HEIST

Games Like Liar's Bar You Can Play Free in Your Browser

Liar's Bar took off because it's simple: four players at a table, a hand of cards or dice, and the constant question of whether the person across from you is lying. It's a paid PC game on Steam, though, so it's not something you can send to a friend on their phone.

If you want that same feeling of reading people and getting away with a lie, here are games worth trying. Most are free, and most run in a browser.

1. Liar's Dice (LiarsBar.io)

The dice half of Liar's Bar is an old game, also called Perudo or Dudo. Everyone rolls in secret and bids on how many of a face are on the whole table, and you either raise the bid or call the last bidder a liar. LiarsBar.io is a free browser version with private rooms for friends. It's the closest match if you liked the dice mode.

2. Cheat (also called BS or I Doubt It)

Liar's Deck is basically Cheat with higher stakes. Players lay cards face down and announce what they are, and anyone can call "cheat." The loser of the challenge picks up the pile. All you need is one deck of cards, so it's free and easy to teach on game night.

3. Heist

Full disclosure: Heist is our game, so take this pick with that in mind.

Heist is a card game for 3 to 6 players that runs in your browser on a phone or computer. Everyone joins crews to pull jobs and split the score, and anyone can double-cross the table when the moment is right. You can play friends with a table code, quick-match strangers, or practice against bots. It's free, and your first hand is coached, so nobody has to read a rulebook first.

Where Liar's Bar is about catching a single lie, Heist is about timing a betrayal. You'll spend most of a game cooperating, which makes the double-cross hurt more.

Play Heist freeNo download. Your first hand is coached.

4. Secret Hitler

A hidden-role game for 5 to 10 players. Liberals try to pass liberal policies and find the hidden fascists, who try to lie their way into power. Every round turns into an argument about who's telling the truth. The rules are released under a Creative Commons license, and free fan-made browser versions such as secrethitler.io exist.

5. Among Us

The social deduction game most people already know. Crewmates do tasks while impostors sabotage and pick them off, then everyone argues in meetings. It's free on phones and cheap on PC, and it works best with a big group of friends on voice chat.

6. Codenames

Not a lying game, but it scratches the same "can I read my friends" itch. Two teams race to guess their secret words from one-word clues. The publisher runs a free browser version at codenames.game.

Which one should you try?

Play Heist freeNo download. Your first hand is coached.