Honor System

Liars Dice

For 2 to 6 Players

1 gameboard, 6 dice cups, 30 yellow dice, 1 red die.

Object

After several rounds of play, be the last palyer with one or more dice. players drop out of the game as they lose all of their dice.

A Quick Look At The Game

A game of Liar’s Dice consists of several rounds of play. Each round begins with an opening bid, continues as players raise the bid, and ends after a bid is challenged and the challenge is resolved.

A Bid is a claim that a certain amount of all yellow dice in play are showing either the same number, or a Wild Star. Players bid on what’s showing on their own dice — and on all other yellow dice in play.

A Challenge is a claim that the current bid is too high — that is, the challenger doubts there are enough yellow dice in play to match the bid.

At least one player loses one or more dice on every round of play, as the result of a challenge. You lose dice in one of three ways:
* As the bidder, when your challenged bid is too high;
* As the challenger, when you challenge a bid that isn’t too high;
* As any player except the bidder, when the challenged bid is exactly right.

Players who have lost all of their dice must drop out of the game. Rounds of play continue until one player wins by being the only one left with dice!

Game Setup

1. Each player takes a dice cup and 5 yellow dice. Place any unused dice cups and yellow dice out of the game.

2. Choose a player to make the opening bid in the first round of play. In all rounds to follow, the winner of the challenge in the previous round opens the bidding.

For a brief explanation of game parts and play, take a look at the Sample 2-Player Game Setup below.

A Round of Play

There are four steps to every round of play. These steps are completed in the following order:

1. ALL PLAYERS ROLL AND HIDE THEIR YELLOW DICE.

2. THE OPENING BID IS MADE.

3. PLAYERS IN TURN RAISE THE BID UNTIL A BID IS CHALLENGED

4. THE CHALLENGE IS RESOLVED AND THE ROUND ENDS.

For a quick introduction to the sequence of play in a round, see the Sample First Round in a 2-Player Game, below.

All four steps in a round of play are described in detail below.

1. All Players Roll And Hide Their Yellow Dice.
To begin any round of play, shake all of your dice inside your dice cup, then place your cup upside-down over them to hide them. All players do the same. You may peek at your dice as often as you want during the round.

2. The Opening Bid Is Made.
You may declare any amount of numbers (or Wild Stars) as your opening bid, even if you didn’t roll them. Make sure your bid is reasonable, however; the player on your left will have the option to challenge it!

There are two kinds of bids: Number Bids and Wild Star Bids. Both are explained below, with examples.

Number Bids. The unstarred spaces along the bidding track are Number Bids. A Number Bid is a claim that a certain amount of all dice in play are showing a particular number or Wild Star.

All matching numbers and all Wild Stars on the yellow dice count toward a Number Bid. For example, if you have two 3's and your two opponents each have one Wild Star (but no 3's there are four 3's in play (3+3+*+*).

To declare a Number Bid, place the red die on an unstarred numbered space as shown in the example below.

Wild Star Bids. The starred spaces on the bidding track are for Wild Star Bids. A Wild Star Bid is a claim that a certain amount of all dice in play are showing Wild Stars Only Wild Stars in play count toward a Wild Star Bid.

To declare a Wild Star Bid, place the red die on a starred space, as shown in the example below.

3. Players in Turn Raise the Bid Until a Bid is Challenged

After the opening bid is made, play continues to the left. Each player in turn has two Options:
* Either raise the current bid;
* Or challenge the current bid.

Choose one option or the other on your turn — no passing allowed! Never bid or challenge out of turn! Raising The Bid and Challenging The Bid are explained in detail below.

Raising The Bid.
You can raise the bid in any one of the following three ways:
* Either keep the red die on the same bidding space, and show a higher number on top
* Or move the red die clockwise to any higher Number Bid space, and show any number on top;
* Or move the red die clockwise to any Wild Star Bid space, and show the Wild Star on top.

IMPORTANT: Immediately after opening or raising the bid, you may take advantage of the Show and Reroll Rule. This rule is explained on page 3.

Beyond Bidding Space 20: The last space on the bidding track is 20. If the bid goes higher than 20, the Number Bid space "1” becomes “21", and so on. The Wild Star Bid space "1” becomes “11" and so on.

Challenging The Bid.
If you don’t believe there are enough yellow dice in play to support the current bid, you may challenge it rather than raise it. Remember — you can only challenge a bid on your turn! To challenge the bid, just say, “I challenge!” Then resolve the challenge as explained below.

4. The Challenge Is Resolved And The Round Ends.

To resolve a challenge, all players lift their cups to reveal their yellow dice. Count all dice in play that match the bid: numbers and Wild Stars for Number Bids; Wild Stars only for Wild Star Bids.

After counting the dice, determine who loses the challenge. This is done in the following way:
* If the actual amount of dice is more than the bid amount, the challenger loses the challenge.
* If the actual amount of dice is less than the bid amount, the bidder loses the challenge.
* If the actual amount of dice is exactly the bid amount, everyone except the bidder loses the challenge!

