Cockroach Poker

Cockroach Poker invites you to look your best friend dead in the eye, slide a card across the table and tell them it’s a cute little rat, when it is really a disgusting stink bug! And not just your best friend, your grandmother, your mother in law, you can even swindle a cute little baby sucking on a lollipop in this game of bluffing and disgusting insects!

Despite the name, there is absolutely no traditional poker in this box. There are no chips, no high flushes, and absolutely no money to be won. Instead, designer Jacques Zeimet has distilled the ancient art of "the poker face" into its absolute purest, meanest, and funniest form—a game of unadulterated deception where there is no winner, just one unlucky loser.

Unboxed

Inside this pocket-sized box, you'll find:

• 64 Critter Cards (featuring 8 copies each of 8 different, delightfully ugly pests: Cockroaches, Rats, Bats, Flies, Toads, Scorpions, Spiders, and Stink Bugs)

• 1 Rulebook 

  
  

Rolf Vogt's art reminds me of Genndy Tartakovsky's work if he took slightly too many hallucinogenics and had a really bad trip. But it works for this game. The art pops but each piece is instantly recognisable as to which creature is being represented and if you can't tell there's a handy dandy icon on the card too.

The box is small and portable, easy to slide into any backpack or large pocket and the game itself can be picked up for less than the price of a movie ticket.

A Quick Overview

Setting up Cockroach Poker takes about thirty seconds: shuffle the deck and deal out all 64 cards face down to the players. The goal is simple—do not be the first player to collect four of the same animal face up in front of you, and do not be the player who runs out of cards in their hand when it's their turn to play.

On your turn, you take one card from your hand, slide it face down to any opponent, and declare what it is (e.g., "This is a cockroach"). You can tell the truth, or you can lie through your teeth.

The player receiving the card has two choices:

1. Call the Bluff (Accept): Before looking at the card, they declare either "True" or "False", and then flip the card over. If they guessed correctly, the card goes back to you and sits face up in front of your play area. If they guessed incorrectly, they have to keep the card face up in front of them.

2. Pass the Buck (Pass): If they don't want to guess, they can peek at the card, slide it face down to a new player who hasn't seen it yet, and make their own claim (e.g., "No, actually, this is a scorpion"). Again, they can choose to lie or tell the truth.

   
   

The card keeps getting passed around the table until someone finally decides to accept and guess, or until it reaches the last player who hasn't seen it, who has no choice but to guess. Whoever ends up with the face-up card in front of them starts the next round.

When any player has four matching creatures the game ends and they lose, everyone else wins.

Thoughts

There isn't that much of a game to Cockroach Poker, but that is probably it's biggest strength. You explain the game in 30 seconds and then the rules get out of the way and everyone can shoot the breeze and pass some cards around...

That is until someone has 3 of a kind sat in front of them and then suddenly the game is on. Now there is actual tension as Bob passes you yet another card claiming it is a bat... Is it a bat, it might be a bat, it's probably not a bat... but what if it is... And that is Cockroach Poker!

I have taught this game to many people including my family. My younger brother has played many games and never before has he been able to lie. One of his favourite games is Don't Mess With Cthulhu where he is always pathologically truthful and yet, it took me all of 5 minutes to teach him to lie with Cockroach Poker! Is that a good thing? Maybe not, but it was hilariously fun to do.

The name, "Poker" has likely helped the game rise to fame in gaming circles, however new comers often expect a rather different experience than what the game offers. For some that can be a little discombobulating for others they rushed out to buy their own copy!

Final Thoughts

If you're looking for a fast playing, pure bluffing, filler card game that you can use as a backdrop to drinks and chat you would be hard pressed to find something more appropriate than Cockroach Poker. However if you're looking for a little more crunch with your small box card games, then this one might not be for you.

Disclaimer - A copy of Cockroach Poker was provided by Coiled Spring Games for the purpose of this review.