How to Play Cheat Card Game (BS)
Cheat is a card game about lying and deception just as much as it is about cunning and skill. This game is widely known under other names, such as Lies, as well as BS.
Objective of Cheat:
The objective of Cheat is to get rid of all your cards before anyone else. This is done in a relatively orderly fashion, but the best thing is that all cards are face down and a player can lie about what they put on the table. The only way this can catch up with a player is if someone calls their bluff.
Setup:
Take one standard deck of cards (52) and deal them clockwise around the table until the deck is gone. Some players may end up with an extra card but each participant has the same equal opportunity to win the game. Player with the Ace of Spades goes first, playing it face up so that everyone understands this is in fact the Ace of Spades. This player can lay down any other Aces that may be in their hand. All face up. With each turn, exclaim the quantity of cards being laid down, and what the card is. For example, “one Ace”. Players cannot lie about the quantity of cards being played.
How to Play:
After the first player plays the Ace of Spades. the deception can begin on the following turn. Playing their cards face down from here on out, the next player is obliged to lay down any cards in their hand that follow the sequence started. So they would play any two’s they may have in their hand. If they do not posses any two’s in their hand, they may lie. This means that they might say “one two” and place one 10 down. The next player will claim to place down a certain number of threes and so on.
As the game goes on, you may discover or have suspicion that a player is lying about what they play, based on the cards you know have been played or that you have in your hand. If you want to call a player out for their lie, you can do so before the next player after them takes their turn. To call someone on their bluff, simply state, “Cheat” “Lie” or “BS”. The player who is suspected of lying takes the cards they have just put down and shows them to all the players. If this player is caught lying, the liar takes the entire deck into their hand. If the player suspected of lying is in fact telling the truth, the player who called out “Cheat” has to take the entire deck into their own hand.
Once this happens, lying in higher quantities may become more difficult.
The game goes on until one player successfully gets rid of all their cards. This game can also be played with multiple decks, making lying a bit easier.
How to Play the Drinking Game Version
Using the rules above, if a person calls “Cheat” on another player, that player is forced to take a drink if they are wrong. If the person calling “Cheat” is right, the player trying to bluff the table is required to drink an amount equal to the number of cards played (the discard pile).
Please drink safely and responsibly.
