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10 Best Bluffing Games You Can Play With Cards – Destructoid

Good bluffing card games are something I am always looking for. There is hardly anything better than lying to your friends and betraying their trust. Here are the best bluffing games you can play with cards.

cockroach poker bluffing card game (2)
Image: Jacques Zeimet

The bluffing game that has given me and my friends the most fun is Cockroach Pokerthe card game that has nothing to do with poker. This card game has only colors, without numbers or other rankings, because the color is the only thing that matters.

Players take turns giving a card from their deck to someone else and telling him or her what color it is. The other player must decide whether to lie or tell the truth. If he or she is right, the first player gets the card. If he or she is wrong, he or she gets the card. When you are dealt a card, place it in front of you.

If someone has four cards of the same suit in front of him, he loses and everyone else wins. Cockroach PokerIt’s about not finishing last and fooling your friends by taking cards that bring them closer to losing.

coyote bluffing card game
Image: Heidelberger Spieleverlag

Coyote is one of the more interesting bluffing games, because everyone knows everyone else’s cards, but no one knows their own card. That means no one knows the whole truth…

In Coyote, Each card has a value, and players take turns calling out numbers that are lower than the combined total of all the cards, but each player must call out a higher number than the previously called out value. The game ends when someone challenges the previous value.

A numerical reverse bluff game, Coyote offers the thrill of knowing just enough to maybe Be sure of your challenge before the whole truth comes out.

one night ultimate werewolf bluff card game
Image: Bezier Games

One Night Ultimate Werewolf presents an interesting twist on the standard Werewolf formula, in that no one dies and the story only takes place over one night.

This night, players representing many different roles will be activated one by one. Some roles will swap role cards with others and themselves, and other roles will have more unique abilities and winning conditions. In the morning, no one will be able to see their role card, even if it has been swapped.

Once the classic version of Werewolf has been chewed up, adding multiple roles and just one night leads to a lot of bluffing and deception, especially when your own role (and side!) may have changed.

sheriff of nottingham bluffing card game
Image: CMON

Sheriff of Nottingham presents a larger card game with bluffing as a core component. With the role of Sheriff being passed around and everyone else being a merchant, you must bluff your way past all the other players – and make sure no one bluffs you!

Each round the traders will try to stock up on the best goods, but the best are all contraband items. The Sheriff of that round may search any bag he wishes for said contraband, but if the trader is telling the truth and is clean, the Sheriff will receive a penalty.

A balancing act between finding the right bags and getting your bags past all the other sheriffs, the Sheriff of Nottingham presents a unique and varied bluffing game.

two rooms and a tree bluff card game
Image: Tuesday Knight Games

Two rooms and a bang is an exceptional bluffing game that I could not leave out of this list. The use of cards is minimal in this card game and more emphasis is placed on the communication between the players and their roles.

There will be two teams. One of those players will be the president, and another will be the bomber. At the end of a round, both teams must switch players, but if the bomber and the president are placed in the same room, the bomber wins!

The players on each team will have to communicate and bluff to try and figure out who is who before the switch takes place, leading to a very explosive time.

skull bluffing card game
Image: Space Cowboys

Skull is a game of bluffing and gambling, because every challenge carries more risk. You need two successful challenges to win, so no one can rely on luck alone!

Each deck in Skull consists of roses and a skull, and players take turns placing one of these cards face down. A player wins a challenge if they can turn over the number of cards they named and draw only roses. However, if they reveal a skull, they lose their bet.

Since everyone needs roses to win, skulls must be strategically placed so they don’t come back and ruin your plans.

spyfall bluffing card game
Image: Cryptozoic

Spy case is a quick and easy bluffing game where the conversation is what will make or break the secret spy. There are many unique locations that set the stage for the game, which allows for a lot of replayability and variety between games.

In a group, there will be a spy who tries to blend in and a special agent who does his best to unmask the spy. The spy does not know what location all the other players have received, so when players start asking each other questions about their location, the spy must be ready to give a convincing answer.

At the end of the round, the players must decide who they think the spy is, based on all the answers given. The purely verbal deduction is always an exciting part.

the chameleon bluffing card game
Image: Big Potato

The Chameleon is similar to Spy case in the beginning, because one player doesn’t know a piece of information that all the other players know, and he/she has to adapt to the crowd.

In this case, the piece of information that everyone but the chameleon has access to is a single word. Using carefully chosen words and codes, the other payers must subtly identify who knows the word by association, and the chameleon must become wise to the word, or be just as careful, quickly.

If the other players are smart enough, they can talk just carefully enough to warn everyone except the chameleon himself. In this bluffing game, everyone tries to bluff the bluffer too.

mascarade bluffing card game
Image: Repos Production Store

Masquerade is a bluffing game of masks with powers. In this game bluffs And If you tell the truth about your secret mask, you will earn gold coins, which you can use to win the game.

Each mask has a different ability, but by using them to your advantage, you betray their identity. You have to find out the masks of other players without betraying the identity of your own mask. During the game, however, the masks can change hands so often that you lose track or even doubt your own identity.

In a bluffing game, where you may be bluffing yourself, try not to lose your head.

traitors on board bluffing card game
Image: SAVANA

Traitors on board is a more explosive bluffing game between pirates trying to fill a chest with gold and mutineers trying to sabotage the efforts and sow chaos.

The pirates will try to fill the chest with valuable items, but the mutineers will try to lower the value. With action cards and the ability to throw others off the plank, there is more to the game than just lying to each other.

With so much room for aggression and action, no player is safe from the mistrust of others, even if you are a pirate.

Now that you have a nice selection of bluffing card games, you can lie to your friends the next time you meet up. Have fun!


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