How to Play Left Centre Right

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Left Centre Right is a push-your-luck dice game for three or more players in which chips change hands every single round. There are no complex rules to learn, no reading required, and a turn takes seconds, making it one of the most accessible games you can put on a table.

It is a staple at family gatherings, camping trips, and casual nights in precisely because anyone can join mid-explanation and be playing within a minute. Luck drives the outcome entirely, which levels the field between a six-year-old and a grandparent and keeps every player invested right up to the final roll.

A little history

The origins of Left Centre Right are unclear. The game appears to have emerged in the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century and spread rapidly through word of mouth and commercial packaging. No single inventor or definitive date of creation is widely documented, and the core mechanism of passing tokens based on dice results has roots in far older folk gambling games found across many cultures.

Setting up

1. Seat all players in a circle around a flat surface.
2. Place a clearly marked centre pot in the middle of the table, or designate a visible spot for it.
3. Give every player exactly three chips at the start of the game.
4. Decide who goes first by any agreed method: youngest player, highest roll on a plain die, or simply the person to the left of whoever dealt the chips.

How to play

1. On your turn, count how many chips you are currently holding. You roll that many dice, up to a maximum of three. If you hold zero chips you are temporarily out but stay in the game; skip your roll and wait.
2. For each die showing L, pass one chip to the player on your immediate left.
3. For each die showing R, pass one chip to the player on your immediate right.
4. For each die showing C, place one chip into the centre pot. Chips in the pot are out of play for the rest of the game.
5. For each die showing a dot (one, two, or three dots), nothing happens; you keep that chip.
6. Play passes clockwise to the next player, who then follows the same process.
7. A player who runs out of chips does not leave the game. They simply skip their roll on subsequent turns until a neighbour passes them a chip, at which point they are fully active again.
8. Continue until only one player has any chips remaining. That player wins all chips in the centre pot.

Winning and scoring

The winner is the last player holding one or more chips. At that moment, they collect everything in the centre pot. In a stakes version of the game each chip represents an agreed monetary value or forfeit, and the pot grows with every C result throughout the game, so the winner takes a significant accumulated prize. There is no points tally across rounds; each game is self-contained unless players agree in advance to play a fixed number of rounds and track who wins each one.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns a player who holds zero chips: they do not roll but they are not eliminated. If a neighbour rolls an L or R that sends a chip their way, they are immediately back in contention. This is a firm rule, not optional, and it is the reason the game can swing dramatically in its final stages. Players who declare themselves out and stop paying attention sometimes miss a chip passed to them; the standard ruling is that the pass still stands and the chip sits in front of them whether they noticed or not.

A second dispute arises when players roll more dice than they should. If a player holds one chip and rolls three dice, only the result of the first die counts; the extras are void and must be rerolled or ignored by agreement before the turn begins. Establish this clearly at the start. Similarly, if a chip is passed and the recipient now has a different count than expected, that adjustment only affects their own next turn, not the current one.

How to win more often

• Sitting between two players who consistently roll poorly is a genuine positional advantage: chips tend to accumulate near lucky rollers, so watch the table and try to keep yourself flanked by quieter neighbours if seat choice is open.
• Do not celebrate having many chips early. A large stack means you roll more dice, which gives more chances to shed chips quickly. Holding around two chips is the sweet spot for staying active without heavy exposure.
• Pay close attention when you are on zero chips. Many players zone out and miss a chip that lands in front of them, effectively gifting their position to the table.
• In a stakes game, resist the urge to agree to end the game early by splitting the pot equally. The mathematical edge is almost always with whoever has the most chips at that moment, so a split rewards caution in a game built on volatility.
• If you are playing a multi-round format, note which players win frequently and adjust your seating in later rounds accordingly. Sitting to the right of a habitual winner means their L results feed chips to you.

Variations

Standard Dot Dice

Instead of purpose-made L, C, R dice, use three ordinary six-sided dice and assign faces: 1 and 2 are dots (keep), 3 and 4 are dots (keep), 5 is L (pass left), and 6 is R (pass right), with no C result. This removes the centre pot entirely and the last player with chips simply wins what is on the table. It extends the game considerably as chips are never removed from circulation.

Centre Pot Rolloff

When a single winner is determined, rather than handing them the centre pot outright, all eliminated players pool back in for one final roll-off. Each eliminated player rolls a single plain die and the highest result wins the pot, with the actual game winner rolling last and winning all ties. This adds a comeback mechanic that some groups find more satisfying for higher-stakes play.

Team Play

With six or more players, split into two teams seated alternately around the table so that every left and right neighbour is an opponent. Chips passed to a teammate count as shared resources; chips passed to an opponent are lost to the other side. The team that eliminates all of the opposing team's chips wins. A centre pot can still be used, or the C face can be reruled as a bonus chip drawn from a reserve.

Unlimited Chips Start

Give each player five chips instead of three at the start. This produces a longer, slower-burning game with more dramatic reversals in the late stages, which suits groups who want a full evening activity rather than a quick filler. The rules are otherwise identical.

Left Centre Right: frequently asked questions