What is Dice counts?
In the standard game here every player starts with five dice. You can choose three, four or six dice each instead, and the rest of the rules stay the same: bids, challenges, the exact call and the wild ones work as usual, and the last player with dice wins.
Fewer dice make a shorter, sharper game. With three dice each, two players start with only six dice on the table, so every bid is close to the edge and a player is only three lost dice from the end. Six dice each make a longer game with more dice to bluff about: four players start with 24.
The count also changes how quickly the special rounds come. With Palifico, a player starting with three dice reaches one die after only two losses. With Calza, a player can never win back more dice than the starting count.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Liar's Dice | Dice counts |
|---|---|---|
| Dice each | Standard Liar's DiceFive. | Dice countsThree, four or six. |
| Dice on the table at the start | Standard Liar's Dice10 with two players, 15 with three, 20 with four. | Dice countsFrom 6 (two players with three dice each) to 24 (four players with six). |
| Length of a two-player game without Calza | Standard Liar's DiceDecided within nine lost dice. | Dice countsDecided within five lost dice with three each, seven with four and eleven with six. |
| Winning dice back with Calza | Standard Liar's DiceUp to five dice. | Dice countsUp to the starting count: three, four or six. |
| Other options | Standard Liar's DiceCalza, Palifico and no wild ones can be chosen. | Dice countsEvery dice count works with all of them. |
History
Most published rules for liar's dice give each player five dice, the count of the standard game here. The commercial edition of the South American game Dudo has six cups with five dice each.
Three, four and six dice are offered here as house rules for a shorter or a longer game. Nothing else changes, so they combine freely with Calza, Palifico and no wild ones.