Cockroach Poker
Cockroach Poker Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 64 critter cards
The cards show eight different critter types, with eight cards of each:
- Rat
- Cockroach
- Bat
- Fly
- Scorpion
- Stink bug
- Spider
- Toad
Object
Players attempt to "palm off" as many cards as possible on other players. This is done by sliding a card to the player of your choice and declaring what it is. The player on the receiving end must decide either to accept the card and declare whether the passing player was bluffing or not, or to peek at it and pass it on to another player, declaring it the same critter or a new one. The player who misjudges the other ends up keeping the card face up in front of them.
The first player to have 4 of the same critter type "palmed off" on them, or who runs out of cards in their hand, is the loser and all other players win.
Setup
Shuffle and deal out all 64 cards face down to the players. (For the two-player game, see Two-Player Game.) It does not matter if the cards do not divide evenly among the players.
Gameplay
The player going first (Marc, for our example) picks a card from his hand. He lays it face down on the table, slides it over to another player of his choice (in this case, Anna), and states a critter, e.g. "Cockroach".
Anna now has two options:
Accept the card
Anna decides to accept the card. Before picking it up, she says loudly "true" or "false":
- "True" when she believes Marc's statement that the card is a cockroach.
- "False" when she doubts Marc's claim.
If Anna believes or doubts correctly, Marc has to take the card back and keep it face up in front of him. However, if she guesses wrongly she must keep the card face up in front of her.
Pass the card on
Anna decides not to accept the card, but to pass it on. In this case, she is allowed to peek at the card before sliding it on to another player (in this case, Eva). In addition, Anna must either confirm Marc's statement ("Cockroach") or make a new claim, e.g. "Stink bug".
Eva is now presented with the same options as Anna, and so on.
A card must be passed to a player who has yet to see it, making sure each card is never seen by the same player twice. If you cannot pass the card to anyone (because everyone else has already seen it), you MUST choose option 1 and accept the card.
The player who gets a card "palmed off" on them takes it and lays it face up on the table in front of them. That player then begins the next round by sliding a card from their hand to another player and declaring what critter is pictured on it.
End of the Game
The game is over:
- either when a player gets "four of a kind" (e.g. four cockroaches) palmed off on them — they are the loser and all other players share the victory;
- or as soon as a player with no more cards in their hand has to start a round. This player cannot offer a card and has lost. All other players share the victory here as well.
Two-Player Game
For a two-player game, 10 cards are removed from the shuffled deck without being looked at, before the cards are dealt. In addition, in a two-player game Option 2 (passing cards on) is of course left out — the card offered must always be accepted with a call of "true" or "false".
The game is over:
- either when a player gets "five of a kind" (e.g. five cockroaches) palmed off on them;
- or as soon as a player with no more cards in their hand has to start a round.
In both cases the player described has lost.
Have fun!