BULLSHIT CARD GAME RULES

BULLSHIT CARD GAME RULES TITLE

OBJECTIVE OF BULLSHIT: Get rid of all your cards as fast as you can before all the other players.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 10 players (best with 3 to 6 players)

MATERIALS OF BULLSHIT: 52-card deck (no jokers)

TYPE OF GAME: Card game

AUDIENCE: Teens and Adults

OVERVIEW OF BULLSHIT

Bullshit is a popular card game that is known by many other names. If you haven’t heard of Bullshit before, you might have heard of Cheat, BS, Liar, or I Doubt It. A super fun card shedding game, Bullshit is the card game to play if you have anywhere between 2 and 10 players. However, with that said, this game is best played with 3 to 6 players. Unlike most traditional card games, as you might be able to infer from its name, this card game involves a bit of deception and courage in order to shed those cards.

Sounds pretty fun, right? Well, it is – as long as you don’t get caught lying! Do you want to learn how to play this game? Here are the rules for Bullshit.

SETUP FOR BULLSHIT

Before we begin play, let’s set up the game. You’ll need a single 52-card deck to play Bullshit. That’s a standard deck minus the 2 jokers. Shuffle the deck thoroughly to ensure all the cards are mixed up. Then, split and distribute the cards evenly among all players. Depending on the number of players, some players may end up with one or more cards than the other players. But don’t worry; this won’t affect the game in the long run.

You can play this card game with just 2 players, but of course, the more, the merrier!

HOW TO PLAY BULLSHIT: BULLSHIT RULES

Choose a player to go first. You can decide this however you want, but generally, the person who has the ace of spades goes first.

STARTING WITH THE ACE

The first player must always start by putting down one to four aces face-down on the table. They must announce this discarded card to the other players.

BULLSHIT CARD GAME PLAYER TURN

For example, the player that throws out the first card would say, “One ace”.

PLAY IN CONSECUTIVE ASCENDING ORDER

The turn then passes to the next player on the first player’s left, and they are required to discard the next card in consecutive ascending order. So, after the first player’s ace or aces, the next card or cards would be a two. The player has the option of discarding all the twos in his hand in one discard if they want. They must announce the card or cards they are discarding to the rest of the group as they place the cards face-down in the discard pile.

Play continues in this manner, with players putting down cards in consecutive ascending order. So, the next cards would be 3, then 4, then 5, etc.

BULLSHITTING

But what if you don’t have the card you need? For example, if the previous player put down two 4s, and you don’t have any 5s in your hand, aren’t you screwed? Hold onto your horses. This is where things get interesting! If a player does not have a 5 in hand in this example, they may discard an alternative card(s) but still claim it as a 5 and hope the other players don’t call them out on their bullshit!

Alternatively, if you do have one 5 but you’d like to attempt to get rid of more cards in your hand, you can bullshit and say you have three 5s, and put down two random cards alongside the 5.

CALLING BULLSHIT

If a player calls bullshit, then they must flip the questioned cards over to see if they are actually the cards they are supposed to be.

If the cards do not match, then the player who discarded them must take the whole discard deck into their hand! Yikes!

BULLSHIT CARD GAME SUCCESSFULL CALL

On the other hand, when the cards do match what was claimed, then the player who called bullshit must take the whole discard pile into their hand. A player may not call BS on themselves.

BULLSHIT CARD GAME FAILED CALL

Remember: A player can discard more than one card on their turn. For example, say you have three 10s in your hand and 10 falls on your turn, then you can discard all three 10s at once.

BULLSHIT CARD GAME STRATEGIES

Once you get the basics of the Bullshit game rules down, it’s time to employ some strategies to up your game and better your chances of winning!

PLAY DUMB

One option is to play dumb when it’s your turn and you have the card. For example, if your turn comes around, and it’s time for 9, if you have one or two 9s in your hand, pretend you’ve forgotten which card is next. Say something along the lines of, “Which card was next?” Then, pretend to fumble around while you lay down your two 9s, and wait for someone to call BS on your shenanigans.

WHENEVER POSSIBLE, BE TRUTHFUL

I know the name of the game is Bullshit, but you should really be telling the truth as much as you can. After all, you want to avoid grabbing all the cards in the discard pile. So, if it’s your turn, and you have to place 7s, and you happen to have at least one 7, put it down. Don’t try to be clever!

CALL BS ON LAST CARD

Chances are, when someone is on their last card, they won’t have the exact card they need to end the game. So, call bullshit – of course, unless you know they have the right card in their hand!

