How to play Cheat: the rules

Deal. The whole pack of 52 cards is dealt out, so with three players two of you have 17 cards and one has 18. Look at your own cards only.
Play the next rank. The first player puts one to four cards face down on the pile and says they're aces. The next player puts down cards and says they're 2s, the next 3s, and so on up to kings, then back to aces.
Tell the truth, or don't. The cards you put down don't have to be what you say. If you have no 7s when 7s are due, you have to bluff, because there's no passing. You can also bluff when you do have them, by adding a card or two that aren't 7s.
Call Cheat. After each play, anyone may call "Cheat!". The cards just played are turned over for everyone to see.
Take the pile. If any of the cards isn't the rank that was said, the player who put them down takes the whole pile into their hand. If they were all true, the player who called takes the pile.
Carry on. Whether or not anyone called, play goes on with the next player round the table and the next rank.
Win. The first player to put down their last card and not be caught bluffing on it wins the game.

Calling Cheat

You can only call the play that was just made: once the next player puts cards down, it's too late. The game gives everyone a few seconds after each play. A bar runs down on the Cheat! button; when it's gone, play moves on.

For example, Purple puts down two cards and says "two 7s". You hold two 7s yourself, so Purple would need both of the others. You call, the cards are turned over, and one of them is a jack: Purple takes the pile. If both had been 7s, you would have taken it instead.

A call is a gamble: the bigger the pile, the more it costs whoever is wrong. A pile that has gone round several times without a call can hold twenty cards or more.

Your last card

When you put down your last card or cards, everyone gets the usual chance to call. If nobody does, you've won. If someone calls and your cards were true, you've still won, and the caller takes the pile. But if you bluffed on your last play and you're caught, you take the pile and the game goes on. The computer players always call a player's last cards, except sometimes on Easy, so make sure your last play is true.

Players and seats

With only two players, each would know from the deal exactly which cards the other holds, so the game always seats at least three:

Against the computer, you take on two computer players. Choose Players: 4 to take on three.
Two people share the device, and a computer player takes the third seat.
Three or four people fill the table themselves.

In a game between people, the computer players in empty seats play at Medium.

Controls

To	Do this
Choose cards	Tap one to four cards in your hand; tap a card again to put it back
Put them down	Tap Play, which shows your claim, such as "Play 2 as 7s"
Call a bluff	Tap Cheat! while the bar runs down
Let a play go	Tap Play on (against the computer), or wait for the bar to run out
Use the keyboard	`←` and `→` move along your cards, `Space` or `Enter` picks one, `Tab` goes to Play, and `C` calls Cheat (with friends, each colour has its own key, below)

The cards of the rank you have to claim have a yellow ring, and the label above your hand says how many cards you hold and which rank you'll be asked for next. A green tag says All true or a red one says A bluff, so you always know what you're about to do. The row of ranks under the pile lights up the rank due now, and each player's speech bubble shows what they claimed. Cards you've just picked up from the pile have a green dot until your next play.

Playing with friends on one device. Hands must stay hidden, so the game covers the screen before each person's turn. Pass the device to the player named on the cover, and they tap the button to see their cards. After every play, each person has their own Cheat! button on their side of the table: Orange's at the bottom, the others' under their seats. With a keyboard, each colour has its own key: O for Orange, P for Purple, G for Green and B for Blue. The first call counts.

Computer levels

The computer only ever knows what a person in its seat would know: its own cards, how many cards everyone holds, every claim, the cards it put on the pile itself, and the cards turned over after a call. It never looks at your hand or at a face-down card it didn't play.

Level	How it plays
Easy	Plays true cards when it has them, and otherwise puts down any card. It calls Cheat on a hunch now and then, misses some bluffs it could have spotted, and sometimes lets a player's last card go.
Medium	Plays true cards when it can. When it has to bluff, it puts down a single card of a rank it won't be asked for for a long time. It calls when its own hand shows a claim can't be true, or looks very unlikely, and it always calls a player's last cards. It plans its last four cards to try to make its last play a true one.
Hard	Plays like Medium, but also remembers the cards it put on the pile, so it catches more bluffs. Unless the pile is big, it adds a card to a single true one, saying "two 7s" with only one. It plans its last seven cards the same way.
Expert	Keeps track of every card it has seen: the cards it played, the cards turned over after each call and who took them, and the piles it picked up, so it knows which cards can't be in your hand. It bluffs where a catch would cost least or seems least likely: two cards at once onto an empty pile, and an extra card with a true one unless it has seen someone collect that rank. It notices how often its own bluffs get called, and plans its last ten cards the same way.

