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Basic rules for Perudo Santaba, Perudo, Liars' Dice, Liari, Dudo and Cachos:

Saluting

Before players touch their die or cups it is customary for players to salute each other (and a required protocol for more unproven players to salute their 'betters'). The traditional salute is 'Contemplarturi te saluttant' though players may often agree an acceptable but more informal salutation between themselves. See Advanced Perudo Santaba rules and terms for more information on saluting and protocols.

Rolling to see who bids first

Players start with a beaker and five dice of their chosen colour. To begin the game, all players roll a single die to see who will bid first. The player with the highest die wins the right to bid first. In the event of a tie, the players who tied roll again. If a player mistakenly rolls *all* their dice at this time, they lose their right to roll in this section of the game.

Example 1: Who goes first?
Player A - 1 x 4 (i.e. rolls one Four)
Player B - 1 x 3 (i.e. rolls one Three)
Player C - rolls all dice (i.e. loses right to roll, the dice are not considered)
Player A: bids first as she has the highest die

Rolling

Once the play order has been decided, all the player's roll their dice together by upturning their beaker and using it to shield their dice from the other players to keep the dice values secret. Players should not touch their dice once they have rolled and should always give the dice a good shake before rolling (See Tossa).

Bidding - Bidding rounds and Doodoo

Each player then it takes it in turn to bid for the duration of the round or until they are out. To bid, a player must state a dice-quantity and a die face-value (an example bid is "three two's"). When they bid players must estimate the *total number* of dice in play which have a specified face-value (i.e. not just the players' own dice, but those of all the other players' dice as well). They should then try to call either this value or a lower quantity.
The next player must then decide if they believe this bid is too high (i.e. if the actual total quantity of dice with this face-value is less) or if they believe it is probable. If they think the bid is too high, they can call Doodoo (see Doodoo below), if they accept the bid, they must enter their bid which must raise either the face-value of the die or the quantity called (they can do both shoud they wish).

Bidding - Doodoo and the end of the round

When a player calls Doodoo the round ends and *all* the players reveal *all* their dice. If the challenged bid was valid the player calling Doodoo loses a die. If the challenged bid was insufficient, and the Doodoo was justified, the player entering the false bid loses a die. The next round starts, the players shake and roll their remaining dice and the player who has jsut lost a die leads the bidding. If the player has lost all their dice then they are out, and the next player begins the bidding.

Example 2: Basic bidding & Doodoo
Player A - (3 x 2) + (2 x 6) (i.e. rolls three Two's and two Sixes)
Player B - (1 x 2) + (4 x 5) (i.e. rolls one Two and four Fives)
Player C - (1 x 3) + (2 x 2) + (3 x 4) (i.e. rolls one Three and two Twos and three Fours)
Player A: bids 3 x 2 (estimates that a total of four Two's are held in total by all the players, but decides to call a 'safer' opening bid of 3 x 2 (i.e. three Two's.))
Player B: bids 4 x 2 (raising the quantity of dice bid)
Player C: bids 4 x 4 (raising the dice face-value)
Player A: bids 5 x 2 (raising the quantity of dice bid)
Player B: bids 6 x 5 (raising the quantity of dice bid and the dice face-value)
Player C: thinks this is unlikely/feels the squeeze and calls Doodoo
The dice are revealed: Player C was right to call Doodoo, a total of only 4 x 5's exist and Player B has them all
Player B: Loses a die and starts the bidding in the next round

Bidding - Wild Aces and Ace bids

To make things a little more interesting, any aces (ie dies with a face-value of One) are considered wild. i.e. Any aces in any player's hand are also counted when totting up the number of die with the face-value called by the current bidder. E.g., if three players each have an ace and each player also has a single two, if a bid of 6 x 2 is called (i.e six Two's) the bid is actually correct, as the aces, in their capacity as wild die, are also counted as Twos.
It is important to note that Aces lose there wild status in a Calzone round (see Calzone below).

Bidding - Ace conversion

If a player wishes they can also make a bid in aces. Ace bids need only reach half the quantity of the previous bid. E.g. A bid of 2 x 2 can be legitimately followed by a bid of 1 x Ace. Where the previous bid quantity is an odd number, the ace bid must be half of the next even quantity. E.g. A bid of 3 x 4 would have to be followed by a minimum ace bid of 2 x Ace. If a player is following an ace-bid and wishes to convert to a higher die face-value, they must call twice the number of aces in the preceeding bid plus one. E.g. A bid following an ace-bid of 3 x Ace, would need to be at least 7 strong, e.g. 7 x 4. There is no restriction on how many times bids may convert to and from ace-bids, but they must meet this rule each time. Players can not bid in aces when they are making the opening bid unless it is a Calzone round.