ARRANGE CARDS IN ORDER

Arrange the cards in order. However, instead of organizing them from A to K, organize them in the order the value will come to you. So, for example, if you go first and there are four players total, you’ll want to organize the cards as follows: A, 5, 9, K, 4…

END OF GAME

The gameplay continues in this way until someone has gone out and is declared the winner!

BULLSHIT Card game winner

Do you really enjoy playing Bullshit? We love it too! If you love it, you’ll also enjoy games like Coup and Liar’s Dice.

VARIATIONS OF BULLSHIT

Bullshit is a fairly simple game with straightforward rules. If you want to put a twist on the rules and play a bit differently, there are a few different variations of Bullshit rules you can play.

TWO DECKS

If more than 5 or 6 players are playing Bullshit, you might want to consider adding another deck to the mix. This will help make the game last longer than it would with just a single deck.

DESCENDING

Instead of the order of play being A, 2, 3… K, you can switch it up and go the other way. Start from 2, A, K, Q… 3, and so on.

SAME CARD

If a player has the same card value as the one played by the previous player, they may do so with this rule variation. So, for example, if Player A discards a 7, the next player can either discard 7s or 8s.

HIGH OR LOW

If you want the game to be easier, one variation of Bullshit game rules is allowing the next player to play a card that is higher OR lower than the previous card. So, for example, if the previous player discarded an 8, the next player can discard 7s or 9s.

NO TURNS

If you want to play a more chaotic game of Bullshit, instead of taking turns, allow any player, no matter where they are sitting, to put down cards. So, Player A can start the game by putting down an Ace, then Player C can hurry and put down 2s, and so on. This rule variation may allow for less bullshitting, however, as the game moves very fast.

DRINKING BULLSHIT CARD GAME

You can also turn Bullshit into a drinking card game. To play, simply follow the same rules as above, but anytime someone takes the entire discard pile (either because someone called them out on their bullshit or someone was wrong in calling bullshit on another player), they must also take a drink.

FAQ

What Do You Do When You Do Not Have the Next Card Needed for Bullshit?

In short, you lie. For Bullshit, you’re going to have to lie at some point. After all, that’s the name of the game! Just take however many cards you want to discard and play them face down on the discard pile. Don’t panic, because as long as no one calls Bullshit on your discarded card(s), you are fine!

How Many Decks of Cards Does Bullshit Use, and How Many Cards Are Dealt to Each Player?

For Bullshit, you only need a single of deck of 52 cards, minus the jokers. However, if one deck is not enough as you have more than 5 or 6 players, you can play with a second deck.

When Should You Call Bullshit?

You may call Bullshit on a player after they have declared their discarded card(s), though when you choose to do that is a personal question. A lot of players keep count of the cards that have been claimed as discarded. This along with the knowledge of what you have in your hand should help you to determine when to call bullshit on someone.

How Do You Win the Game Bullshit?

To win, a player must discard all the cards from their hand. The first player to do so wins the game!

Mia Kim
Latest posts by Mia Kim (see all)

50 thoughts on “BULLSHIT CARD GAME RULES”

    • Hi Tib, a player is not allowed to pass or fold. A player must play a card and claim it to be the next card in the legal sequence. This must be done even if this play is impossible or clearly a lie.

  4. So same scenario but let’s say the player has one 2, could the player put in that 2 but also add another number? On top of that could the player put down two different cards, like a 5 and 3, and name them as two 2s? I had a friend do this and it was a huge argument.

    • Hi Ariana, yes players can play any number of cards and claim them as the next rank of card. If a player has BS called on them, however, they will have to pick up the whole deck into their hand for being caught in a lie. So the example is a player who plays a 2, 3, and 5 and calls three 2s. If anyone calls the player on the three 2s then the player will be caught. I hope this helps!

  5. If a play ends without anybody lying about their cards, or calling BS, then where do all the cards go from that play?

    • Hi Kayla, when cards are played out and not challenged that are discarded facedown into the discard pile. This is the pile that is drawn whenever BS is called on them and they lied.

  6. So clarifying rule – what if a player says they have two twos, and they put an ace underneath and if someone calls BS and only checks the first two cards – is that cheating? Huge debate on how it’s completely a game of deception and lying so it’s a creative play

    • Hi TJ, yes all the cards must be checked to see if the claim was true. You as a discarder are not allowed to lie about the number of cards discarded, only the rank. I hope this helps.

