Bluffit
Bluffit Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 7 sets of cards, numbered 1-10
- 6 sets of special cards for advanced play
Setup
Give each player an identical set of cards, numbered from 1-10. Special cards are not used in the base game. See 'Special Cards for Advanced Play' for how to use them.
Shuffle 10 cards numbered 1-10 and place a number of them, equal to the player count, face up on the table. These are the scoring cards used for the first round. The remaining cards are set aside and not used again. Decide the starting player.
How to Play
The game is divided into 10 NORMAL ROUNDS and a FINAL ROUND. At the end of the final round, players count their points and whoever has the most points wins the game. The cards have values that represent both their strength, and the amount of points they give when scoring.
Each round has THREE PHASES: THE BIDDING PHASE, THE BLUFFING PHASE and THE SCORING PHASE.
The Bidding Phase
All players simultaneously place a card from their hand face down in front of them. This card will serve as their strength card in the Bluffing Phase. When all players have done so, the Bluffing Phase begins.
Example from a 4-player game (David, Emma, Lucy, Eric): At the start of this round, four scoring cards are placed face up: 10, 4, 2, and 6. All players simultaneously place a card from their hand face down in front of them.
The Bluffing Phase
The starting player must choose any one of the scoring cards from the table and place it face up in front of their strength card. Taking turns in clockwise direction from the starting player, the other players must now choose one of two possible actions:
A) Choose one of the remaining scoring cards from the table and place it face up in front of their own strength card.
OR
B) Challenge another player who has already picked a scoring card from the table. When doing so, these two players secretly reveal their strength cards to each other. The player with the highest number wins the scoring card and keeps it in front of them until the bluffing phase ends. If there is a tie, the challenging player wins.
Remember: The player who has won the scoring card can still be challenged by any remaining players in this round.
Example: David is the starting player and chooses the 10. Emma goes next and chooses the 6. Lucy then challenges Eric, who is now holding the 10. ... Eric decides to challenge David, who is currently holding the 10. They secretly compare strength cards. Eric has an 8, David has a 5, so Eric wins the challenge and takes the 10 from David. Lucy then challenges Eric, who is now holding the 10. She also has an 8, but since ties are won by the challenger, she beats Eric and takes the 10.
The Scoring Phase
When all players have had one turn, the round ends. Any cards in the middle of the table that were not chosen are removed from the game.
Players who still have a scoring card in front of them move that card to their score pile. The score pile is kept face up, so other players can always see the top scoring card in their pile.
The starting player for the next round is the player who won the highest scoring card. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker will be the player who had the earliest turn in the current round.
All strength cards in front of the players are collected and secretly shuffled. They are then dealt out in the middle of the table to become the scoring cards for the next round. Game continues until players have no more cards. Then move on to the final round.
Example: Emma scores 6, Lucy scores 10. David and Eric score nothing. The remaining scoring cards (4 and 2) are removed from the game. Lucy will be the starting player, as she won the highest scoring card.
Final Round
In the final round, as players have no more strength cards on their hands, they must now pick up their score pile to use as their hand of cards for the final round. Players with fewer than two cards in their score pile do not participate in this round, as they do not have enough cards to play. Any card played from the score pile as a strength card in this round is lost, and will not count as points at the end of the game.
The final round is played as normal.
Game End
At the end of the final round, the strength cards played are removed from the game. All players count the points in their score pile. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, all tied players win.
Bluffit for 2 Players
A 2-player game is played as normal, except the strength cards are not secretly shuffled during the scoring phase, since both players know who played what in the previous round.
Combined Cards Variant
During the bluffing phase, if two or more scoring cards on the table have the same value, players may choose some or all of them together during their turn, BUT only as long as the total value of the collected cards does not exceed 10. This variant increases the likelihood of challenges during the round.
Special Cards for Advanced Play
Any combination of the special cards can be added to all players' starting hands. All players will receive identical special cards. Each special card replaces the normal card with the same number and keeps the same strength and scoring value. Players do not use both versions at the same time.
The Optimistic 1
During a challenge, The Optimistic 1 can defeat any 10. Against all other cards, it acts as a normal 1. If The Optimistic 1 is used in a game that includes The Toxic 10, its ability to defeat any 10 also applies to The Toxic 10.
The Flipped 5
During a challenge, The Flipped 5 beats any card with a strength of 6 or higher, but loses to any card with a strength of 4 or lower. Challengers still win ties, including against another Flipped 5.
The Nervous 9
When you are being challenged by another player, the strength of The Nervous 9 is reduced to 1. So, when you are the challenging player, you win over all other cards, except a 10 or a Flipped 5, but when you are being challenged by another player, you will lose to all other cards, except a Flipped 5 (as the value 1 will win over a Flipped 5).
The Toxic 10
During a challenge, if two players both have played a Toxic 10 as their Strength Card, both players will lose the challenge. The chosen scoring card (that the players were playing for) is returned to the table, for others to choose.