How to Play Perudo
Liar's Dice for 2-8 players
Overview
Perudo (also known as Liar's Dice or Dudo) is a classic bluffing dice game. Each player starts with 5 dice hidden under a cup. Players take turns bidding on how many dice of a certain value are on the table across ALL players' dice. Bluff well, read your opponents, and be the last player standing!
Game Flow
- Roll: Everyone rolls their dice secretly. Only you can see your own dice.
- Bid: The starting player makes a bid like "three 4s" — meaning they claim there are at least three dice showing 4 across ALL players' hands.
- Raise or Challenge: The next player must either raise the bid (higher quantity, or same quantity with a higher face value) or challenge the previous bid by calling "Dudo!"
- Reveal: When someone challenges, all dice are revealed and counted. If the bid was too high, the bidder loses a die. If the bid was valid, the challenger loses a die.
- Elimination: Lose all your dice and you're out. Last player standing wins!
House Rules
Ones Wild (Default: On)
Dice showing 1 count as ANY face value. So if someone bids "four 5s", both 5s and 1s count toward the total. This makes the game more strategic as 1s are very valuable.
Palifico Rounds (Default: On)
When a player is reduced to their last die, the next round is a special "Palifico" round. In this round, 1s are NOT wild and players must bid on the same face value (only increasing quantity). The one-die player is exempt and may switch faces.
Exact Call / Calza (Default: Off)
Instead of raising or challenging, you can call "Exact!" if you believe the previous bid is exactly right — not more, not less. If correct, you gain a die back (up to your starting amount). If wrong, you lose a die. High risk, high reward!
Ladder Bids (Default: Off)
Bids must increase either the quantity OR the face value (or both). This prevents players from jumping around face values freely and adds more strategic depth to the bidding.
Bidding on 1s (Ones Wild Mode)
When Ones Wild is enabled, switching between 1s and other face values has special rules:
Switching to 1s: Your quantity must be at least half the current bid (rounded up). E.g., if the bid is "six 4s", you need at least "three 1s".
Switching from 1s: Your quantity must be at least double plus one. E.g., if the bid is "two 1s", you need at least "five" of another face.
Tips
- Use your own dice to estimate probabilities — if you have two 3s, others probably have a few too.
- Remember: with Ones Wild, there are roughly 1/3 of all dice matching any given face value.
- Bluff confidently — hesitation gives you away.
- Track how many dice are left in play. As dice decrease, aggressive bids become riskier.
- Watch for patterns in how other players bid to read if they're bluffing.
- Sometimes it's better to make a risky bid than to challenge — keep the pressure on!