Also called Bangkok BS, Psycho BS is a cousin of the card game Bullshit that takes it to the next level. Uses a standard 52-card deck. The origins of this game are somewhere in that ether that produces all card games.
Objective:
Get rid of your cards before anyone else.
Gameplay:
- All the cards are dealt out equally (or as close to this as possible) among all players. Jokers may be used, but are optional.
- As soon as the last card is dealt, anyone may go first simply by putting any number of cards down, and declaring what they are. (i.e. put down 2 cards and declare, "Two aces.") Move quickly to go first. There is no limit to the number of cards that may be put down, but they must all be declared to be of the same value. (i.e. you may declare one ace or eight aces, if you wish, but not 1 ace and 1 king.)
- Moving clockwise, the next player then has two choices: He may either put down a number of cards and declare them to be the same as the first (i.e. put down another card and say, "One Ace"), or he may pass, not putting down anything. In either case, play then moves to the next player in a circle, who then has the same two choices.
- At any time a person may lie, putting down cards that are not what they are declared to be. (I.e. a person might put down a 3 and a 5, but declare, "Two aces.")
- If at any time a person believes another has lied, he may say, "BS," and turn over the cards. If he is right, and the person did lie, the liar gets all the cards in the pile, and the "BSer" gets control, and may then start a new pile with whatever value he wishes. (Instead of aces, he can switch to kings.) If he is wrong, he gets all the cards in the pile, and the accused starts a new round.
- If at any point everyone passes in the same round, the pile is moved to the side, not to be seen for the rest of the game. The last player to put down a card gets to start the new round.
- When one person successfully gets rid of their last cards, the game ends. Usually at this point someone makes the "Desperation BS," in the hopes that the winning player lied. I've never seen this work, but it's almost a tradition.
What makes this game great:
- This is a game of true skill. The person with the best bluffing abilities and BS detector will win, always.
- Unlike Bullshit, Psycho BS gives you control of your hand. You can plan ahead, and are not at the mercy of luck.
- There is something truly magical about seeing a pile of 15 aces, especially when someone finally shouts, "BS," only to see that the last card was, indeed, an ace.
- The number of strategies a player can use is near infinite. I've seen one that would flip over half his cards for all to see, and then shuffle them so that even he didn't know what was finally in the pile. He's won like that too.