[This review originally written in 2000 -- Brian]

Liar's Dice reduces bluffing to a tight, simple formula. Each player rolls five hidden dice. Players then bid around the table. "There are at least four fives". The dice also have wilds (the dice are numbered 1-5 and wild, or 2-6 and wild in some versions), and those count for all numbers (or players can bid that there are a number of wilds). After bidding, a player can show some dice (at least one) and reroll the rest (at least one).

The next player either raises the bid or calls. When someone finally calls, everyone reveals their dice:

* If the bid was short, the bidder has to give up dice equal to the difference. (If you bid 10 fours and there were only 8 fours and wilds combined, you lose two dice if your bid was called).
* If the bid was over, the caller has to give up dice equal to the difference.
* If the bid was exactly right, everyone except the bidder looses a die. (Unless that forces someone other than the caller to lose their last die. That person is safe).

Then everyone rolls all their dice again, and it keeps going until only one person has any dice left.

Liar's Dice is one of the simplest games I play, but it has charm and depth. And since it's so short, you can often play multiple games in a sitting or stop when more people show up to game. Liar's Dice is also available as Call My Bluff and maybe some other names (but don't get Perudo, which apparently isn't nearly as good).