice Game

Press Print this list for the standard game: five dice and a cup each, in nine steps.

Liar's Dice Game

1: Give every player a cup and a set of five dice.Two to six players. With more, a round takes a long time to count.
2: Everyone shakes, turns the cup over on the table and peeks at their own dice.Dice stay hidden under the cups until a challenge.
3: The first player bids a count and a face, such as four 5s.The bid says that under all the cups together at least four dice show a 5.
4: The next player, going clockwise, raises the bid or calls liar.What counts as a raise is on the Bidding ladder sheet.
5: On a call of liar, every cup is lifted and the dice are counted.Count each die that shows the face bid, and the 1s too if you play them wild.
6: If the bid is there, the challenger loses a die. If not, the bidder loses a die.A count equal to the bid is enough for the bidder.
7: The lost die leaves the game, and the loser opens the next round.If that was their last die, the next player around the table opens.
8: Everyone shakes again, and the rounds go on with fewer dice.Keep lost dice in the middle, so the dice still in play can be counted.
9: The last player who still has a die wins.Lives are dice. Nothing else is at stake.

Next step More dice games, by number of dice

How it works

In the liar's dice game everyone rolls five dice under a cup and bids on how many of one face all the cups hide. Raise or call liar: whoever is wrong loses a die. The last player with dice wins.

Read the full guide

The rules, sheet by sheet

The page opens on The standard game. The menu under Print this list holds three more sheets. The bidding ladder says what outbids what, with wild 1s and the Dudo rules for bidding on 1s. Two players, and the one-set game is played with poker hands.

What tables disagree about

Table rulings covers who opens, the exact call, showing dice and the round a player opens on their last die. Lines marked Varies are choices: settle them before the first shake.

Tips

The page does not roll. Each player needs five dice and a cup that hides them.
Leave lost dice in the middle of the table, so everyone can count how many are still in play.

Questions and answers

What is the liar's dice game?

It is a traditional bluffing game for two or more players. Everyone hides five dice under a cup and takes turns bidding on what all the cups hold together, until someone calls liar and the dice are counted.

Are 1s wild in liar's dice?

Often, yes. At most tables a 1 counts as whatever face was bid. Some groups play with no wild dice, and the Dudo rules add special bids on the 1s themselves. Agree on it before you start.

What happens when you call liar?

Every cup is lifted and the dice showing the bid face are counted. If there are at least as many as the bid said, the challenger loses a die. If there are fewer, the bidder loses one.

Can two people play liar's dice?

Yes. The standard game works with two players and ten dice. There is also a version for two in which each player rolls five dice behind a screen and the bids are poker hands.

All 34 rows

The standard game (five dice each) 9

1: Give every player a cup and a set of five dice. Two to six players. With more, a round takes a long time to count.
2: Everyone shakes, turns the cup over on the table and peeks at their own dice. Dice stay hidden under the cups until a challenge.
3: The first player bids a count and a face, such as four 5s. The bid says that under all the cups together at least four dice show a 5.
4: The next player, going clockwise, raises the bid or calls liar. What counts as a raise is on the Bidding ladder sheet.
5: On a call of liar, every cup is lifted and the dice are counted. Count each die that shows the face bid, and the 1s too if you play them wild.
6: If the bid is there, the challenger loses a die. If not, the bidder loses a die. A count equal to the bid is enough for the bidder.
7: The lost die leaves the game, and the loser opens the next round. If that was their last die, the next player around the table opens.
8: Everyone shakes again, and the rounds go on with fewer dice. Keep lost dice in the middle, so the dice still in play can be counted.
9: The last player who still has a die wins. Lives are dice. Nothing else is at stake.

Show all 34 rows (25 more)

The bidding ladder 9

A bid is a count and a face: five 3s means at least five dice show a 3. Every bid is about all the dice in play, not only your own.
Bidding on 1s (Dudo rule): halve the count and round up. After five 3s, three 1s is a legal raise.
Leaving 1s (Dudo rule): double the count and add one. After three 1s, the next bid on another face must be seven or more.
Loose tables (varies): a higher face may come with any count. That lets a player start the count again lower down. Agree on it before play.
No opening on 1s (Dudo rule): a round may not start with a bid on 1s. A player down to one die is the exception.
Ones wild (common): every 1 counts as the face that was bid. Some tables play with no wild dice at all. Say which before the first shake.
Raise the count: five 3s can be followed by six of any face. The common rule. A higher count beats any bid with a lower count.
Raise the face: after five 3s, five of any higher face is a raise. Same count, higher face. You may raise both at once.
Strict tables (varies): a higher count must keep the same face. Then five 3s can be followed only by six 3s or by five of a higher face.

Two players, and the one-set game 8

Hands rank from five of a kind down to a runt, which is no hand at all. Five of a kind, four of a kind, high straight, full house, three of a kind, low straight, two pair, pair, runt.
In the one-set game each player starts with the same number of counters as lives. Three each is our suggestion. Whoever is wrong at a challenge gives one up. The last player with a counter wins.
One player calls a hand, true or not. Draw lots or roll a die for who calls first.
One set for a whole table: roll five dice under a cup, name a hand and pass the cup on. The next player challenges, or looks, rerolls any dice after saying how many, and names a higher hand.
The other calls a higher hand, calls the bluff, or rerolls some or all of their own dice. After a reroll the calling goes on.
The poker-hand game for two: each player rolls five dice behind a screen. Here bids are hands, not counts.
Two players, five dice each: play the standard game as it is. It needs no change for two.
When a bluff is called, the accused player shows their dice. If the hand they called is there they win the round. If not, the challenger wins.

Table rulings 8

A die that lands tilted or leaves the table: shake that whole cup again. Our ruling. Do it before anyone has bid.
Calling exact (varies): say the last bid is exactly right. Right, and you win back a lost die. Wrong, and you lose one. The bidder is safe either way.
Counting at a challenge: push the matching dice forward and count aloud. Our ruling. Every player then sees the same total.
Exact calls stop when half the dice have gone. They are allowed only while more than half the starting dice are still in play.
The one-die round (varies): a player who first drops to one die opens a special round. In it 1s are not wild, and only a player with one die may change the face.
Showing dice (varies): lay some dice of one face in view and reroll the rest. The shown dice still count. Not allowed when you are down to one die.
Who bids first: everyone rolls one die and the highest opens. Tied players roll again.
Who opens later rounds: the player who lost a die in the round before. If they are out, the player on their left.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03, in our own words. Liar's dice is a traditional bluffing game in the public domain, and tables differ, so lines that vary say so. The standard game, the three ways of raising, wild 1s and the poker-hand game for two were checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Liar's dice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar%27s_dice. The rules for bidding on 1s, the exact call, showing dice, the opening roll and the one-die round come from Dudo, read the same day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudo. The one-set game with counters was read on a reference page for traditional dice games, https://www.dice-play.com/Games/LiarDice.htm. The last two table rulings are the editors' own. Lives are dice or counters, and nothing is played for money. Licence: own work