Liar's Dice



"Wondering how it's played?" "I understand. It's a game of deception. But your bet includes all the dice, not just your own. What are they wagering?" "The only thing we have. Years of service."

- Bootstrap Bill Turner and Will Turner

Liar's dice was a game of chance and deception played by pirates, most notably by the crew of lost souls serving on Davy Jones' ship the Flying Dutchman.

History
"So any crew member can be challenged?" "Aye. Anyone." "...I challenge Davy Jones." "I accept, mate."

- Will Turner, Bootstrap Bill Turner and Davy Jones

Aboard the Flying Dutchman, the terms of the crewmen were that they would throw their dice in a cup and guess the number of a number on their top faces (i.e. three sixes, eight twos, etc.). The game included every player's dice, and wagers were made on years of service on board the Dutchman. Any crew member could be challenged, and Will Turner once used this to his advantage when he was forced into service aboard the Dutchman. He challenged Davy Jones himself to a game in order to find the location of the key to the Dead Man's Chest.

Davy Jones always knew whats going on aboard his ship. It was said that he can feel the ship. In theory, some think that Davy Jones knew what was under all of the cups seeming as the board which they played on was wood from the ship.

Rules


Players each put their dice in a cup, or something similar, shake them, and place them on a table, or other playing surface, underneath the cup. They then look at their own dice. Players then take it in turns to make "bids": a bet on how many of what face will appear. When an unlikely bid is made, the next player can challenge the maker of the previous bid by saying "Liar". Once this is done, the challenged player must reveal their dice, followed by the other player(s). If the bid was correct, the challenging player loses. If the challenger was correct, the challenging player wins. A bid is bet on the minimum number rolled.

Bids must be a same or higher quantity of a higher face, or a higher quantity of any face. For example, if the first bid was "three fours", then the next bid would have to be at least "three fives" (same quantity, higher face) or "four fives" (higher quantity, higher face) or "four twos (higher quantity, any face). "One" can count as any number.

Behind the scenes

 * In the audio commentary of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, it was said that Jack Davenport introduced the game to the cast and crew. After that, the Liar's Dice scene was put into the film.
 * Hasbro released "Pirate's Dice" which is exactly the same as Liar's Dice, it just has a different name. When you lose you take a die out of the losers game.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)