I had a problem in Red Dead Redemption: Liar’s Dice. When I went into a bar for the first time and realized I could gamble, initially, I was unimpressed. Blackjack? Cool, I can play a few rounds of that! Poker? Too complex — didn’t understand Poker until Balatro. …Then, I wandered over to the Liar’s Dice area. “…What’s this?” I said, sitting down to play.
Before I knew it, three real-life hours had passed. I had roughly broken even after many dice-centric triumphs and devastations. To my credit, I did the honorable thing and left — I didn’t slowly get up, draw my gun, and start blasting to get everyone’s money. John Marston is a noble man, after all.
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Well, years after my Liar’s Dice duels, what game becomes the new hotness? Liar’s Bar. Where you play Liar’s Deck… and Liar’s Dice. “Oh, no,” I said to myself as I watched a group of YouTubers play. I felt the sweat on my forehead, the twitch of my fingers — I heard the rattling of the dice. And I knew. Papa’s addiction is back, baby.
‘red dead redemption’ was a secret gateway to ‘liar’s bar’
“Is it the game’s problem that you can’t control yourself?” YES. Because Rockstar knew they had me in that bar! Furthermore, they knew they had me when they made Liar’s Dice available in multiplayer! Then, for RDR2? No Liar’s Dice. You can’t just cut a person off cold turkey! The addiction goes dormant! However, I can concede I share a little bit of the blame, too.
I’m hooked on watching people play Liar’s Bar on YouTube. Stuck in a limbo between the temptation to roll the dice once more and knowing if I do, I’m right back in the thick of it. But, hey, it’s not all bad! I never gambled with any real money, though! Sure, it’s addict-adjacent. But, the only bank account being sliced in half is within the game itself! I can stop any time I want! …What do you mean “that’s what they all say”? It’s one game! I have about half an hour — just one more game, and I’ll leave! Promise!