A Simple Guide to Bluff Card Game Rules and Strategies
Also known as Cheat, I Doubt It, and BS (we’ll let you guess what that stands for), Bluff is a fun game for up to ten players whose goal is to discard all your cards. There are a few variations of this game and some unique takes on Bluff card game rules, but in this guide, we’ll discuss one of the simplest and most popular ways to play.
An Overview of How to Play Bluff Card Game Rules
Need some at home casino party ideas? Begin with a deck of cards, add some drinks, and teach everyone the rules of the Bluff card game. It will make for a fun and competitive night.
- Get three to ten players and a 52-card deck
- Remove the Ace of Spades and place it in the middle of all players
- Deal the cards to each player until there are none left
- The first player must place all of their 2s face-down on the Ace
- The second player does the same with their 3s
- Play continues in this manner until after the King. It then restarts with the Ace.
- If a player doesn’t have cards to play, they have two options:
- Pass: They don’t play any cards, and it moves to the next person
- Bluff: They pretend they have the required cards and place them down between one and four random cards.
- A player who suspects another player of bluffing can call them out.
- If they are right, the bluffer picks up all of the cards played to that point.
- If they are wrong, the accuser picks up the cards
- Play continues this way until no cards are left in the pile.
- The winner is the first one to play all of their cards.
Bluff Card Game Rules in Detail
Let’s look at those Bluff card game rules to help you master this game.
Prepare and Deal
You can play Bluff with three to ten players and only need a single 52-card deck (no jokers). Take out the Ace of Spades and place it within reach of everyone before shuffling the cards and dealing them to all players until no cards remain in the deck.
Some players may have more cards than others—that’s okay. Each player can look at their hands but should keep their cards to themselves.
Start of Play
Choose a player to go first. You can roll a dice, play Rock, Paper, Scissors, or just let the person who most recently had a birthday go first. That player must locate the 2s in their hand and place them face-down on top of the Ace. They should then state how many they put—one 2, two 2s, etc.
Play continues clockwise, with each player taking their turn to place consecutive cards. So, the next player places 3s, the next one places 4s, and so on. After the King, the play switches back to an Ace, and the process starts again.
Unless, of course, they don’t have any of those cards. And that’s where things get interesting.
Bluffing in the Bluff Card Game
If a player can’t play the right card at that moment, they can simply pass and move play to the next person. Alternatively, they can choose one to four cards from their hand and bluff that they are playing the right one.
As the cards are played face-down, no one knows who is telling the truth. The trick is to make the move believable, and while playing more cards is beneficial, it’s also suspicious.
If a player suspects an opponent of bluffing, they can call “Bluff”, and the cards are then turned over. If it was a bluff, the person who played those cards must pick up all cards played to that point. If they were telling the truth, the player who incorrectly called the bluff must pick them up.
How the Game Ends
The Bluff card game ends when one player has played all their cards. If all players pass, the pile of played cards is discarded (none are revealed), and a new round begins.
How Many Players Do You Need for the Bluff Card Game?
It is best played with three or more players. It is possible to play with two, but some tweaks may be needed. If you only have two players, it means the deck is being split evenly. It should make the game quicker, but it also makes it less likely that there will be a lot of passes/bluffs.
The bluffing aspect is also better when there are multiple players, as everyone can join in with the fun when a player gets called on their bluff or is confident that a friend is bluffing, only to be proved wrong.
Technically, as noted previously, you can go to as many as ten players in this game. But that means that everyone only has a few cards. It does make passing/bluffing more likely, which should get very interesting, but it also means that players are forced to wait a long time before they make their moves.
The ideal number of players for a game of Bluff is about four or five. This provides a nice blend of fast gameplay with regular bluffs and the fluidity that makes this game entertaining.
Summary: Rules for Bluff Card Game
As noted in our guide to who invented poker playing cards, party and parlor games have existed for centuries. These are the reasons cards were invented, and Bluff is a perfect example of how card games should be played. It’s fun, simple, and can be enjoyed by up to ten players simultaneously. There will be many friendly accusations and laughs; in the end, someone will walk away as the winner and claim bragging rights in the process!
More Games Common Queries
How do you play Bluff the card game?
You need up to ten players and a 52-card deck. Start with the Ace of Spades in the middle, and each player must then place consecutive face-down cards on the Ace (the first player plays 2s, the second plays 3s, and so on). They can pass or play other cards as a bluff if they can’t play. But a bluff can be called by other players—if it’s right, the bluffer picks up the deck; if it’s wrong, the accuser does.
What is the joker card in Bluff?
You don’t need jokers in this game; remove them from the deck before you play.
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