Left Right Center Rules
Three chips, three dice, and the last player holding a chip takes the pot: how to play LCR.
Left Right Center, often just called LCR, is a dice game for three or more players. Everyone starts with three chips, and on your turn you roll one die for each chip you hold, up to three. Each die tells you to keep a chip, pass one to your left, pass one to your right or put one in the pot in the middle. The last player with any chips left wins the game and the pot. There are no decisions to make, so it is pure luck, which is exactly why it works at family gatherings, parties and holiday get-togethers: anyone can learn it in a minute. This guide covers the Left Right Center game rules, how to play with ordinary dice and with money, the LCR Wild version, and the real odds of winning.
Left Right Center Rules at a Glance
| Left Right Center (LCR) | |
|---|---|
| Players | 3 or more. The more players, the longer the game and the bigger the pot. |
| What you need | 3 dice and 3 chips per player. Poker chips, coins, buttons or sweets all work. |
| Dice | Each LCR die has three dot faces plus an L, a C and an R. With ordinary dice, 1, 2 and 3 are dots, 4 is L, 5 is C and 6 is R. |
| Dice per turn | One per chip you hold, up to three. No chips, no roll. |
| Goal | Be the last player holding any chips. |
| Prize | The winner takes the pot in the middle. |
| Ages | Bicycle lists it for 8 and up. |
| Made by | George & Company, who sell the original LCR dice and chips. |
How to Set Up LCR
- Sit in a circle so everyone has a clear player on their left and right, with space in the middle for the pot.
- Give everyone three chips. Every player starts with exactly three, however many are playing.
- Pick the first player. Bicycle’s rules have everyone roll the dice: whoever rolls the most dots goes first. Play then moves to the left (clockwise).
How to Play Left Right Center
- Roll your dice. Roll one die for each chip you have, up to three. With three or more chips you roll all three dice; with two chips, two dice; with one chip, one die.
- Do what each die says. For every L, pass one chip to the player on your left. For every R, pass one chip to the player on your right. For every C, put one chip in the pot in the middle. For every dot, keep a chip. You have to follow every die: there are no choices.
- Pass the dice to the left. The next player does the same with however many chips they have now.
- Out of chips? You are not out of the game. A player with no chips skips their turn, but stays in the circle. If a neighbour rolls an L or an R your way, you are back in and roll again on your next turn.
Chips put in the pot stay there for the rest of the game. They are not won back during play.
How to Win LCR
The game ends the moment only one player still has chips, however many or few. That player wins and takes the pot in the middle. They do not need to roll again: once everybody else is at zero, the game is over.
Playing LCR with Regular Dice
You do not need the branded dice. Three ordinary six-sided dice work just as well if everyone agrees on the meanings first:
| Number rolled | Counts as | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1, 2 or 3 | Dot | Keep a chip |
| 4 | L (Left) | Pass one chip to the player on your left |
| 5 | C (Center) | Put one chip in the pot |
| 6 | R (Right) | Pass one chip to the player on your right |
The odds are exactly the same as with LCR dice: each die has a one in two chance of a dot and a one in six chance of each letter.
LCR with Money
Many groups play with coins or dollar bills instead of chips. The rules do not change: each player starts with three, and the last player still holding any takes everything in the pot. So the amount you need is simply three of whatever you are playing for: three quarters or three $1 bills each. By the end of the game every coin is either in the pot or with the winner, so the winner takes the whole lot: with six players and $1 bills, that is $18.
Keep the stakes small and friendly. LCR has no skill at all, so nobody can play their way back from a bad run of dice.
LCR Wild
LCR Wild is a separate version of the game in which each of the three dice has a W (wild) face. One W lets you take a chip from any other player; two let you take two chips from one player or one each from two players; and rolling three Ws takes the whole pot from the middle. Everything else plays like classic LCR, and the last player with chips still wins.
Is There Any Strategy?
Not really. Every roll is forced, so there is nothing to decide. The only thing that makes a difference is where you sit:
- Rolling later in the first round helps a little. The first player to roll can only lose chips on their turn, while players further round the circle may pick up chips from their neighbours before they roll. With three players the last seat to roll wins 37% of games against 31% for the first; with four, 27% against 24%.
- With more players, seat hardly matters. At six players every seat is within a point or so of an equal share, and at eight the difference is about one point.
- Never give up at zero. Neighbours keep sending chips back. In three-player games the winner had been down to no chips at some point in 42% of games; with six players it was 82%.
Left Right Center Odds
- A roll of three dice loses 1.5 chips on average. It keeps all three chips 12.5% of the time (one in eight) and loses all three just as often.
- The pot fills up fast. One die in six is a C, so by the end of a three-player game about 6 of the 9 chips are in the middle, and about 16 of 18 in a six-player game.
- How long a game takes: a median of 17 rolls with three players, 28 with four, 49 with six and 69 with eight. Each roll takes seconds, which is why people often play several games in a row.
The figures for a single roll are exact. The rest come from 100,000 simulated games for each number of players, under the rules above.
More Dice Games
If you like LCR, try Bunco, another big-group dice game for parties, or Farkle, where you do get to decide when to stop rolling. Shut the Box and Liar’s Dice are two more classics to play with a handful of dice.
For more laughs: Pass the Pigs, scored by how two pig figures land.
Left Right Center (LCR): frequently asked questions
How do you play Left Right Center?
How much money do you need for LCR?
What happens when you run out of chips in LCR?
How do you play LCR with regular dice?
How many dice do you roll in LCR?
How do you win Left Right Center?
How many people can play LCR?
Is there any skill in Left Right Center?
Fadi Hayek
Author & Casino Expert
After going through several successful experiences with several industry pioneers, Fadi Hayek has managed to excel in the world of content for online gaming by providing unique content for several projects that allowed him to obtain the necessary experience to launch his career. Last but not least, Fadi also holds several certificates, including but not limited to content marketing and iGaming.
