LCR Dice Game

Left Center Right dice game is for 8 players ages 3 and up.

LCR is maybe the simplest dice game ever. It might be simple but it is addictive and great for players of all ages (although they should know their letters; the recommended age of 3 might be a little young depending on the child0). I think because it is so simple is what makes people want to play again—how could you not win?

Set Up

LCR comes with special dice. Each one has an L, C and R on it. The other sides of the dice are marked with dots. The game also comes with a set of chips. To start, each player gets three chips.

Playing

The first player rolls all three dice then does the following depending on what the dice show. For any Ls the player passes a chip to the player on her left. Next, for any Cs, she puts a chip in the center of the playing field. Similar, for any R rolled, she passes a chip to the player on her right. The dots are free spaces and she gets to keep her chips.

Example: three dots – player keeps all chips

Two dots one R – player passes a chip to the right
LCR – player passes on chip to the left, one to the middle and one to the right

When a player has only two chips, he only rolls two dice. Similarly, if he only has one chip, he only rolls one dice.

When a player has lost all of her chips, then she is still in the game but doesn’t roll the dice. Never fear, someone will likely pass a chip back to her and she will then be able to roll again.

Winning LCR

When all the players except one have lost all of their chips, the game is over. The player who is the only one with chips left is the winner.

What We Like

As I said at the beginning of the post, LCR might just be the simplest dice game ever. That said, any number of players can play, all you need for larger groups is more chips or anything to take its place like coins.
It is also an easy game to play with players of all ages. Grandparents, teens, preschoolers they can all play and have an even chance of winning.
One of the best parts is that it comes in such a small container. You can literally store it anywhere and take it anywhere.
Last, LCR is a fast game. Games can take only a few minutes. Of course it depends on how many players there are and luck but games rarely take more than 10 minutes.

What We Don’t Like

It can be receptive. We have one member of the family that LOVES this game and the rest of us think it’s great but after four rounds or so it gets a little old.

Another thing that we don’t love is that it is really all luck. There is no strategy at all. But, as I said, that is part of their charm.

Holidayization  of LCR

To adapt LCR for different holidays—or holidayization—all you need is a little imagination and maybe a trip to the dollar store or Amazon. Simply swap the chips with tokens that represent the holiday. For fall you can use small plastic maple leaves. For Christmas small snowflakes or mini ornaments. Valentine’s Day could be hearts. St Patrick’s Day can be filled with small shamrocks. You get the idea.

You could also use small candies to play with. The winner could keep and eat the candies too. It might be best to play several rounds if playing this way so that all players have a chance to win. This could be a great way to celebrate Halloween. It could also work with large holiday gatherings like Christmas. You could also add the rule that if a player wins the pot, then they sit out the rest of the games.

Conclusion

LCR—Left Center Right—is a fast and easy dice game that can be played with any number of players of all age. It’s a great game that we highly recommend adding to your Family Game Shelf.

You can get your copy of LCR here.  They also have a LCR Wild game and even a LCR Friends edition prefect for all Friends’ fans. Canadians can get the LCR game here.

For more fun with dice, check out our dice game section. You can find even more fun in our card games and game reviews.

Rating:

Pros: fast, easy to learn, all ages
Cons: repetitive
Mom: learn “easy come easy go”