The Dice that Lies

Remember in movie Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest: onboard the Flying Dutchman the crew were playing some dice game betting their years in service? Boot Strap, Will Turner's father, even bet eternity in service to the ship to save his son.

They were playing Liar's Dice.

Others would subtract the apostrophe and call the game liar dice. In history, it has been noted as the game widely played by pirates. This game was also spotted in the 24 TV series with Jack Bauer as the lead character. It was reported to have been featured in Beerfest too as well as many other movies.

This game played by two or more players is usually over a bottle of whiskey or brandy. The best number is between five to eight. Such a game requires no expensive paraphernalia just five six-sided dice and a dice cap to hide the result of the roll. And as to how the game proceeds, anyone can learn it easily. One also needs to be a good actor for bluffing comes in handy. Players take turns in rolling and concealing their dice.

Starting player rolls their dice but making sure they have not been seen by other players. But before the roll, one informs the group how many dice is used. Variations use less than five dice or even more.

This is done every round. Any player may start the bidding by picking the face the dice are likely to show and how much money that player is allocating. The face to be chosen is from two to six since a one is a wild face and assumes the face value stated by the betting player. The lowest bet is one 2 and on the extreme end is fifteen 6.

Other players challenge the betting player on their turn and they may even raise the bet. To raise mean saying another outcome of the dice contrary to the first who started the betting. A challenge called would mean the lifting of the dice cap. In other words, challenging is validating the outcome of the roll. Anyone who gets the outcome correct collects the money. If the guesses were all wrong, the challenger takes the money.

On drinking sessions instead of money being wagered, the loser gets to drink a glass of vodka or rum.

Other names of this game are Perudo and Mexican. The Mexican name is a distortion of the German words little Max (Maxchen). A commercialized version has been named Call my Bluff.

So become a pirate and try this grand game out.

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