How to play

Overview

Tom’s Time Bluff is a strategic bluffing card game for 2-6 players. The deck holds 62 cards: 48 clock cards showing the hours 1-12, 2 joker hourglasses, 10 partner cards (2 of each effect) and 2 cuckoo clocks. The goal is to be the first to get rid of every card in your hand. Sometimes you play honest. Sometimes you bluff.

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Setup

Shuffle the deck and deal 6 face-down hand cards to every player. Lay 3 cards face up next to each other on the table. Put the remaining cards face-down beside them as the draw pile. Play runs clockwise, and the player to the left of the dealer starts. If a special card is dealt face-up during setup, one more card is dealt face-up.

On your turn

1. 1 Play the cards. The card player picks one of the 3 piles and lays 2 hand cards on it. The 1st card goes face-down and must be exactly one hour later than the card below it — after 12 comes 1. Do not have it? Then you have to bluff.
2. 2 The 2nd card goes face-up on top and may show any hour — it sets the new time for that pile.
3. 3 Draw. If the card player now has fewer than 6 cards in hand, they draw one card from the draw pile and the turn is over. Forget to draw? You have to draw 2 cards in total as a penalty, instead of one.
4. 4 Play continues clockwise. Is the draw pile empty? Nobody draws and the round ends immediately for everyone. Bluffing is always allowed — even when you are holding the card you need.

Challenges & bluffs

After the card player has drawn, every following player may call the bluff and have the face-down card turned over. If several call at once, the next player clockwise has priority. If nobody calls, play simply continues. a) Bluff caught: if the card shows the wrong hour, the card player takes the whole pile — and the challenger may lay one hand card face-up on the now empty pile space. b) No bluff: the card was correct, so the challenger takes the whole pile — and the card player may lay one hand card face-up on the now empty pile space.

Special cards

Joker / Hourglass (2 in the deck)

Jokers stand in for any hour and may be played as a face-down card or as the face-up cover. A joker also replaces the matching clock card when a partner card is played. Each joker left in hand at the end = 5 penalty points.

Cuckoo clock (2 in the deck)

The cuckoo clock belongs nowhere. It shows no hour at all and has to be bluffed away. It always stays in the game — it never leaves the table. With a cuckoo clock in your hand you cannot win the round. Each cuckoo clock left in hand = 5 penalty points.

Partner cards (10 in the deck, 2 of each)

For an easier first game you can leave the partner cards out of the deck. A partner card is always played in combination with its matching clock card: two face-up cards at once, first the partner card, then the clock card on top. If you have fewer than 6 cards afterwards, you draw from the draw pile as usual — then the effect fires, and only then can the bluff be called. Partner cards can never be played alone. A joker can stand in for the matching clock card. If you cannot lay a matching clock card, bluff the partner card away — or draw a card from the draw pile. Each one has its own effect:

The Time Vortex is played with any normal clock card of your choice, face-up. Its effect: every player passes all their hand cards to their neighbour — whoever played the Time Vortex decides whether hands pass clockwise or counter-clockwise. Laid open as your very last card, the hands are passed before scoring, so the winner is the player who has no cards left after the swap. Each Time Vortex left in hand = 5 penalty points.

“Broken” / Alarm clock — every other player’s alarm clock is broken: all of them must take an extra card.

“Snooze” / Digital radio alarm — too early for your neighbour: the next player takes a card and misses their next turn.

“Beam” / Smartwatch — the smartwatch beams one of your hand cards face-down to a player of your choice, so you shed four cards in this turn.

“Jungle” / Grandfather clock — overgrown and chained: the face-down card underneath cannot be challenged this round.

“Time Vortex” / with any clock card — every player passes their whole hand to a neighbour; whoever played it chooses whether hands go clockwise or counter-clockwise. Played as your last card, hands are passed before scoring.

What's in the box

Click a card type to see it. 62 cards in total.

Alarm clocksRadio alarmsSmartwatchesGrandfather clocksJoker hourglassesPartner cardsCuckoo clock

×12

Alarm clocks

12 cards · hours 1–12

Classic alarm clocks for your everyday deception

×12

Radio alarms

12 cards · hours 1–12

Retro radio clocks straight from the 50s

×12

Smartwatches

12 cards · hours 1–12

The twenty-first century on your wrist

×12

Grandfather clocks

12 cards · hours 1–12

Grandfather clocks for the long game

×2

Any hour, face up or down

Joker hourglasses

2 cards · any hour

Plays any hour, face-up or face-down

The hourglass replaces every clock card. Play it face-down or face-up, as the card you need or as the cover on top. A joker can also stand in for the matching clock card of a partner card.

Each hourglass left in hand = 5 penalty points.

×10

Never played alone

Partner cards

10 cards · 2 of each effect

Always laid together with their matching clock card

A partner card is always laid face-up together with its matching clock card: first the partner card, then the clock card on top. Draw as usual, then the effect fires — and only then can the bluff be called. Every partner card has its own effect. For an easier first game, leave the partner cards out of the deck.

• “Broken” / Alarm clock — every other player’s alarm clock is broken: all of them must take an extra card.
• “Snooze” / Digital radio alarm — too early for your neighbour: the next player takes a card and misses their next turn.
• “Beam” / Smartwatch — hand one of your cards face-down to a player of your choice and you get rid of four cards in this turn.
• “Jungle” / Grandfather clock — overgrown and chained: the face-down card underneath cannot be challenged this round.
• “Time Vortex” / with any clock card — every player passes their whole hand to a neighbour. Whoever plays it decides whether hands go clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Played as your very last card, the Time Vortex hands on before scoring — so the winner is whoever has no cards left after the swap.

Each partner card left in hand = 5 penalty points.

×2

Belongs nowhere

Cuckoo clock

2 cards · must be bluffed away

Belongs nowhere and has to be bluffed away

It shows no hour at all — the cuckoo clock belongs to no stack and no time. Get rid of it by bluffing it away, and it always stays in the game. There is no such thing as a safe cuckoo clock.

With a cuckoo clock in your hand you cannot win the round.

Each cuckoo clock left in hand = 5 penalty points.

End of the round & scoring

The round ends when a player lays down their last hand cards without being caught bluffing. No more cards are drawn — but the bluff can still be called: was it a bluff, that player takes the pile and play continues; was it honest, the challenger still takes the pile before scoring. The round also ends immediately when the draw pile is empty. Then every player counts their hand:

• Each clock card = 1 penalty point
• Each joker, partner card or cuckoo clock = 5 penalty points
• Play the Time Vortex as your last card and the round goes to whoever has no cards left after the swap

The game ends as soon as a player reaches 50 penalty points. The player with the fewest penalty points has won.

FAQ

Download the rulebook