Article: How To Play Liar's Dice

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Jan 29, 2025CACHO

How To Play Liar's Dice

The game can be played by two or more players. Each player has a cup, or “cacho”, with five dice. To begin, all players roll one die, and the highest roll determines who starts. That player also chooses the direction of play—either to the right or to the left.

On each turn, players shake their dice inside the cup and flip them onto the table, keeping the results hidden from everyone else. The main objective is to guess the total number of dice showing a specific face, or “pinta”, across all players, based only on your own dice. Each player makes an estimate considering their own roll and speculating about the hidden dice.

For example, the starting player might announce: “There are two dice showing a 3 on the table,” or in traditional jargon, “two trains.” The next player must either raise the bet, change it to a higher face value, or challenge it. They might say: “There are three trains,” or switch to a higher value like “two fours” (two dogs), “two fives” (two quinas), or “two sixes” (two cenas). However, they cannot say “two twelves,” since bets can only increase either in the number of dice or in face value.

Instead of raising, a player may also choose to “doubt” the bet. In that case, all players reveal their dice. If the number of dice matching the bet is equal to or greater than the stated amount, the doubter loses a die. If fewer dice match, the player who made the bet loses a die.

There is also the option to “hunt” the bet, which means guessing the previous bet exactly. If correct, the hunter regains a lost die. If wrong, they lose one.

“Aces” (ones) work as both a unique pinta and as wildcards, adopting the value of whichever number is currently in play. When betting with aces, the required total may be reduced to half plus one (if odd, rounded up). For example, a bet of “seven trains” can be lowered to “four aces”, while “eight trains” can be lowered to “five aces.” Similarly, when switching from aces to another pinta, the new bet must be double plus one. For example, changing from “two aces” to trains requires raising to at least “five trains.”

The player who wins or loses a die starts the next round. If a player is down to a single die, that round is played blind—only those with one die may look at their roll, while everyone else must keep betting without seeing.

Important: As the saying goes, “fallen die, lost die.” Any die that falls off the table is immediately lost. The last player with dice remaining is crowned the winner.

Traditional Colombian jargon for the dice faces: