For those who don’t know, “Liar’s Dice” is the ubiquitous drinking game you’ve seen played in every Chinese bar. And if you’ve never played it, you’ll be delighted to know that the rules are so simple that a child can play (but under no circumstances should they).

How to play

The goal of Liar’s Dice is to accurately predict how many dice with the same number are showing on a table, or to successful call out an opponent for making an inaccurate guess. The game is usually played with each player equipped with five dice and a dice shaking cup.

The game is played in rounds, with the loser of each round forced to make a forfeit, which as a drinking game usually means having to imbibe. And with no limit on how many rounds to play, this also means that someone is going to get drunk.

Each round begins with each player shaking their dice in a dice cup and then slamming it down as loudly as possible on the table (remember: you’re playing for fun!). Players can peek at their own dice but aren’t allowed to look at those of other players. 

Then, the first player (decided beforehand by dice roll or was the loser/winner of the last round) makes a guess on how many dice with the same face are showing on the table in total; for example, if there are two players with 10 dice, a good guess might be “three (dice with) 6’s (showing on them)”; as it is, this juxtaposition of two numbers give Liar’s Dice its Chinese name, 几个几 (jǐ gè jǐ, or literally “How many of how many?”).

The next player in line now has a choice: they can call out the previous player on the accuracy of his or her guess, or they can make a guess of their own. However, every subsequent guess must higher than the previous round; if the previous guess was “three 6’s”, then a proper follow-up guess will include more dice like “four 5’s” or “five 2’s” but not “two 6’s” because that would be fewer.

If a guess is made, then the same choices are given to the next player in the next round. The process is repeated until someone is called out, whereupon the dice are revealed, a guess determined to be valid or not, and a forfeit paid by the loser. 

With no limit on the number of participants that can play, Liar’s Dice is a game where the adage “the more, the merrier” is more than appropriate. Each player adds five more dice to the table, leading to some mind-bending guesses as rounds progress.

Good luck, have fun, and lie hard!

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