Card Game 101 #6: Cheat

Cheat (a.k.a. "I Doubt It") is a great card game to play at parties or game nights. All you need is a deck of cards and three or more players! What really makes this game stand out, though, is that it allows players to bluff! Read on to learn the basics of the card game Cheat.

✔ A standard 52-card deck

✔ 3 or more players

First of all, choose the dealer. The dealer can be selected by the players themselves, or using the following method:

- Each player draws one card from the deck. The player who draws the highest number gets to deal (for this purpose, count aces as 1, jacks as 11, queens as 12, and kings as 13). If two or more players tie for the highest number drawn, have the tying players re-draw from the deck.

Next, the entire deck is dealt out in a clockwise fashion and starting with the player to the dealer's left. It is okay if some players have one more card than others.

The objective of Cheat is to be the first player to run out of cards. Cards can be played individually or in sets of two, three, or four.

The game starts with the player to the left of the dealer playing aces. Then, play moves clockwise with the rank of the card(s) played going up by one. After the king is reached, the cycle starts over with aces being played again.

On a player's turn, they can play a card in the current rank or play a set of two, three or four cards all in that rank. For example, if a player is supposed to play 3s, they can play one, two, three, or all four 3s into the middle.

As the player whose turn it is puts down their card(s), they will announce the number (how many) and the rank of the card(s) being played. For instance, a player may announce "three 5s" or "one king". Players may bluff and play a card (or cards) other than the one(s) they are supposed to play. The cards played are laid face down in the middle and never shown to other players, with the following exception.

If a player thinks that another player is bluffing, they will announce "Cheat" or "I Doubt It". Then, the last card(s) played will be revealed. If the accusing player is correct (i.e. the player bluffed), the player who bluffed must take all the cards in the middle. If the accusing player is incorrect (i.e. the player did not bluff), the accusing player must take all the cards in the middle.

✔ Always announce what you are supposed to play. For instance, if you're supposed to play 5s but choose to play a 7 instead, you must announce "one 5" rather than "one 7".

✔ When a player empties their hand, another player must announce "Cheat" or "I Doubt It" to ensure they are not ending the game on a bluff.

Thanks for reading!