Cockroach Poker - Card Game Review

Table of Contents

• Cockroach Poker -Game Breakdown
• Cockroach Poker - Overview
• How to Play Cockroach Poker
• Cockroach Poker - Tips and Tricks
• Cockroach Poker - Honest Review

Cockroach Poker - Overview

Cockroach poker is a game of bluffing and tricking your opponents into making mistakes before they get you. This simple to learn card game is easy to learn but hard to master. This game will test your ability to lie, strategically pick your targets and detect when someone is deceiving you.

The game theme centres around creatures seen as pests, which you may or may not come across in your everyday life. From cockroaches, spiders, rats, flies, scorpions, toads, bats and stinkbugs. These cards all have unique designs and come in a nice, travel-friendly size box that makes them perfect to take away on family holidays or easy to bring as a quick game to whip out for a friendly board game night.

This is a game of no winners. Yep, you have read that correctly, the only aim of this game is to avoid being the loser. If you manage not to lose, then you win.

How to Play Cockroach Poker

Step 1

Deal the cards evenly between each player. If you can’t distribute them evenly, leave the remaining cards aside.

Step 2

In the official rules, there is no specific rule for who must go first. We usually play a few games, so choose the player to the left of the dealer.

Step 3

Each turn, the player whose turn it is slides one of their cards to another player of their choosing and tells them what it is (or lies). The player who receives the card has a few choices:

• Accept the Claim Accept that they are telling the truth and the card is what they said. If they are right, then the card returns to the player who passed it to them. If they are wrong, they keep the card.
• Call the Bluff If you call the claim a lie and are correct, the card is returned to the player who passed it to you. If you are wrong, you keep the card face up in front of you.
• Look and Pass to Card On If you choose to look at the card and pass it on (unless everyone else has already seen or passed the card), you must tell the next person what type of insect is on the card (or lie). If they call a lie and are correct, or if the claim is corrected, the card is returned to you. If not, the card continues or is kept as above.

Step 4

When you receive a card, you place it face up in front of you. Once you have:

• 5 of the same card in a 2-player game
• 4 of the same card in a 3 or more player game

You are out of the game, and you lose.

Cockroach Poker - Tips and Tricks

• Watch at all times. At its core, this is a bluffing game. The winners will be the people who can bluff and read bluffs the best. Be aware of your Tells. Just like in poker, it’s important to understand what might give away the fact that you are lying. By understanding this, you can harness it to your advantage and be ready to change your behaviours to trick others and avoid building up cards.
• Mix things up. The worst thing you can be in this game is predictable. Mix things up to make it harder for others.
• Play the odds. With 8 of each card, you can have some idea of the likelihood of what a card is based on what is already out on the table and in your hand.
• Play it safe when you’re on your last life. When you already have three of the same card, it’s usually safest to believe what the other player says the card is. For example, if you already have three Rats and someone passes you a card claiming it’s a Rat, it’s often better to agree. If you call their bluff and you’re wrong, you’ll end up with a fourth Rat and lose the game. By agreeing, if the player was bluffing, the card goes onto another pile instead of your almost-complete set. This decision becomes trickier when you have multiple sets sitting at three cards, since you’re at risk either way.
• Cockroach Poker is more strategic than you think. While the rules of this game are simple, and at times it feels like almost a guessing game, good players quickly realise that there is a bit of strategy involved. Watching what is happening, bluffing at the right time and making sure you play the odds when guessing can add up at the end of the game. You won’t always be right in this game, but remember, there is only one loser, and these simple tips can help you avoid being that one loser.

Cockroach Poker - Honest Review

This game is definitely a favourite that we regularly whip out for a quick game. It is an instant classic for anyone we introduce it to, and often a great gift for birthdays, Secret Santas or whenever we want to share a game as a gift.

One thing we love about this game is that it is easy to learn, easy to demonstrate and produces quick gameplay that gets everyone involved. We have seen people escape what seemed like unavoidable losses. It’s also highly repeatable with each game bringing something different, and without a turn-based system, rivalries can form quickly, and those on top (or in this case not losing) can be quickly brought down next round.

The only thing to note is that because it is not a turn-taking game, some people may not get as much of a go each round. Especially if you are teaming up to get someone out. We generally try to make sure that the turns are even so that everyone gets to enjoy the game.

This game will quickly help you to figure out who is good at lying or bluffing. It will also teach you who is good at reading other people. The more you play this game, the more you will pick up on other people’s tells when they are lying. This means the more you play this game, the more you need to upgrade your game, try things differently, and learn how to trick whoever you are playing with.

Obviously, when playing with kids, you will need to be aware that they might be easier to trick and read than when playing with other adults. Or their bluffing and reading of behavioural cues and tells might surprise you and might leave you red-faced as they trick you into losing. This makes the game great fun and highly insightful for families.

To be honest, this is, like I may have said earlier, this is definitely a favourite game on our ever-expanding game shelf. This is a top pick card game, and I suspect it will always rank highly on most board game lists. This game ranks high in any criteria we can come up with and is generally available online or in any good game shop for a reasonable price, making it a great value for money addition to your board game collection.