Losing Dice: When you lose a challenge, you lose the difference between the bid amount of dice and the actual amount of bid dice in play. If the bid amount was exactly the actual amount, every player except the bidder loses one die! See Challenge Examples below.

Place the amount of dice you lost on the Lost Dice Squares in the center of the gameboard. These dice are out of play for the remainder of the game.

Losing All of Your Dice: Once you lose all of your dice, you’re out of the game!

Challenge Examples
Example 1: You challenge a bid of nine 5’s. When all yellow dice are revealed, seven 5’s and four Wild Stars are counted. That’s eleven 5’s in all — two more than the bid amount.

The bidder was right: there were at least nine 5’s in play. So you lose the challenge, and 2 of your yellow dice (11 actual dice — 9 bid dice). Surrender any two of your yellow dice to the Lost Dice Squares in the center of the gameboard!

Example 2: You challenge a bid of six Wild Stars. When the dice are revealed, five Wild Stars are counted. The bidder loses the challenge, and surrenders one die (6 bid dice — 5 actual dice) to a Lost Dice Square.

Example 3: You challenge a bid of fourteen 2’s. The dice are revealed, and exactly fourteen 2’s and Wild Stars are counted. You — and all other players except the bidder — lose the challenge! Everyone except the bidder surrenders one die to a Lost Dice Square.

Starting A New Round
After the challenge is resolved and the round ends, start a new round. The player who won the challenge in the last round makes the opening bid in the new round. Bidding can begin anywhere on the bidding track.

The Show and Reroll Rule
Immediately after opening or raising a bid, you may place one or more of your dice outside of your dice cup for all players to see, then reroll and hide all of your remaining dice. Any rerolled dice that match your bid will count toward it. Showing and rerolling could improve your chances for winning a possible challenge.

You can show any amount of dice outside of your cup, as long as you have at least one die left to reroll. The dice you show don’t have to match your bid. They stay in view, outside your cup, for the rest of the round, and count toward the challenged bid if they match it.

A Show and Reroll Example
The bid is ten 6’s. You have four dice left: one 6, one Wild Star and two 4’s. You raise the bid to eleven 6’s; then you show your 6 and your Wild Star, and reroll your two 4’s.

If you’re challenged, the 6 and Wild Star outside your cup will count toward your bid — as well as any 6’s or Wild Stars you got by rerolling your 4’s!

How To Win
Continue playing rounds until only one player has one or more yellow dice. This surviving player wins the game!

A GAME VARIATION: PLAYING FOR CHIPS.
Chips aren’t included in the game, but you may use them (or any other counters) to play this interesting game variation. Each player starts the game with 50 chips. Two “pots” are used: one round-of-play pot and one game pot. At the beginning of every round, each player places one chip in the round-of-play pot, and one chip in the game pot.

The winner of the challenge wins the round-of-play pot. The winner of the game wins the game pot!

A Sample Round 3 - Player Game

Now that you know all the rules of play, follow the illustrated example below to see how a typical round is played

The Setting: Michael, Donna and Jim are the players. After three rounds of play, Michael and Donna have each lost one die, Jim has lost two. Michael won the challenge in the third round, so he’ll make the opening bid in the fourth round.

Players have rolled and hidden their yellow dice For the purpose of this example, all hidden dice are shown.

	Michael’s Turn Michael has two 5’s Assuming that at least one more 5 (or a Wild Star) is in play, he opens the bid at three 5’s Donna’s Turn Donna raises the bid to four 3’s, because she has two of them (plus a Wild Star). Jim’s Turn Jim has one 5. Thinking that Michael must have at least two 5’s, he raises the bid to four 5’s. Then he shows his 5 and rerolls his remaining two dice. He rolls a Wild Star and a 3.
	Michael's Turn Michael raises the bid to five 5’s. He shows his two 5’s and rerolls his remaining two dice. He rolls a 6 and a 5. Donna’s Turn Donna raises the bid to seven 5’s (skipping the “6” bidding space). She shows her Wild Star and rerolls her remaining three dice. She rolls a Wild Star, a 5 and a 4. Jim’s Turn Jim decides to raise the bid to eight 5’s. He shows his Wild Star, then rerolls his remaining die. He rolls a 2.
	Michael’s Turn Michael sees five 5’s (three 5’s and two Wild Stars) outside the cups, and is hiding one 5 of his own. Hoping at least three more are in play, he raises the bid to nine 5’s. He decides not to show and reroll — Donna might think he’s hiding two 5’s! Donna’s Turn Donna’s not fooled! She challenges Michael’s bid!
	THE CHALLENGE IS RESOLVED. The dice are revealed and the 5’s and Wild Stars are counted. There are only eight 5’s in play (five 5’s + 3 Wild Stars)! Donna wins the challenge. Michael places one of his dice on a Lost Dice Square, and Donna opens the bidding in the next round.