Dudo
A South American dice game of bluffing and bidding.
Dudo, whose name means "I doubt" in Spanish, is a South American dice game also known as cacho, pico, perudo, liar's dice, Peruvian liar dice, cachito, or dadinho. It belongs to a broader family of games called liar's dice, but has its own specific rules. Two or more players participate, each trying to guess the total number of dice showing a particular value across all cups on the table. A player who loses a round forfeits one die, and the last player with any dice left wins.
To begin, each player gets five dice and a cup. The cup is used to shake the dice and hide them from opponents. Turn order is decided by a single die roll: the highest roll goes first, followed by the next highest, and so on. Ties are resolved by re-rolling until one player rolls higher.
Each round starts with everyone shaking their dice in their cups, then slamming the cup upside down on the table so the dice stay hidden underneath. Players lift their cups just enough to see their own dice without revealing them to others. The first player then makes a bid about the minimum number of dice showing a certain value among all players. Aces (ones) are wild, meaning they count as any number. For example, a bid of "five threes" claims that at least five dice—either threes or ones—are visible across all players' dice. The next player, moving clockwise, must either raise the bid or call "dudo" to end the round.
A raise can increase the quantity of dice (e.g., from "five threes" to "six threes") or change the die number (e.g., from "five threes" to "five sixes"), or both. If the quantity increases, the player may choose any number, such as moving from "five threes" to "six twos." Bidding aces is special: a player can halve the quantity, rounding up. For instance, if the current bid is "five threes," the next player could bid at least "three aces." If the current bid is aces, the next player can call dudo, increase the quantity (e.g., "four aces"), or switch to a different number. In that case, the new quantity must be at least one more than double the previous aces bid—so from "three aces," bidding fours would require "seven fours" or higher. Players cannot start a round with aces unless they have only one die left.
Calling dudo means the player doubts the previous bid. All dice are revealed. If the bid was wrong, the player who made it loses a die.
- Also known as
- cacho, pico, perudo, liar's dice, Peruvian liar dice, cachito, dadinho
- Type
- dice game
- Region
- South America
- Minimum players
- 2
- Starting dice per player
- 5
- Win condition
- last player with dice remaining
Lore & Background
Each player starts with five dice and a cup, used for shaking and concealing the dice. To decide order of play, players roll a single die; highest roll goes first, then next lowest, with ties re-rolled. Each round begins with players shaking dice in their cups, then slamming them upside down on the table. Players lift their cups to view their own dice while keeping them concealed. The first player makes a bid about how many dice of a certain value are showing among all players, at a minimum. Aces (ones) are wild, counting as any other number.
Reader's Guide
Dudo is significant as a popular variant of the liar's dice family, widely played in South America under multiple names. Its gameplay involves bluffing, probability estimation, and strategic bidding. Players may raise a bid by increasing the quantity or the die number, or call 'dudo' to challenge the previous bid. A special 'spot on' rule rewards a player who claims the previous bid is exactly correct, potentially recovering a lost die. The game also includes a 'burn' option, where a player can reveal some dice and re-roll the rest. Different versions introduce special rounds like 'palo fijo' or 'palo ciego' when players are reduced to one or two dice, altering the rules for wildcards and visibility. The game ends when only one player has dice remaining, making it a test of nerve and deduction.
Did You Know?
- A player who calls 'dudo' loses a die if the previous bid was correct.
- The 'spot on' rule allows a player to claim the previous bid is exactly right, potentially recovering a lost die.
- In some versions, when a player reaches one die, a special round called 'palo fijo' begins where aces don't count as wildcards.
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