How to play left right center with regular dice

Learn how to deal, shuffle, and score in the game of guts.

Learn to earn the lowest number of points to win in this six-card game.

Learn how to play Bingo, the ever popular card game based on the original game.

In this exciting card game, The Kings, Queens, Jacks, Twos, and Ace of spades play no part.

Learn how to Linger longer than the rest of your family and be champion of the deck.

Table of Contents

Fast to learn easy to read how to play LCR Left Center Right rules.

Find out about LCR

What is the goal? #

Left Center Right is a luck-based dice game involves dice rolls and passing of poker chips between players. Players take turns to roll the dice. The dice roll outcome determines who they pass their chips to. The person who is the only one with remaining chips wins.

Game setup #

• Each player gets 3 chips
• Players sit in a circle or around a table
• Center of the circle is the \’pot\’ where players will place their chips during the game
• Select a starting player

Gameplay #

Players take turns in clockwise order until the game ends.

On your turn:

1. Roll the dice and if you have:
   • 3 or more chips, roll all 3
   • 2 chips, roll 2
   • 1 chip, roll 1
   • No chips, don\’t roll 
2. Take action based on the dice roll outcome
   • 1, 2, 3 on a die represent dots
   • 4 represents L
   • 5 represents C
   • 6 represents R

Action on L (4) #

Give 1 chip to left player

Action on C (5) #

Give 1 chip to pot in the center

Action on 1, 2, 3 (dots) #

Nothing happens

Action on R (6) #

Give 1 chip to right player

3. End turn, pass dice to next player

How do you win? #

Player who is the only player with chips on hand, wins!

LCR (also known as "Left Center Right") is a popular and simple dice game that uses custom dice with an L, C and R printed on them. The game can also be played with three standard six-sided dice.

Organize players in a circle and give each player an equal stack of poker chips, somewhere between three and eight chips. (You may also substitute quarters for poker chips.)

Designate a starting player and hand him the dice. He will be the first to throw. He throws the dice one time. For each "1" he rolls, he will pass one chip to the player to his left. For each "2" he rolls, he will pass one chip to the player to his right. For each "3" he rolls, he will place one chip in the center of the table; this is the pot, which the winner will claim at the end of the game.

Remove yourself from the game if you no longer have any chips. The circle should shrink slightly to account for your absence, so the players formerly on your left and right are now next to each other.

Pass the dice to your left. If you have been removed from the game, pass the dice to the player who was formerly on your left. The player with the dice now becomes the active player, and takes her turn.

The game ends when only one player is left holding all the chips or money.

Things You'll Need:

• 3 six-sided dice
• Poker chips (or money)

Playing for money makes the game more exciting.

Warnings:

• LCR is entirely luck-based, and does not have any strategy.

The LCR dice game is a fast-moving game that anyone can play. It requires three or more players and can be played with both small and large groups, so it makes a particularly good game for family gatherings, holiday parties, summer get-togethers, or other such events.

Like slot machines or Bingo, LCR requires no skill or decision making of any kind. But, also like those games, it’s simple to play and provides plenty of excitement.

There is a  boxed version of the game available, but it can also be played with any three regular 6-sided dice!

Game Summary - A brief summary of the game and what you need to play
How To Play LCR - A clear and concise explanation of the game rules
Rules Variations - Alternate rules to LCR that you can use to add variety to your games

Game Summary

Also Known As

Left Center Right

Object of the Game

Players start with a few chips and then take turns rolling the dice to determine which direction they should pass their chips. The object of LCR is to be the only player with any remaining chips.

Equipment

• Three 6-sided dice.
• Small plastic poker chips or counting chips, enough for 3 per player. Or you can substitute regular poker chips, glass stones, play money, buttons, chocolate coins, or any other collection of similar items. Alternatively, you can wager quarters or dollars. It can make the game more fun if you play for items of some value, or that are desirable to win.

Although the retail version of this game comes with three specialty dice, you can play the game with any normal 6-sided dice.

Number of Players

3 or more

How to Play the LCR Dice Game

Ideally, all players should sit around a table that provides a surface for rolling the dice, but any type of seating arrangement can be used as long as the players are in a circular formation. The middle of the circle is the center “pot” where chips will be placed during the game.

Before the game begins, each player receives three chips.

