So, you want to know how to BULLCRAP? Here’s how!
THE GOAL
The objective is to get rid of all the cards in your hand.
THE DECK
We use a 32 card deck with cards ranging from Sevens to Aces. Discard any cards below Seven. This deck is designed to be played with a maximum of 4 Players. Separate out the wild cards that you are using and place them in a separate pile. This pile we’ll call the Reward Pile.
DEAL
Shuffle the deck and deal one card at a time to each player until everyone has the same number of cards. Discard any additional cards.
GAMEPLAY
The person with the Ace of spades starts the game. Unless it’s been discarded, then it’s the person with the next highest spade.
The first player places any number of cards they like face down in a pile in the center called the Play Pile. They then make claim. The claim is the number of cards they say they have put down and a rank.
For example, a player may say “Three Aces”. The cards they played might be different to this claim.
CALLING BULLCRAP!
Once a player has made a claim, it is up to the other players to decide whether their claim is true or false. If a player believes the claim is a lie, they can call “BULLCRAP!”. Upon doing this the cards from the last claim must be revealed.
CONSEQUENCES
If the player’s claim was false, they must pick up all the cards in the play pile.
For example, if a player claimed: “Three Aces”, but actually played Two Kings and a Queen, they must pick up all of the cards in the Play Pile.
If the player’s claim was true, the person calling “BULLCRAP!” must pick up all the cards in the pile.
For example, if a player claimed “Three Aces”, and they actually played Three Aces, the caller must pick up all of the cards in the Play Pile.
Whoever has picked up the cards then starts their turn. They can choose any rank to begin again.
REWARDS
When a player successfully calls “BULLCRAP!”, they are given a wild card as a reward. Take a card off the top of the Reward Pile. You can play your wild on your next turn.
THE SEQUENCE
Once a player has finished their turn, if nobody has called “BULLCRAP!”, the next player clockwise has their turn. When they make a claim, they need to use the rank above or below the last claimed rank.
For example, if the last claim was “Two Nines”, the next claim must be “Tens” or “Eights”.
If the last claim was “Aces”, the next claim can be “Eights” (the lowest rank in this deck), or “Kings” (one rank below Aces).
Similarly, if the last claim was “Eights”, the next claim can be “Aces” (the highest rank in this deck), or “Nines” (one rank above Eights).
The game progresses until a player has played all of their cards. They then should declare themselves the “King of Crap!”, and brag about it all week.
SO, WHAT ARE THE WILDS FOR?
The wilds introduce new rules into the gameplay to make it more challenging and fun.
Depending on the style of game, they can be earned as rewards, allocated to each player at the start, or shuffled into the deck!
Most wild cards are returned to the Reward pile after they are played. See Recommended Decks below for more on how to use them!
CHAMELEON
The Chameleon card becomes whatever you claim it is. It comes into play if someone calls “BULLCRAP!”.
For example: You play a Chameleon with a Jack of Spades, and your claim is “2 Jacks”. When someone calls “BULLCRAP”, the caller will lose because the Chameleon is played as a “Jack”.
However, if you play a Chameleon with a Jack of Spades, and your claim is “2 Kings”. A “BULLCRAP” call results in you losing. While the Chameleon is played as a “King”, you still have the “Jack” which makes your claim a lie.
SHIELD
This card can be played with up to 3 other cards. The Shield comes into play if someone calls “BULLCRAP!”.
If the last claim has a shield in it, no matter what other cards are in the claim, the caller loses and must pick up the play pile.
For example: You play a shield with the Ace of Diamonds and claim: “2 Kings”. When someone calls “BULLCRAP” on that claim, they will lose.
DISTRACT
Play the Distract card at the start of your turn. Place the card down and nominate who is distracted. That player must skip a turn this round.
Once played, the Distract wild can then be placed at the bottom of the Reward pile.
You can then continue with playing your turn. NOTE: A distracted player can still call “BULLCRAP!”.
GIFT
This card allows you to give some of your give cards away to other players.
It can be played with up to 3 other cards. When it’s your turn, choose your cards and give them directly to the player of your choice.
The Gift wild is then be placed at the bottom of the Reward pile.
Your turn ends after playing this card.
NUKE
The Nuke destroys all of the cards currently in the play pile. It can be played with up to 3 other cards.
On your turn, choose your cards and play them face up with the Nuke wild and yell “NUKE!”.
The entire Play pile including the cards you just played, are permanently removed from the game. Your turn ends after playing this card.
POOP
Play this card on your turn. Choose your victim, play the card face up and tell them “POOP!”. That person must pick up the entire play pile including the Poop wild.
It’s the equivalent of calling “BULLCRAP”, but without the risk. Your turn ends after playing this card.
X-RAY
This card can be used to force a person to reveal what they are playing as they are playing it. At the start of your turn, play the X-Ray card face up, and give it to the victim of your choice. You can then continue with playing your turn.
When it is your victim’s turn, they must play their cards face up!
Once “BULLCRAP” is called on your victim, the X-Ray card is placed at the bottom of the Reward pile.
RECOMMENDED DECKS
There are endless variations of play! Some of these decks are our favorite.
For Two Player games, we recommend removing randomly half of the deck, otherwise it’s too easy to guess what cards your opponent has.
CHICK OR TREAT
This is a fun one to start with. The distracts are fun to play at the start, but the can really hold the power.
- Separate the Distract and Gift wilds from the pack.
- Discard all other wilds.
- Give one distract card to each player.
- Keep the gifts as rewards.
NAKED TRUTH
Keeping the focus on the X-Ray makes this a fun game. You can really make someone sweat if they are under the influence of the X-Ray.
- Separate X-Ray cards from the deck
- Discard all other wilds
- Keep the X-Rays as rewards
POOPNADO
Warning: This game can last a bit longer. Forcing someone to pick up the play pile when they are ahead, can really hurt their feelings!
- Separate Poop cards from the deck
- Discard all other wilds
- Keep the Poops as rewards
MAXIMUM CHAOS
- This changes up the game by giving everyone random super powers right at the start.
- Separate the Wilds from the deck as per the normal game.
- Deal two wilds from the Reward pile at the start of the game
- Keep the rest of the wilds as rewards.
NO MORE SECRETS
This is similar to the Naked Truth game, except everyone starts with an X-Ray on them. That means everyone has to start by playing face up.
- Separate X-Ray and Shield cards from the deck
- Discard all other wilds
- Keep the Shield cards as rewards
- Place an X-Ray in front of each player
- Each player has to play their hand face up until “BULLCRAP” is called on them.
CLASSIC
This is the old school game. No wilds, just pure lies and deceit.
- Separate the Wilds from the deck as per the normal game.
- Discard all the wilds!
- There are no rewards!
ALTERNATE GAMEPLAY
ONE WAY GAMEPLAY
When you make a claim, you can only play the rank above last claimed rank. Less choice makes it harder to tell the truth and less risky to call “BULLCRAP!”
FROZEN GAMEPLAY
At the start, the first player can choose what rank to start with. Then, every player must claim the same rank, until BULLCRAP is called. It becomes quite a tense game after a while.
CHOSE ANYTHING
Instead of following a sequence, you can simply choose any rank each turn. This make it easier to tell the truth. However you need to
HAVE FUN!
We hope you enjoy our game! We also have an app version of this game. See playbullcrap.com for more info!
