How to Play Cheat: Rules for the Bluffing Card Game

In most card games, lying gets you thrown out. In Cheat, lying is the whole point, and the only crime is getting caught. Learning how to play Cheat takes about two minutes: you put cards face down, say what they are, and hope nobody calls your bluff. Here are the full rules, from the deal to the last card, plus the common variations and the tactics that win.

What you need to play

The Cheat card game needs nothing more than a standard 52-card deck. One pack works for up to four players. With five or more, two packs are usually shuffled together so that hands don’t get too thin. There are no jokers, no scoring pads and no board.

Three players is the practical minimum, and the game gets livelier as the table grows.

The game goes by several names. Cheat is the usual name in Britain, and many card game books call it the I Doubt It card game. In the US it often goes by a ruder name. Wikipedia’s article on Cheat covers these names and a number of regional versions.

The deal and the goal

Shuffle and deal the entire deck, one card at a time, clockwise. Some players will end up with one card more than others, which is fine. Everyone picks up their hand and keeps it hidden.

Your goal is to be the first player with no cards left, by discarding onto a central pile without getting stuck with it.

Choose the first player at random. Play then moves clockwise around the table.

How to play Cheat: taking a turn

The heart of the game is a fixed sequence of ranks. The first player must claim Aces, the next player 2s, the next 3s, and so on up to Kings. After Kings, the sequence wraps back around to Aces and keeps going until someone wins.

On your turn:

1. Pick your cards. Choose one or more cards from your hand. Some groups cap it at four, since a deck only has four of each rank.
2. Discard face down. Place them face down on top of the pile.
3. Make your claim. Say out loud how many cards you played and the current rank, for example “two 7s.”

Your cards don’t have to match your claim. If you have two 7s, you can play them honestly. If you have no 7s at all, you still have to play, so you must lie and pass off other cards as 7s. You can also bluff when you don’t have to, such as tucking a stray King in with your two real 7s and calling it “three 7s.”

An example round

Four players, Ana, Ben, Cal and Dee, are playing. Ana starts and plays one card, saying “one Ace.” It really is an Ace. Ben is up next and must claim 2s. He has none, so he plays a 9 and says “one 2.” Cal plays three cards and says “three 3s,” but only two of them are 3s. Dee holds all four 4s and happily plays them as “four 4s.” Each of those plays could have been challenged, which is where the game gets interesting.

Calling Cheat

After any play, any other player who thinks the claim is false can call “Cheat” (or “I doubt it”). The challenge settles the question at once:

1. The cards just played are turned face up.
2. If even one of them is not the claimed rank, the claim was a lie. The player who lied picks up the whole pile and adds it to their hand.
3. If every card matches the claim, the challenge was wrong. The player who called Cheat picks up the whole pile instead.

Either way, the pile goes into someone’s hand, and the next player starts a fresh pile. Play continues with the player to the left of the player who was challenged, claiming the next rank in the sequence. The rank doesn’t reset after a challenge.

Timing matters. You can challenge a play only until the next player puts down their cards. Once the next play is made, the earlier one is safe forever, even if it was an obvious lie.

Sooner or later, two people will call Cheat at the same moment. The standard rules don’t settle who gets the challenge, so agree on a tiebreak before you start, such as the first voice heard.

Cheat card game rules for going out

The first player to empty their hand wins, but there is a catch. Under the standard rules, your last play can still be challenged like any other. If you put down your final card and someone calls Cheat, the cards are turned over:

• If your last play was true, the caller takes the pile and you win.
• If your last play was a lie, you take the whole pile and play goes on. Instead of winning, you may be holding the biggest hand at the table.

Because of this, everyone pays close attention to a player on their last few cards. Many players will call on a final card almost automatically, since there is nothing to gain by letting a winning lie slide.

The basic game has no scoring. It ends as soon as one player is out, and that player wins.

Common variations

Because Cheat is passed on mostly by word of mouth, house rules differ a lot. These are the variations you are most likely to run into:

• Passing: a common British variant lets you pass your turn instead of lying.
• One card at a time: some groups allow only a single card per turn, which makes the game longer and each lie easier to judge.
• Descending order: the sequence runs Ace, King, Queen, Jack and down instead of up.
• Up or down: each player may claim either the rank just above or just below the last claim, and some versions also allow the same rank again. This gives the next player more options and makes lies harder to prove.
• Same rank all round: in the Russian game Veryu Ne Veryu, the first player chooses a rank and everyone must keep claiming that same rank.
• Reveal everything: in some versions, all the cards in the pile are turned face up after a challenge, not just the last play.
• Two decks: big groups shuffle two packs together, which means a claim of “five Queens” can actually be true.

Strategy tips

Bluff with the cards you need least. You can work out which ranks you will be asked for on your next few turns. With four players, if you are claiming 3s now, your next claims will be 7s, then Jacks, then 2s. Hold on to cards of those ranks and bluff with the rest.

Count the cards in your own hand. Your hand is your best evidence. If you hold three Queens and someone claims two Queens, at least one of their cards is a lie. That’s the safest call in the game.

Remember what you have seen. Cards turned over in a challenge are now in a known hand. If you watched someone pick up two 5s, a claim of four 5s from another player soon after is almost certainly false.

Weigh the pile before you call. A wrong call on a small pile costs a few cards. A wrong call on a pile of twenty can cost you the game. Save risky calls for small piles and near-certain ones for big piles.

Tell the truth when it matters most. Big multi-card claims and final cards draw the most suspicion. If you can, keep a true card for your last play, so a challenge hands the pile to the challenger.

Play Cheat online

The quickest way to learn the rhythm of bluffing and calling is to try it. Our free Cheat game runs in your browser against two, three or four computer players and follows the standard rules above. You play one to four cards a turn, call Cheat or let claims go, and the cards flip over in front of you when someone challenges.

If you like shedding games with a race to empty your hand but without the lying, try President, where each play must beat the last one and the finishing order decides who runs the next round.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards can you put down in Cheat?

The standard rules let you play one or more cards on a turn, all claimed as the current rank. Many groups cap it at four, because that is all there is of one rank in a single deck. Some variations allow only one card per turn.

What happens if you call Cheat and you are wrong?

You pick up the whole discard pile, including the cards that were just played. That’s why a call is a gamble, especially when the pile is large.

Is Cheat the same as I Doubt It?

Usually, yes. Cheat is the common British name, and I Doubt It is the name used in many card game books for the same game. A few sources also use I Doubt It for a version in which every player claims the same rank.

Can you win Cheat on a lie?

Yes, if nobody calls it. Under the standard rules, your final play can be challenged, and you win only if it survives. If someone calls and your last cards were a lie, you take the pile and the game continues.

How many people can play Cheat?

Three or more is best, and it plays well up to about ten. Use one 52-card deck for up to four players and two decks shuffled together for five or more.

Conclusion

Cheat is simple to learn: claim the next rank, play face down, and decide whether to believe everyone else. The skill is in choosing when to lie, when to call and when to keep quiet. Deal a hand with friends, or practice your poker face against our computer players first. When you want a break from bluffing, the Chrome Dino game on our homepage is one click away.