Choose a player to be the starting player. This can be the youngest player, or the oldest player, the player who won the previous game, or any other method of your choosing.

The starting player takes their turn, then players will continue taking turns in clockwise order until the game ends.

On your turn, roll the dice. How many dice you roll depends on how many chips you have.

• If you have 3 or more chips, roll all 3 dice.
• If you have 2 chips, roll 2 dice.
• If you have 1 chip, roll 1 die.
• If you have no chips, don’t roll any dice.

After the dice are rolled, you must take actions based on what is showing on the dice.

In the  retail version of the game, one side of each die has an L, one side has a C, one side has an R, and three sides have a single dot. However, you can use any regular 6-sided dice to play by using the following substitutions:

• 1, 2, and 3 are dots
• 4 is L
• 5 is C
• 6 is R

After rolling the dice, look at each die one at a time and take an action based on what was rolled.

• If you roll an L (or a 4), you must give one of your chips to the player on your left.
• If you roll a C (or a 5), you must put one of your chips in the pot in the center.
• If you roll a R (or a 6) you must give one of your chips to the player on your right.
• If you roll a dot (or a 1, 2, or 3), nothing happens.

After rolling the dice and taking actions, pass the dice to the next player.

Example: If you had 5 chips and rolled an L (4), a C (5), and a dot (2), you would give one chip to the player on your left and put one chip in the center pot. You would then have 3 chips remaining.

If you lose all your chips, you aren’t out of the game but you don’t roll any dice or take any actions on your turn. Other players can still give you chips however, and if it comes back to your turn and you have chips again then you take your turn as normal.

Game End and Winning

If at any point only one player has chips remaining, that player is the winner. They get to keep all the chips they have in front of them as well as all the chips from the center pot.

LCR Dice Game Variants

LCR Wild

The LCR Wild variation is available as a boxed game, but like the original game it can be played with normal 6-sided dice as well.

In the retail version, one side on each die is marked with a Wild symbol, but if you’re using regular dice, the 1 side can be used as the Wild side.

The rules for LCR Wild are the same as with regular LCR, except for the following difference:

If you roll any Wilds (or 1s) on your turn, take the following action:

• If you roll 1 Wild (or 1), take one chip from any opponent.
• If you roll 2 Wilds (or 1s), take two chips from any opponent, or take one chip each from two different opponents.
• If you roll 3 Wilds (or 1s), you take all the chips from the center pot and instantly win the game!

LCR Wilder

If you are using the LCR Wild variant, you can add this additional rule that gives players a decision to make on their turn.

On your turn, you can roll the dice as normal or, before you roll the dice, you can pay 3 of your chips to the center pot to change the effect of the dice from give to take.

This means that if you roll an L (or a 4), you take a chip from the player on your left instead of giving them a chip. Similarly, you take a chip from the player on your right when you roll an R (or a 6), and you take a chip from the center pot if you roll a C (or a 5).

However, keep in mind that this also alters the Wild effect. If you pay 3 chips to the center to reverse the dice, then if you roll one or two 1s you must give chips to players of your choice instead of taking chips. And if you roll all Wilds (or 1s) on your turn then you must give all your chips to the center pot instead of taking all the chips!

Last Chip Wins

In this variant, a player must put their last remaining chip(s) into the center pot to win. In other words, if they have only one chip left, they must roll a C (or 4) in order to win. This means that all players continue to have a chance to win as long as one chip remains in the game.

Dot to Win

This variant is particularly good when playing for stakes. The game is played exactly like regular LCR except that the last player with any chips remaining doesn’t automatically win at that point. Instead they must successfully roll only dots (or 1s, 2s, and 3s) on the dice in order to win. If they end up passing any chips to the players on their left or right, the game continues. If they pass their last chip to the center pot, all chips stay in the middle and all players play another game for a double pot.

Example: Sam has 2 chips remaining and is the only player with any chips left, so on his turn he rolls 2 dice. They come up showing two dots. Sam wins!

Choose Your Stakes

This variant is used when playing for stakes. At the beginning of the game, instead of each player automatically receiving 3 chips, each player decides how many chips they want and antes that amount of money. They can request any number of chips. For example, if each chip is worth 25 cents and a player wants to start the game with 8 chips, they ante 2 dollars.

May 9th 2018 Dice Game Depot