Dice Games to Play in a Tavern

Dice Games to Play in a Tavern
Photo by Tj Holowaychuk on Unsplash

So your party has a night in a tavern. It's been a long journey and now everyone is looking forward to relaxing, having a pint of grog, and tossing some dice around (perhaps winning some copper?)

We've compiled a small list of dice games you can play while enjoying your stay at a tavern or anywhere your party might have a moment of downtime.

Liar's Dice

This game can be played with 2 or more players, no deception checks required.

How to Play

Each player begins by rolling 5 six-sided dice (5d6) while concealing their roll.

The first player begins by announcing any face value and the minimum number of dice that have that value. For example, a player can say, "I have two 3's" implying there are at least two dice rolls that are "3". Rolls of "1" can be considered "wildcards", meaning they can be used as a placeholder for another value.

The next player sitting clockwise from the first player then can make two choices: challenge the previous player by declaring, "LIAR", or raising the stakes by announcing they have more dice rolls at the given face value or a higher face value. For example, the next player can either say, "I have two 4's", a higher face value or, "I have three 3's", a higher quantity of the previous bid.

If a player declares, "liar", then all players reveal their dice and a winner is declared. If the challenger successfully finds the liar then they win, otherwise the original bidder wins.

You are free to choose how betting might work - whether it's copper, silver, or dice!

Avandra's Favor

Avandra's Favor or sometimes called "The Changebringer's Favor" is a simple dice game popularized by the critically-acclaimed Critical Role.

How to Play

The rules are simple, a player places a bet and rolls two six-sided dice (2d6).

The roll total must total 7 or 12. If the total is not these two numbers, the player loses and can choose to walk away or double their bet to roll an additional six-sided dice (1d6) in order to make the total equal 7 or 12. If one of these totals is reached, the player wins their bet.

Pig

Pig is a simple dice game that involves a single six-sided die (1d6). First player to score 100-points wins.

How to Play

Players take turns rolling a six-sided die (1d6) and adding the value to a running total; however, if a player rolls a "1", all points for that turn are lost.

A player can roll as many times as they like in a single turn. A player's turn ends when a "1" is rolled or the player decides to "hold".

The first player to score 100-points or more wins.

Chō-han

Another simple dice game that requires only two six-sided dice (2d6) and puts the Game Master front-and-center.

How to Play

The Game Master rolls two six-sided dice (2d6) and conceals the roll. Players then take turns betting if the roll is "Chō" (even) or "Han" (odd).  Players often bet by bartering bets between each other. Once all bets are placed, the Game Master reveals the dice and the winners collect their earnings.

Conclusion

There are a handful (😏) of dice games to play while your party has some downtime.

If you're looking for an easy way to play some of these games, dddice offers an infinite number of different dice and dice themes to choose from and let's you roll live with your party in seconds - no signup required! To conceal rolls, use the "Hidden Roll" feature and invoke mystery by revealing your rolls to other connected players.

If you're interested in joining our growing community, join our Discord, follow us on Twitter, join the subreddit, and stay tuned for more updates.

So what are you waiting for? Get rolling and have fun!