Tips to win

Tell the truth when you can. A true play can't cost you anything, and it gets rid of every card you have of that rank in one go.
Bluff with cards you won't need. The ranks come round in a fixed order, so with three players you're asked for every third rank. When you have to bluff, put down a card of a rank that won't come back to you for a long time.
Bluff on a small pile. Just after someone has picked up the pile, a bluff is cheap: if you're caught, you take back little more than your own cards.
Count your own cards. If you hold three 7s, nobody else can truthfully claim two. Holding all four of a rank catches every claim of it.
Remember what you've seen. Cards turned over after a call go to whoever takes the pile, and they stay in that hand until that player puts them down.
Always call a last card you doubt. If nobody calls, that player wins, so a call costs you nothing you weren't about to lose.
Plan your finish. Your last play will almost certainly be called, so keep the cards for it: the rank you'll be asked for soon, and nothing else.
Mind the size of a claim. A bluff of one card risks the least, so a lone card is the claim most worth doubting. A claim of three or four of a rank is easy to disprove for anyone holding one or two of them, so it's more often true, and that makes it a bold bluff.

About Cheat

Cheat is a shedding game: the aim is to get rid of your cards. It's generally called Cheat in Britain and I Doubt It in many books, while in the US it goes by a ruder name, often shortened to BS. Like many card games it's passed on by word of mouth, so people learn it under different names and with different house rules. Some play the ranks downwards, some let a player choose the rank above or below the last one, and some allow a pass. With five or more players, two packs are often shuffled together.

This game follows the rules on Pagat, the card game rules site: all the cards are dealt, the ranks go up from aces, a turn is always one or more cards, and the winner is the first to shed every card and survive any call on their last play. Pagat sets no maximum; like Bicycle's rules for I Doubt It, we allow four cards at most in a play, since a single pack has only four of each rank.

Related games turn the same idea round. In the Russian game Veryu Ne Veryu ("I believe, I don't believe"), every player claims the same rank as the first player, and in a version played in Fujian province in China, players may claim any rank they like, as long as all the cards in a play are said to be the same.

Questions

How do you play Cheat?

Deal out all the cards. In turn, each player puts one to four cards face down and says they're the next rank: aces, then 2s, then 3s and so on, true or not. Anyone may call "Cheat!" on the last play. The cards are turned over: if any of them isn't the rank that was said, the player who put them down takes the pile; if they're all true, the caller takes it. The first to get rid of all their cards wins.

What are the rules of the Cheat card game?

All 52 cards are dealt. Players take turns putting cards face down on a pile, claiming the next rank in order from aces to kings and round again. A claim can be a bluff. After each play anyone may challenge it by calling Cheat; the loser of the challenge, either the bluffer or the wrong caller, picks up the whole pile. You can only challenge the most recent play. The first player to play their last card and survive any challenge on it wins.

Is Cheat the same as BS?

Yes. It's the same game: in the US it's usually known by a ruder name, often shortened to BS, and many books call it I Doubt It. The basic game is the same under each name, but house rules vary, such as passing or going down the ranks, and some books use I Doubt It for a version where everyone claims the same rank.

How many cards can you put down at once?

One to four. You must put down at least one card on your turn, and a pack has only four of each rank, so a claim of five could never be true.

Can you pass in Cheat?

Not in this game, which follows Pagat's rules: every turn you put down at least one card, so when you have none of the rank, you have to bluff. Some families play that you may pass instead.

What happens when you play your last card?

Everyone gets the usual chance to call. If nobody calls, or someone calls and your cards were true, you've won. If you bluffed and get caught, you pick up the pile and the game goes on.

How many players can play Cheat?

Pagat gives it for 2 to 10 players with one pack, and two packs are often used for big groups. With two players each of you would know from the deal exactly which cards the other holds, so this game always seats at least three: two people play with a computer player in the third seat, and three or four people fill the table themselves.

Can two people play Cheat on one phone?

Yes. A cover screen hides the hands whenever the device changes hands, and after each play every person has their own Cheat button on their side of the table. A computer player takes the third seat.

Is Cheat free?

Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download, no sign-up and no ads during a game.

Updated 12 November 2026