Ace bid conversion formulae for minimum next bid:
New bid-quantity (where X is the previous bid quantity) = ( X + 1 ) / 2, rounded down
New bid-quantity (where X is the previous ace-bid quantity) = ( X x 2 ) + 1

Example 3: integrating ace-bids
Player A - (2 x 2) + (2 x 6) + (1 x 1) (i.e. rolls two Two's, two Sixes and one Ace)
Player B - (1 x 2) + (2 x 5) + (2 x 1) (i.e. rolls one Two, two Fives and two Aces)
Player C - (1 x 3) + (2 x 2) + (3 x 4) (i.e. rolls one Three and two Twos and three Fours)
Player A: bids 2 x 6 (see Dogspangle)
Player B: bids 3 x 5 (raising the quantity of dice bid)
Player C: bids 4 x 5 (raising the dice face-value)
Player A: bids 5 x 2 (raising the quantity of dice bid)
Player B: bids 3 x 1 (converting to an ace-bid by halving & rounding the previous bid quantity)
Player C: bids 7 x 2 (converting back from an ace-bid by doubling the ace-bid quantity and adding one)
Player A: calls Doodoo
The dice are revealed: There are actually 5 x 2 and 3 x 1, so Doodoo was a bad call in this case. The dice could actually support a call of up to 8 x 2
Player A: Loses a die and starts the bidding in the next round

Bidding - Calzone rounds

When a player has lost a die in the immediately preceeding round and they have only one die remaining in play, they may call Calzone. When Calzone is called the round is subject to slightly different rules:

• Aces are no longer wild
• Ace bids can be made and are treated like any other normal bid (and opening bids can now be Ace-bids)
• Players who have *more* than one die must follow the preceeding bids die face value (see Tabba)
• Players who have *only* one die can change the bid die face-value (including the caller of the Calzone)
• Calzone must be called before any bids are made
• Calling Calzone is optional (though it does normally benefit the calling player)

It is common for (even great) players to think *too* hard about their call in a Calzone round and then make an erroneous bid by changing the face-value of the call. This is known as a Tabba and if noticed the offending player immediately forfits the round.

Example 4: Calzone rounds
Later in the game, Player A is down to 3 die, Player B has only one die and Player C has just lost a die in the previous round and now also has only one die. They roll and Player C calls Calzone... Player A - (2 x 2) + (1 x 1) (i.e. has 3 dice in play; rolls two Two's and one Ace)
Player B - (1 x 2) (i.e. rolls one Two)
Player C - (1 x 3) (i.e. rolls one Three)
Player C: bids 2 x 3 (gambling on the other player's dice)
Player B: bids 3 x 2 (able to change the face-value as he only has one die)
Player C: bids 4 x 2 (must follow the face value of 2 if she wants to bid, and bluffing in a sticky position!)
Player A: calls Doodoo
The dice are revealed: There are only 3 x 2 as Player A's ace is not wild in a Calzone round, so its a good Doodoo call from Player A
Player C: Loses a die and starts the bidding in the next round

Example 5: Calzone round - Making a Tabba
Later in the game, Player A is down to 5 die, Player B has only one die and Player C has just lost a die in the previous round and now also has only one die. They roll and Player C calls Calzone. Because the round has been declared as a Calzone round and both Player B and Player C are on one die they are both able to change the face-value of their bids at will. Player A however, is not able to adjust the face-value as they still have 5 die and must stick to the face-value bid of the previous player. In this situation it is easy to forget this restraint, as we shall see... Player A - (4 x 2) + (1 x 1) (i.e. has 5 dice in play; rolls four Two's and one Ace)
Player B - (1 x 2) (i.e. rolls one Two)
Player C - (1 x 3) (i.e. rolls one Three)
Player C: bids 2 x 3 (gambling on the other player's dice)
Player B: bids 3 x 2 (able to change the face-value as he has only one die)
Player C: bids 3 x 3 (again able to change the face-value of the bid as she too has only one die)
Player A: bids 4 x 2 (should have followed the current face-value bid of 3 but illegally changed it to a bid of 2's - this is a Tabba)
Player B: calls Tabba (Player A clutches head in disbelief and growls at losing such a strong hand!)
Player A: (still growling) Loses a die and starts the bidding in the next round

Bidding - Jonti

If a player makes a bid and another player believes that this bid actually reflects the *exact* quantity of the specified die face-value in play, then they should call Jonti. When Jonti is called, the round ends and all the dice are revealed. If correct, the player calling Jonti is awarded a die, bringing it back in to play. If incorrect, the calling player loses a die. E.g. If Player A makes a bid of 3 x 2 and Player B calls Jonti, it is only a correct call if there are *exactly* 3 x 2 (including any wild aces that are in play). No player can have more than the maximum five die in play (and so Jonti should only be called by a player who has less than five die in play)! Jonti must be called *before* any subsequent bid is placed, and Jonti can not be called by an adjacent player i.e. when the bid has been made by the player preceeding you. Hence, Jonti can never be called in a two person round. A successful call of Jonti has an added bonus as the player also starts the bidding in the next round.

Example 6: Jonti
Player A has 3 dice, Player B and Player C have the maximimum of five each. Player A - (2 x 2) + (1 x 1) (i.e. has 3 dice in play; rolls two Two's and one Ace)
Player B - (2 x 2) + (3 x 1) (i.e. rolls one Two and three Aces)
Player C - (1 x 3) + (4 x 5) (i.e. rolls one Three and four Fives)
Player A: bids 3 x 6 (see Advanced Dogspangle)
Player B: bids 4 x 6 (raising the quantity of dice bid)
Player A: calls Jonti
The dice are revealed: There are no sixes but there are 4 x 1 which count as four sixes, so its a good Jonti call from Player A
Player A: Gets a die back and now has 4 dice, and starts the bidding in the next round

Advanced bidding, rules, terminology and protocols

The scenarios above may seem hard to visualise but playing through these hands will quickly familiarise you with the basic rules of play and will be enough to get you started on your own games. After a few games you may find there are certain common situations that you need more guidance with. At this point you can introduce the more advanced terminology and official protocols of Santaba; these are not hard to pick up once familiar with the game's basics and help enhance the game.