Dead Man's Dice Game Rules

Basic Rules

• Two or three players can play; each needs one cup and five dice. All players roll the dice inside their cup and put the cup upside-down on the table.

  Moving clockwise, each player makes a bid. Each player must either bid consecutively higher or challenge a previous player’s bid. Each bid is made up of a number and a die value, depending on how many of each die value the player thinks is on the table--”three ones,” for example. Subsequent players can bid “four ones” or “three twos.”

  When a bid is challenged, all players lift their cups and show their dice. If there are at least four twos on the table, a bid of "four twos" is correct. If a challenge is successful, the player who is challenged loses one die. If the challenge was wrong, the challenging player loses a die. The player who lost a die bids first in the next round. Play continues until one players has all the dice; this player is the winner.

Alternate Rules

• Play elimination-style "Dead Man&'s Dice." In this variation, a player loses immediately if his challenge fails or if another player correctly challenges him.

  Make “ones” the "wild" die value, which can represent any value players bid on. If there are six dice on the table, with two ones, two threes and two fours, a player can bid “four threes” or "four fours" and win that round. Bidding "one one" beats any bid of two.

General Strategy

• There is a "best bid" in each Dead Man&'s Dice game. Only one number can be the best bid; any bid over that number makes the bidder a liar. As the bidding goes up, players want to be able to bid the best number or challenge another player before someone else does. In early rounds, players can afford to bluff with a low bid, then challenge the player who calls a higher bid.

  A player can "jump the bid,” starting with a high bid and hoping that the bidding won&'t make it around the table before it’s her turn again.