Liar's Dice (also called
Dudo) is a classic bluffing dice game for 2 to 6 players. Each player rolls dice hidden under a cup, then takes turns making increasingly bold claims about all the dice on the table. Bluff convincingly, read your opponents, and be the last player standing. These are the complete, official rules used in our
free online version.
Overview
Liar's Dice is a game of deduction, probability, and deception. Players make bids about the total quantity of a particular face value among all dice on the table, not just their own. When a player believes the current bid is too high, they challenge it by calling "Liar!" and all dice are revealed.
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Equipment: 5 standard six-sided dice per player, plus an opaque cup for each player
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Objective: Be the last player with dice remaining
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Skill level: Easy to learn, difficult to master — combines probability, psychology, and bluffing
Setup
Getting started is simple:
1.
Each player receives 5 dice and a cup.
2.
All players simultaneously shake their dice in the cup and slam it face-down on the table.
3.
Each player lifts the edge of their cup to peek at their own dice without revealing them to anyone else.
4.
A starting player is chosen (randomly, or the loser of the previous round goes first).
You peek under your cup:
These are your 5 dice. No one else can see them.
Your own dice are the only certain information you have. Everything else is a matter of deduction, estimation, and reading your opponents.
Wild Aces Rules
Before the bidding rules make sense, learn this key concept: by default, ones (aces) are wild. Any die showing a 1 counts as whatever face value is being bid on. Wild aces effectively double the probability of any given face value appearing.
Wild aces example — bid is "four threes":
3 threes (gold) + 2 wild aces (green) = 5 total. The bid of four threes is met.
When Ones Are Not Wild
There is one important exception: if the first bid of a round is made on ones themselves (e.g., "two ones"), then ones are not wild for that entire round. This makes bidding on ones a powerful strategic choice.
Ones are also not wild during Palifico rounds.
Ones Bid Transitions
Because ones are wild, switching between bidding on ones and bidding on other face values follows special quantity rules.
Switching from Non-Ones to Ones
The minimum quantity for your ones bid must be at least the ceiling of half the current quantity: ones quantity ≥ ceil(current quantity / 2) .
Example: The current bid is "six fours." To switch to ones, you need at least ceil(6 / 2) = 3. So "three ones" is the minimum valid ones bid.
Switching from Ones to Non-Ones
The minimum quantity for your new bid must be at least double the ones quantity plus one: new quantity ≥ ones quantity × 2 + 1 .
Example: The current bid is "three ones." To switch to any non-one face value, you need at least 3 × 2 + 1 = 7.
These transition rules only apply when ones are wild. During rounds where ones are not wild, bids simply follow the normal raising rules.
Bidding Rules
On your turn, you must make a bid about how many dice of a particular face value are on the table (among all players' dice combined). Unless ones were opened as the first bid, wild aces count toward that face value. A bid consists of two parts:
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Quantity: How many dice you claim are showing a particular value (including wild aces)
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Face value: Which number on the die
Example: "Three fives" means you claim there are at least 3 dice showing a 5 — counting wild aces — among all players' dice on the table.
Each subsequent bid must raise the stakes. There are two ways to raise:
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Increase the quantity — bid a higher number of any face value
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Increase the face value at the same quantity — keep the same count but name a higher face
Example: The current bid is "three fours." Valid raises include "three fives," "three sixes," "four twos," "five threes," and so on. "Three threes" or "two sixes" would be invalid because neither the quantity nor the face value has increased. Switching to or from ones uses the transition rules above.
If you don't want to raise the bid, you must instead challenge the previous player's bid. You are never allowed to pass.
Challenging ("Liar!")
Instead of raising the bid, you may challenge the previous player's bid by calling "Liar!" (also known as "Dudo"). This is the core mechanism that makes the game exciting.
When a challenge is called:
1.
All players lift their cups and reveal their dice.
2.
The total number of dice matching the bid's face value is counted across the entire table (wild ones count too).
3.
The bid is compared against the actual count: if it's equal to or greater than the bid quantity, the challenger loses a die. If it's less than the bid quantity, the bidder loses a die.
Challenge resolution
Current bid: "Five threes" — Bob calls Liar!
4 threes + 3 wild aces = 7 total. Bid of 5 is met — Bob (the challenger) loses a die.
After a challenge is resolved, the player who lost a die starts the next round. All players re-roll their remaining dice.
Spot On (Optional Rule)
A player may declare "Spot On!" (sometimes called "Calza") — a claim that the current bid is exactly correct.
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If the count is exactly equal to the bid, the caller gains one die back (up to a maximum of 5).
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If the count is anything other than exactly equal, the caller loses one die.
Example: Carlos bids "four sixes." Diana calls "Spot On!" There are exactly 4 sixes on the table. Diana is correct and gains a die back.
The Spot On call cannot be made by the player who just placed the bid — only a different player can call it.
Palifico Rounds
A Palifico round is a special restricted round triggered when a player is reduced to exactly 1 die. Each player can only trigger one Palifico round over the course of the game.
A player is down to one die:
Palifico round triggered — aces are not wild, and the face value is locked.
Palifico rounds have three special rules:
1.
Ones are NOT wild. A 1 is just a 1.
2.
The face value is locked. The first bidder sets the face value, and all subsequent bids must stay on that face.
3.
Only the Palifico player is exempt from the face-lock and may change the face value when bidding.
Example: Eve has 1 die, triggering Palifico. She bids "two fours." Frank can bid "three fours" or higher but cannot switch faces. If Eve gets another turn, she could switch to a different face.
Elimination and Winning
When a player loses their last remaining die, they are eliminated. The game is won by the last player with dice.
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As players are eliminated, the total dice on the table shrinks, making bids easier to evaluate.
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Endgame situations become intense mind games where reading your opponent matters more than probability.
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An eliminated player cannot bid, challenge, or call Spot On for the rest of the game.
Ready to put these rules into practice? Check out our
strategy guide for probability tables and advanced bluffing tactics.
Common House Rules and Variations
Numerous variations exist. Here are some of the most popular house rules and regional differences:
No Wild Aces
Some groups play without wild ones entirely, simplifying the probability calculations.
No Palifico
Some groups skip the Palifico rule entirely — more common in casual settings.
No Spot On
A simplified version removes the Spot On / Calza call, leaving only bidding and challenging.
Losing Multiple Dice
In some variations, the loser of a challenge loses dice equal to the difference between bid and actual count.
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