I Doubt It

A versatile card game that can be played by young children for fun or adults as a skill game. The basic play of the game could be mastered by a child as young as six, but the game requires a player often to hold and organize many cards. For this reason, it is probably better attempted by children 9 and up.

Players: 4 to 6 (see 'Two decks' below for rules fo 7-12)

Equipment: A standard deck of cards.

Object: To get rid of all the cards in your hand.

The Deal: All the cards are dealt out. First clockwise player with the most cards goes first. Play continues clockwise. (E.G. With five players, 2 players will get 11 cards; 3 will get 10. The first palyer with 11 cards goes first. Next player clockwise, who will also have 11 cards, goes second.

The Play: Each player, in turn, places 1-4 cards in a discard pile, declaring the number of cards and the rank. The first player plays aces; the second plays kings; third plays queens, etc. After 13 declarations, you will reach twos, and the next player starts with aces again. A player does not acutally have to have the cards s/he declares.

After a player, places his/her cards in the discard pile, any other player may say "I doubt it". (If the players are drinking beer, other phrases may be used as well.) If the player has actually put down the number and rank s/he declared, the doubter takes the entire discard pile. If the player was lying, then s/he takes the whole discard pile.

If more than one player says "I doubt it", then whoever says it first is on the hook. If the players cannot decide who was first in time, then it counts as the doubter nearest to the player's left.

Other Rules: A certain amount of dishonesty is built into "I Doubt It", but you must put down the number of cards that you declare. You may not, for example, declare "three Jacks" and put down four cards. However, a player may declare the wrong rank of cards. He cannot change his discard if he is called on it. For example, a player declares "three Jacks" when it is his turn to put down 10's. If someone points out that it is his trun to play 10's, the player must then change his declaration to "three 10's". (Warning: this is an old trick to go fishing for doubters when you have 3 10's.) If no one calls the player on his incorrect declaration of rank, the next player must play one down from that.

Two Decks: The game can also be played with up to 12 players by using two decks of cards. The game proceeds the same except players play between 1-8 cards on a turn.

--Randy_Evans?

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