MIA


OBJECTIVE OF MIA: Roll high-value dice combinations and bluff well when rolling weak combinations.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3+ players

MATERIALS: Two dice, dice cup

TYPE OF GAME: Dice/Bluffing

AUDIENCE: Teens & Adults


INTRODUCTION TO MIA

Mia is a bluffing game which is believed to have been played since the era of Vikings. It bears similarities to Liar’s Dice and the card game BullshitThe interesting feature to Mia is the non-standard roll order, for example, 21 is Mia and is the highest roll in the game. After follows doubles in ascending order, 11 is the second best, followed by 22, on up to 66. From that point on, the numbers descend, with the higher ranking die taking the 10s place and the lower die the 1s place. For example, after 66 would be 65, 64, 63, 62…. with 31 being the lowest value roll.

Mia is a simplistic dice game which uses bluffing and the detection of bluffs.

THE PLAY

Getting Started

Every active player starts the game with 6 lives. Players typically keep a separate die from themselves to keep track of their lives, flipping the dice down from 6 to 1 as they progressively lose lives.

The first player may be chosen at random. They roll their dice in the cup and secretly examine the numbers rolled without showing the dice to other players.

Bluff Potential & Rolling Dice

The player has three options after rolling:

  • Truthfully announce what was rolled
  • Lie and announce either:
    • a greater number than rolled
    • a lesser number than rolled

The dice that are concealed are passed to the left to the next player. That player is the receiver and has two options:

  • Believe the announcement of the passer, roll and pass on the cup, calling out a higher value with or without looking at the dice. (If you aren’t the greatest liar, it may be best to not look at the dice)
  • Declare the passer a liar and examine the dice beneath the cup. If the value of the dice is lesser than what they declared, the passer loses a life while the receiver initiates a new round. But, if the dice is greater or equal in value to what was declared, the receiver loses a life and the player to their left starts a new round.

Some variations of the game observe a third option: The receiver of the first pass may pass again to their left, relieving themselves of responsibility.

It is important to note that each player should always declare a value greater than the one previously announced, that is unless players have surpassed a Mia. In that case, the round ends.

Mia

Once a Mia is announced, the following player has two options.

  • Tap out of the game without examining the dice and lose a life.
  • Look at the dice. If it is a Mia, they lose 2 lives. If it is not a Mia, the previous player loses 1 life as usual.

The player to lose all their lives first is the loser of the game. The game continues until there is one player left.

THE SCORING

As discussed in the introduction, the roll value is not a sum of the die but rather each dice represents an integer in the value of the roll. For example, a player who rolls a 5 and a 3 rolled a 53, not an 8 or a 35.

21 is Mia and the highest roll, followed by doubles in ascending order: 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66. After, the scores descend from 65 down to 31.

Some players choose to reverse the doubles and observe 66 as the highest double. Neither is right nor wrong but a matter of preference.

Nakoa Davis

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