How to play

Overview

Tom's Time Bluff is a strategic bluffing card game for 2-6 players. The deck has 59 cards: 48 clock cards with hours 1-12, 3 Wild Cards, 3 Time Vortexes, 4 Partner cards and 1 Cuckoo Clock. Your goal is to be the first player to get rid of every card in your hand. Some turns are honest. Some turns are bluffed.

Watch the gameplay video

A gameplay video covering setup, turns, challenges and special cards.

Setup

Shuffle the deck and deal 6 cards face-down to each player. Place 3 cards face-up in a row on the table. Put the remaining deck face-down beside them as the draw pile. The player to the left of the dealer starts.

On your turn

1. 1 Play one face-down card onto any pile — it must be exactly one hour later than the top card. (After 12 comes 1.) If you don't have it, bluff it.
2. 2 Play one face-up card on top of the same pile. It can show any hour you like.
3. 3 Draw one card if needed. If you now have fewer than 6 cards, draw exactly one card from the draw pile. If you have 6 or more, draw nothing. If you forget to draw, you must draw 2 cards as a penalty.
4. ! If the draw pile is empty, no card is drawn and the round ends immediately for everyone. Otherwise play proceeds clockwise. You may bluff at any time, even when you have the matching card.

Challenges & bluffs

After the active player has finished drawing, all following players may challenge whether the face-down card shows the correct value. If no one challenges, play continues. If more than one player wants to challenge, the next player clockwise has priority. Turn over only the face-down card: if it shows the wrong time, the card player takes the whole pile; the challenger may place one hand card face-up in the empty space. If the card was correct or was a Wild Card, the challenger takes the pile; then the active player may place one hand card face-up in the empty space.

Special cards

Wild Cards (3 in deck)

Wild Cards may be played as any hour, face-down or face-up. Stacking ban: Wild Cards cannot be played on another Wild Card or on a Time Vortex. If a challenge reveals such a stack, the active player takes the whole pile as for a failed bluff. Each Wild Card left in hand at round-end = 5 penalty points.

Time Vortex (3 in deck)

A Time Vortex may be played face-down as the hidden card or face-up as the second card. It counts as a Wild Card and replaces any hour. It activates when it is played face-up, uncovered during a challenge, or revealed while replacing another Vortex. When activated, every player passes their hand to a neighbor; the player who played or revealed the Vortex chooses clockwise or counter-clockwise. Remove the Vortex from the game and flip the top card of the draw pile face-up to replace it. If the draw pile is empty, the round ends. If a Time Vortex is played face-up as the final card, resolve the hand swap first; the player who ends up with no cards wins the round. Each Time Vortex left in hand = 10 penalty points.

Cuckoo Clock (1 in deck)

The Cuckoo does not belong anywhere. It shows no time and must be bluffed away. It always stays in play. You cannot win the round with the Cuckoo still in your hand. Four ways to get rid of it: (1) bluff it away without being challenged, (2) pass it through a Time Vortex hand swap, (3) bluff it together with the "Jungle" Partner card so it cannot be challenged, (4) use "Beam" to give it face-down to another player.

Partner cards (4 in deck) — optional

For an easier first game, you may play without Partner cards. Partner cards are always played with their matching clock card: first place the Partner card face-up on the face-down card, then place the matching clock card on top. They can never be played alone. If you do not have the matching hour, you must bluff the Partner card away or draw from the deck. Each one has a unique effect:

"Broken" / Alarm clock — everyone else's alarm clock is busted: every other player draws an extra card.

"Snooze" / Radio alarm — the next player oversleeps: they draw a card and skip one round.

"Beam" / Smartwatch — the smartwatch beams one of your hand cards to a player of your choice (face-down). You've just shed 4 cards this turn!

"Jungle" / Grandfather clock — overgrown vines lock the pile: the face-down card beneath cannot be challenged this round.

Winning & scoring

The round ends when a player plays their final card or final two cards without being caught bluffing. They do not draw afterward. The other players may still challenge at the last moment: if the bluff is caught, the player takes the pile and play continues; if there was no bluff, the challenger takes the pile and the finisher wins the round. The round also ends immediately when no more cards can be drawn. Then count penalty points:

• Each clock card = 1 penalty point
• Each Wild Card, partner card, or Cuckoo = 5 penalty points
• Each Time Vortex = 10 penalty points

The match ends when any player reaches 50 penalty points. Lowest score wins.

FAQ

Download the rulebook

Printable, high-resolution PDF — choose your language.