    • Hi Anthony, once a player plays their last card the game is over and that player is the winner.

    • Hi Dee, while you cannot lie about the number of cards you are discarding. I do not believe there is an official rule stating you must tell or show other players how many cards you have remaining in hand. I hope this helps.

  9. What do you do if two or more players call bs simultaneously, and are all wrong? Do you evenly divvy up the pot between them?

    • Hi Nemo, only one player is allowed to call bs. If more than one player called it then the player closest in turn order would be the one to flip the card. If they are wrong and the card declared was what was flipped, then they must take the stack of cards into their hand. I hope this helps.

        • Hi Nakyah, before they place a card down, I would suggest the player either ask what the previous player put down, or what the next card to be played it. it might increase your chances to get BS called on you if you do not have the ended card. This is also a great tactic to get people to call bs on a fair play. I hope this helps.

  10. Let’s say that the next player is to put down 8’s but he says “2 9’s”. And a player calls bullshit. But the cards he put down were 8’s. Who takes the cards? Had a huge debate about it.

    • Hi Mac, the player who declared 2 9s would automatically take the cards as a penalty for an illegal play. You must follow the ranking order and declare the next number in line, and since he did not do that and instead declared an illegal number, he would have to take the cards regardless of what he actually had. I hope this helps, happy gaming!

    • Hi Calvin, if no one has gone out and won then yes you restart the rank order from the beginning. I hope this helps.

  13. So 3 of us are playing . I’m holding 4 fours 4 fives 4 sevens 4 tens 4 Jack’s 4 quenns . Person to the right has 4 8s. And person to the left has the rest . How are you really suppose to be able to bullshit someone when all the cards are in everyone’s hand

    • Hi Brian, your card layout is quite unusual, but the game is played around the constant changing of players’ hands. You wouldn’t know what another player has in their hand, typically. When playing to the discard pile cards are played facedown, so that all players don’t know if another player is being truthful or not unless they are called out. For your circumstance specifically, you may just have to play until the hands become more diverse for proper gameplay. I hope this helps.

    • Hi Howard, yes, someone can call BS on your last card discard, and someone often will. I hope this helps.

    • Hi Janet, absolutely, or they can lie about it as well. When playing the first round of aces the player can discard any number of cards (whether they are aces or not) and say “I’m discarding X(the number of cards being discarded) aces” The other players may decide to call the player out or accept their discard as truth. I hope this helps.

  16. One hundred, we played that you can hide cards underneath. BS can be called if they can see the extra cards. I NEVER cheat at any other game, even avert my eyeballs & tell people to adjust their cards if I can see them. But in BS, I hide SO many cards…

    • Hi Rae, I am not sure what you mean by out of the game? Once a player has emptied their hand they have won and the game ends. if other players are continuing to play for 2nd, 3rd, etc. place I would say those that have already emptied their hands probably should not call BS. When a player is wrong in calling BS they are supposed to pick up cards, and if you are already out of the game this would not work. I hope this helps clarify.

    • Yes if someone calls you out and you do not have the card needed you will have to draw the deck.

  21. Is there a bullshit version for two players?
    I remember playing it with one friend when i was young, but i cant remember how i played it.
    Thanks!

    • Hello Noa, I have found a variation that would work for two players. The game requires two decks of cards. Each player is dealt 25 cards to start. There will be a discard pile and a draw pile in this game. The game proceeds as in standard Bullshit but when a player is called out and was lying they must discard the pile of played cards and draw an equivalate amount of cards from the draw pile to their hand. Once the draw pile is empty the discard pile is shuffled and becomes the new draw pile. I hope this helps!

  22. If two players call bullshit on a discard…and happens to be wrong call then who should get the discard pile ? Or it is divided among them..what is the rule ?

  23. I have a question but I’ll put it in the form of a story. Player 1 is on queen but they say “one(amount)12(card)” Player 2 calls BS and Player 1 flips it over it’s one queen. Who takes the cards?

    • Hi April, I would say in Bullshit, the queen is not called 12. However, in other games the queen is given the numerical value of 12 often. I would suggest that player no longer refer to queen as 12 to prevent confusion.

  24. Hi there,
    What are the rules regarding when you can call bullshit. Here’s the scenario, a person throws down a card and the person across from them says “wait” but another person throws their cards down. Does it count if the person that said wait wanted to think about calling bullshit or not?

    • Hi Amanda, every player should be given the chance to call bullshit before the next player plays their cards.

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