Liar's Dice Glossary

Liar's Dice has a small vocabulary, but the terms are used precisely: a raise has to be strictly higher, a challenge can only come on your turn, and ones change meaning mid-round. Use this page as a quick reference while you learn the rules.

Bid

A claim made on your turn: a quantity and a face, such as “three fours”. It says the whole table holds at least that many dice showing that face, wild ones included while they are still wild.

Quantity

The number of dice in a bid. It can never exceed the total number of dice still in play.

Face

The number shown on a die, from 1 to 6. Bids name faces 2 to 6; ones are special because they start the round wild.

Raise

A legal next bid: a higher quantity with any face, or the same quantity with a higher face. A bid that is not strictly higher is illegal.

Challenge

Calling the previous bid false instead of raising. You may only do it on your turn, and it ends the bidding for that round.

Showdown

What follows a challenge: every cup is lifted, the dice matching the bid are counted, and one player loses a die.

Wild ones

Ones that count as any face. They stay wild until someone bids ones.

Locked ones

Once anyone bids one or more ones, ones stop being wild for the rest of the round and count only as ones.

Opening bid

The first bid of a round. The host opens round one; afterwards the loser of the previous showdown opens, or the next surviving player if the loser is out.

Round

One cycle of shaking, bidding and a single showdown. The loser of the showdown starts the next round with one die fewer.

Elimination

A player who has lost every die is out and watches the rest of the match. The last player still holding dice wins.

Bluff

A bid that your own dice do not support. Because you only see your own dice, bluffing is part of every game.

Cup

The cover each player shakes and hides their dice under. Lifting the cups is the showdown.

Expected count

The average number of dice you would expect to show a face. While ones are wild it is about one third of all dice in play; once ones are locked it is about one sixth.

Try the terms at a real table

Open a table, make a bid and see each term in play. AI players fill empty seats, so you can start in seconds.