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The Liar's Bar rules explained simply

You have seen Liar's Bar in videos and want to understand how it works? Here are the rules of the card game, with no jargon. Five minutes are enough to remember them, and they also work for playing in real life.

The idea in one sentence

Everyone plays cards face down, claiming they are the right ones. You are allowed to lie. If you get caught, you play Russian roulette. The last player alive wins.

The cards

The video game's card mode is called Liar's Deck. It is played by 4 with a 20-card deck:

CardNumberRole
Ace6Normal card
King6Normal card
Queen6Normal card
Joker2Replaces any card

Each player gets 5 cards and keeps them secret.

How a round works

  1. A table card is drawn at random: Ace, King or Queen. For the whole round, that is the card you have to play.
  2. On your turn, you play 1 to 3 cards face down and announce that they are all the table card: “Two Kings!”.
  3. You can tell the truth or lie. Nobody sees what you play.
  4. The next player has two options: believe you and take their turn, or shout “Liar!”.
  5. If nobody accuses, play continues, one player after another.

“Liar!”: who loses?

Only the cards that were just played are flipped over.

What is revealedWho shoots
At least one wrong cardThe player who lied
Only right cards (or Jokers)The player who shouted “Liar!”

The Joker always counts as the table card: playing one is not lying.

Russian roulette

Each player has their own revolver: 6 chambers, a single bullet. The cylinder does not reset between two shots. So the risk climbs every time: 1 chance in 6 on the first shot, then 1 in 5, 1 in 4… until the sixth shot, which is fatal for sure.

After each shot, all the cards are collected and dealt again, and a new table card is drawn. An eliminated player no longer plays. The last one alive wins.

The 4 beginner mistakes

  1. Accusing too fast. If your accusation is wrong, you are the one who shoots. Accuse when the card count makes the claim unlikely.
  2. Forgetting the Jokers. Two cards in the deck can make a claim true when it looked false.
  3. Keeping your bad cards for the end. The longer the round goes, the more suspicious the others get. Get rid of a bad card early, slipped in among good ones.
  4. Not watching the revolvers. A player who has already shot four times can no longer afford to accuse lightly: that is the moment to bluff against them.

And to play it in real life?

The rules stay the same around a real table. You need standard playing cards, and something to draw the table card and replace the revolver. That is what MhyTom does, for free, on a phone: it draws the table card, spins a virtual cylinder and counts everyone's shots. You can play with 3 to 10 players.

Phoenix mode uses these rules as they are.

Play Phoenix

Frequently asked questions

How many cards can you play on your turn in Liar's Bar?

In the video game, 1 to 3 cards per turn. You must play at least one as long as you have cards in hand.

What happens if you accuse a player who was telling the truth?

The player who shouted “Liar!” plays Russian roulette.

Is playing a Joker a lie?

No. The Joker counts as the table card, whatever it is.

How many shots can you survive at most?

Five. The revolver has 6 chambers and a single bullet: the sixth shot is always the last.

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MhyTom is an independent project inspired by Liar's Bar. It is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the creators of the video game.