Cheat (also called Bullshit, I Doubt It, or Bluff) is a shedding game where the cards are played face down and you are allowed - encouraged - to lie about what they are. Anyone who does not believe you can challenge, and whoever is wrong picks up the whole pile. A game takes about 15 minutes.

What You Need

Players: 3-10. Four to six is best.
Deck: One standard 52-card deck. Use two decks shuffled together above about six players.
Extras: Nothing but a straight face.

Key Terms

The pile: The face-down stack of played cards in the middle.
Claim: What you announce as you play - a number of cards and a rank, such as "three kings".
Challenge: Calling "cheat!" on the last player, forcing their cards to be turned over.
The rank sequence: Play follows ranks in order around the table - aces, then 2s, then 3s, and so on.

Setup

Deal the entire deck out clockwise. Some players may have one card more than others.
Sort your hand by rank so you can find what you need quickly.
Whoever is to the dealer's left starts, and must claim aces.

How to Play

On your turn, place one or more cards face down on the pile and announce what they are: "two fives".
The rank you must claim is fixed by the sequence, not by choice. The first player claims aces, the next claims 2s, the next 3s, and so on up through kings and back around to aces.
You may be telling the truth or lying completely. The cards stay face down either way.
After you play, any other player may call "cheat!" before the next player has taken their turn.
When challenged, turn your cards face up:
- If they were all the rank you claimed, the challenger was wrong and picks up the entire pile.
- If any card was not what you claimed, you were caught and you pick up the entire pile.
Either way the cards are turned face down again, the pile goes to whoever lost the challenge, and play continues with the next rank in the sequence.

Scoring & Winning

There is no score. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins.
One important catch: if you play your last cards and are then successfully challenged, you pick the pile up and are back in the game.
Some groups keep playing to find out who finishes last.

Example

It is your turn to claim 7s and you have none at all. You put two cards face down and say "two sevens". Nobody challenges, and two junk cards leave your hand for free.

Variations

Free choice: instead of a fixed sequence, you may claim any rank one higher or lower than the previous claim.
Descending: run the sequence backwards from kings.
Quantity limits: cap plays at four cards, since claiming more than four of a rank is an obvious lie with a single deck.
Two decks: doubling up makes claims much harder to disprove by counting.

Tips for New Players

Lie early, while the pile is small. Getting caught costs you almost nothing on the first few turns.
Count what you have already seen. If you hold two queens and someone claims three, at least one of theirs is a lie.
Watch who is close to running out. It is worth a risky challenge to stop someone finishing.
Play your genuine cards at a normal pace. Beginners give themselves away by hesitating only when they lie.