Lying card game: rules, tips, and variations explained

The card game “Lying” is about lying as skillfully as possible to fool your fellow players.

Card game “Lying”: the rules explained simply

The card game “Lügen,” also known as ‘Schummellieschen’ or “Bullshit,” is very popular with children and adults alike. It requires skill in deception and good observation skills. The rules are simple, which is why the game is suitable not only for adults but also for children. To play, you need a deck of cards. If there are jokers in the deck, remove them.

• Shuffle the cards and deal them evenly among all players. If there are any cards left over, set them aside. If there are more than five players, shuffle two decks and deal them out.

• The player who starts the game can be the youngest, oldest, or “most honest.” They place one card face up in the middle of the table.

• The suit of the card played determines which cards the other players may play. For example, if the first player plays the queen of hearts, only other heart cards may be played.

• Going clockwise, the other players now place one card face down in the middle of the table. They announce what card they are playing, for example, the seven of hearts or the king of hearts.

• At the beginning of the game, all players will probably be able to play the required suit. However, the further the game progresses, the more likely it becomes that a player will lie and, for example, place a spade card on the pile as a heart card.

• The other players must therefore always be somewhat suspicious. If a player suspects that someone has lied about their card, they knock on the table or shout “Lie!” or “Bullshit!”. The player in question must then reveal the card they have just discarded.

• If the player has cheated and been exposed as a liar, they must pick up the entire stack of cards on the table. If they have told the truth, the player who tapped or called out must pick up the stack.

• The player who had to pick up the stack of cards as a penalty for lying or mistrust can now place the next card face up in the middle, thus determining the suit to be played in the next round. The first player to have no cards left in their hand wins.

Variations of “Lying”: How to modify the rules

Of course, you can modify the basic rules of “Schummellieschen” as you wish:

• For example, you can stipulate that players may not discard cards of the same suit, but also cards of the same value. This means that you may not discard other heart cards on a queen of hearts, but you may discard other queen cards.

• As a rule, you can also stipulate that only cards of the same value or higher than the previous card may be played. The suit does not matter. The first player then plays the lowest card in their hand – for example, a three of diamonds. The next player may either play a higher card or another three of diamonds.

• Instead of only discarding cards of the same suit, you can specify that cards of the same value may also be discarded, e.g., other queen cards on a queen of hearts. The player who calls “lie” must then specify exactly which statement about the card played face down is false. These rules are based on the card game Spicy.