OBJECTIVE OF BULLSHIT: The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards as fast as you can, and before all the other players.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-10 players
MATERIALS: 52-card deck (no jokers)
RANK OF CARDS: A (High), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
TYPE OF GAME: Shedding Card Game
AUDIENCE: Teen, Adult
OVERVIEW
Bullshit is a shedding card game playable by 3 to 10 players. The goal of the game if to be the first player to empty their hand and be declared the winner.
SET UP
Split the cards evenly among players. One player may have an extra card depending on how may players there are. All the cards are dealt and there is no stockpile for this game.
GAMEPLAY
The person that has the ace of spades goes first. To take their turn, a player’s cards are played face down into the discard pile in the middle of the table and announced.
For example, the player that throws out the first card would say, “one ace”.
The turn then passes to the next player and they are required to throw out the next card in ranking order. In this example, the next card would be a two. The player has the option of throwing out all the twos in his hand in one discard.
If a player does not have a two in hand, they must discard an alternative card(s) but still claim it as a two, and hope that the other players believe them.
If a player calls BS! then they are allowed to flip the cards over to see if they are actually what they’ve been claimed to be.
If the cards do not match what the player stated, then the player that discarded must take the entirety of the deck into his hand.
When the cards do match what was claimed, then the player that called BS! is required to take the entirety of the stack into his hand. A player may not call BS! on themselves.
Remember that a player can discard more than one card at a time. For example, if you have three jacks in your hand and jack falls on your turn, then you can layout all three jacks in that one turn.
END OF GAME
The game play continues in this way until someone has gone out and is declared the winner.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What do you do when you do not have the next card needed for Bullshit?
In short, you lie. For Bullshit you will have to lie at times more than likely. Just take however many cards you card to discard and they will be played face down to the discard. Don’t panic, because as long as no one calls Bullshit on your discard you are fine.
How many decks of cards does Bullshit use, and how many number of cards are dealt to each player?
For Bullshit only one deck of cards is used. However, if one deck is not enough, there are similar card games that are played with more decks.
The deck is dealt as evenly as possible amongst the players.
When should you call Bullshit?
You may call Bullshit on a player after they have declared their discard, 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 out 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.
(71 votes, average: 3.48 out of 5)
Good Directions
Thanks Sophie!
Can you call bs on yourself?
Hi Tib, no a player is not allowed to call BS on themselves.
Or pass or fold?
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.
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!
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.
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.
Can you place a card after somebody has already gone out of cards
Hi Anthony, once a player plays their last card the game is over and that player is the winner.
Do you have to show others how many cards you are still holding in your hand?
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.
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.
If a player doesn’t remember what card to call out next what happens
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.
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!
what happens when you get to kings…. do you start over at ace?
Hi Calvin, if no one has gone out and won then yes you restart the rank order from the beginning. I hope this helps.
how many decks of cards do you use?
Hi Debbie, one deck of cards without jokers is used.
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.
If you lay down your last card do you win or can someone call bs on your last card
Hi Howard, yes, someone can call BS on your last card discard, and someone often will. I hope this helps.
When the first ace of spades is played can that player play more aces if they have any
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.
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…
That is a very fun variation! I’ve heard of a few similar variations for Liar’s Dice as well!
When someone calls BS do you continue on with the next number in sequence? Or do start back at Aces?
Hi Adam, you continue with the next number in rank order. I hope this helps.
Hi,
Just wondering if you are out of the game can you still call bullshit on the other players
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.
so to play this youre throwing cards Ace to king whats next after King? back to ace?
Hi Darryl, yes once the cycle ace to king is completed you will start over at ace again.
What happens if my last card is a king when it is queens and i play it. can someone call me out and have me pick up the rest?
Yes if someone calls you out and you do not have the card needed you will have to draw the deck.
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!