What you need
Three special dice, each with one L, one C, one R and three dots, and three chips per player. Any tokens will do as chips: coins, buttons, sweets or poker chips. The boxed game LCR, first published in 1983 and sold by George & Company, includes the dice and 24 chips. Without it, you can play with three ordinary dice (see below).
There are no decisions to make, so the youngest player at the table can play on equal terms with everyone else, which is why LCR is a classic at family gatherings.
Setup
Sit in a circle with space in the middle for the centre pot. Give every player three chips. Choose a first player any way you like; play then passes clockwise.
Playing with ordinary dice
Use this conversion, from Dice Game Depot’s rules:
| Die | Means |
|---|---|
| 1, 2 or 3 | dot: keep the chip |
| 4 | L |
| 5 | C |
| 6 | R |
How to play
- On your turn, roll one die per chip you hold, up to three. With three or more chips, roll all three; with two chips roll two; with one chip roll one.
- For each die:
- L: give one chip to the player on your left.
- R: give one chip to the player on your right.
- C: put one chip in the centre pot.
- dot: nothing happens; you keep that chip.
- Pass the dice to the left.
If you have no chips, you are not out. You skip rolling, but players next to you can still pass chips to you, and then you roll again on your next turn.
Example. You have five chips and roll L, C and a dot. You pass one chip left and put one in the centre. You keep three.
Scoring and winning
The game ends as soon as only one player has any chips left. That player wins and takes the centre pot as well. Chips in the centre stay there for the whole game.
Common variants
These are described by Dice Game Depot:
- LCR Wild: one face of each die is a wild (a 1 on ordinary dice). One wild lets you take a chip from any player, two wilds take two chips, and three wilds win the whole game at once.
- Last chip wins: the last player with chips must still roll a C to put the final chip in the centre and win, so everyone stays in with a chance.
- Dot to win: the last player with chips must roll only dots to win; otherwise the game goes on.
- Choose your stakes: each player buys as many chips as they want at the start.
Tips for first games
- There is no strategy, so the best tip is pace: keep the dice moving and let the table cheer the big swings.
- Use something fun for chips. Chocolate coins or a small stake (with adults) make the pot worth winning.
- Remind new players that running out of chips does not knock them out.
- With large groups, give each player three chips and play two or three quick games rather than one long one.
Frequently asked questions
How many dice do I roll? One for each chip you hold, never more than three.
Am I out when I lose all my chips? No. You stop rolling but stay in the circle, and you are back in as soon as a neighbour passes you a chip.
Who gets the chips in the centre? The winner, at the end of the game.
Can I play LCR with normal dice? Yes: 1 to 3 are dots, 4 is Left, 5 is Centre, 6 is Right.
How many people can play? Three or more. UltraBoardGames lists 3 to 12 players for the boxed game.
