For this game it is necessary to procure a set of Poker Dice. Also required is a small box, about the size of a small shoe box, a smooth table and about half a dozen lying, cheating, fun loving people. Any number of people can play but four, five or six are the most ideal quantities.

This is a fun game that allows, even encourages, players to be somewhat generous with the truth of their statements, as the name of the game implies.

Each player is granted three lives and ONLY THE FIRST PERSON to lose all three lives is granted the spare life. Once a player loses all his lives, that player drops out leaving the remainder to play on to find out who is the "Lying Winner."

A player is selected to throw first. The method of selection should be one which is agreeable to all and reasonably fair. A handy pack of cards would be useful.

Under cover of the box and so that no one else can see, the first player throws all 5 dice together, covers them with the box and carefully slides the box and dice to the player on his left. At the same time the player calls out what hand he is passing on.

The player receiving the dice, must now decide if he should accept them or not. If he decides not to accept the dice, he lifts the box to expose the dice to all and sundry. At this point an unscrupulous player may try to lift the box in such a way as to disturb the dice and hopefully alter their display, thereby ensuring that they do not show what was verbally passed on. Players who resort to this form of trickery and cheating are not worth having as game opponents and should be dismissed from that or any other game.

Care must be taken when sliding the box from player to player and when lifting the box to expose the dice.

If the dice ARE as was stated then the receiver loses a life. If the dice ARE NOT as stated then the person passing the hand loses a life. The player who loses a life re-starts the game. If the receiver of the dice decides to accept the dice being passed to him, very carefully and so as not to disturb the dice or let anyone else see, he takes a peek at the dice and decides if and how many dice he will throw in an attempt to improve on the hand passed to him. The player must state out loud how many dice he is going to throw and under cover of the box he throws the dice, covers them and carefully passes them on to the player on his left, at the same time quoting what hand he is passing on.

The hand that is passed on must be of a higher value than was received, at least in theory it must be. So, the hand that is passed on must be STATED as being of a higher value than was received. This leaves plenty of scope for bluffing (lying) and it pays other players to listen to what is said and by whom and how many dice are being thrown, particularly if you are the receiving player.

Obviously the highest hand that can be passed on, is 5 Aces. When a person is passed 5 Aces all he can do is lift the box. If there are 5 Aces he loses a life. If there are not 5 Aces, then the person who passed the dice loses a life.

In order to prevent "accidents" the receiving player must not touch the box until it has arrived safely in front of him.

When quoting a hand, a player may quote all 5 dice or just the relevant hand, ignoring all or any of the remaining dice.

So, if the dice show J J Q 9 & 10 they can be passed on as either; a pair of Jacks, a pair of Jacks with a Queen, a pair of Jacks with a Queen and a Ten or a pair of Jacks with a Queen, a Ten and a Nine. From the hands quoted, a pair of Jacks is the lowest hand and it is beaten by a pair of Jacks with a Queen, which in turn is beaten by a pair of Jacks with a Queen and Ten.

If a hand is passed on and only the basic hand quoted, the receiving player may opt not to throw any dice or not even look at the hand, but just pass it on quoting the basic hand plus another die. Whatever a player decides to do, he must state how many dice are being thrown, throw them together, and pass on a quote of a hand which is of a higher value than received, irrespective of what was actually under the box.

A player may decide to throw any number of dice or none at all.

When a player is throwing the dice under cover of the box and in doing so any die not being thrown is dislodged so that it shows a different face, the player is NOT allowed to replace it as it was. He must bluff it out.

The hands at Liar Dice are the same as at 5 card Poker, that is:-

5 of a kind is the highest hand.
4 of a kind is the next highest.
Full House is the next highest hand, being a prial and a pair.
Run is the next highest hand, being A K Q J & 10 or K Q J 10 & 9.
3 of a kind is the next highest hand. Sometimes known as a prial.
2 pairs is the next highest hand. E.g. 2 Kings & 2 Tens.
1 pair is the next highest hand. E.g. 2 Jacks.
The lowest hand is 5 dice which do not fall into any of the above categories.

A Q J 10 & 9 is the lowest hand possible and is known as Ace high.
A K J 10 & 9 is known as Ace King high and beats an Ace high.
A K Q 10 & 9 is known as Ace King Queen high and beats Ace King high.
A K Q J & 9 is known as Ace King Queen Jack high and beats Ace King Queen high.

As in cards, the Ace is the highest and Nine the lowest and all hands reflect this. A pair of Aces are higher than a pair of Kings which are higher than a pair of Queens etc. To determine the strength of a pair hand, the remaining dice are taken into consideration. The pair is considered first and if the same, the highest of the remaining dice are considered. If this too is the same then the next highest dice is considered etc.

In the case of 2 pairs, the highest pair of the two pairs is considered first and if the same, then the other pair is considered and if this too is the same then the fifth dice is considered. Thus 2 Aces and 2 Kings, beats 2 Aces and 2 Queens.

A full house is a prial and a pair and the prial is considered first. A full house of 3 Queens and 2 Aces is quoted as "A Full House Queens over Aces."

Kings over Tens beats Queens over Jacks.
2 Nines loses to 2 Nines with a Jack.
2 Nines with a Jack loses to 2 Nines with a Jack and Ten.
2 Aces and 2 Nines beats 2 Kings and 2 Queens.
4 Kings with an Ace loses to 4 Aces with a King.
Tens over Aces loses to Jacks over Nines.

AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO USING DICE

Liar Dice can be played using playing cards and I suppose the game could be called Liar Cards. All the above rules apply with the exception that instead of five dice, playing cards are used from 9 to Ace inclusive.

The cards are shuffled and cut in the time honoured fashion and a dealer is selected. Five cards are dealt to the person on the dealer's left and the remainder are placed face down in front of the dealer. The recipient of the five cards looks at his hand so that no one else can see and passes them face down to the player on his left, at the same time calling out what hand he is passing on. The next player picks up the cards and decides how many cards to discard and places the discarded cards on top of the pack. The dealer shuffles the pack, hands them to the person on his right to cut and then deals the required number of cards. The current player then passes the hand to his left and calls out what hand he is passing on. And so on and so on.