Bluffalo

This is Bluffalo: a hand based game for three to five players. To play, you’ll need a Colorado Standard Poker Deck and chips. All chips have the same value in Bluffalo. You can use anything as chips to play Bluffalo (coins, candy, marbles) just so long as they all have the same value.

Bluffalo is only played with 28 cards from a Colorado Standard Poker Deck. Just use the Dramas, Aces, Face Cards, and Omens.

All winning hands are worth the same in Bluffalo. They are: A Four Card Flush, Four of a Kind, A Myth (one Omen Card from each basic suit) or a High Drama (All Three Drama Cards).

The easiest way to win, however, is to lie.

Note: High Drama is the only winning hand that just takes three cards, so keep an eye on how many cards your opponents have and make sure to conceal how many you have. If someone asks how many cards are in your hand, feel free to lie. Keeping track is their responsibility.

The game starts by each player putting in an ante of one chip into the pot. The Dealer deals three cards face down to each player. One card is dealt face up next to the deck. That’s The Pile. The rest of The Deck is placed face down next to The Pile. The Player to the left of the dealer goes first.

If at any time there are no cards left in The Pile, flip over the top card of The Deck and start a new Pile.

If at any time there are no cards left in The Deck, shuffle The Pile and place it face down as the new Deck. Deal one card face up off the top of The Deck to start a new Pile.

Every Turn, players may do one of five things

1.      Declare:  Declare themselves the winner and call out the table.

2.      Discount: Take the top card off The Pile for free.

3.      Pay: Pay two chips into the pot and take two cards from the top of The Deck.

4.      Steal: pay any other player two chips and take a card from their hand randomly.

5.      Exchange: Reveal three cards from their hand, put them in The Pile in any order, and take one chip from the pot.

If there are no more cards in The Deck or The Pile, players must either Steal, Exchange, or Declare. If there is only one card left in The Deck, a player still has to Pay two chips if they want to take it.

If a player declares, the player to their left (The Challenger) may call them a liar or pass. If The Challenger calls The Declarer a liar, The Declarer must reveal their hand to the table.

Scenario #1

The Declarer possesses a winning hand, The Challenger must pay them three chips. The Declarer then collects the pot and the game restarts.

Scenario #2

The Declarer does not possess a winning hand. The Declarer must pay The Challenger two chips and their turn ends.

Scenario #3

If a player declares, and the player to their left chooses to pass, any other player may pay The Declarer three chips and steal one of the cards from their hand at random. The Declarer may then either declare again, or end their turn.

Declaring after having a player steal a card is called a “Double Bluffalo”

Scenario #4

If no one chooses to challenge The Declarer or steal one of their cards, The Declarer collects the pot and the game restarts.

Every time the game restarts, the dealer button moves one player to the left.