Cockroach Poker card game box, full product shown on white — how to play Cockroach Poker

How to Play Cockroach Poker (2026): Rules and 2-Player Variant

October 21, 2026

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How to play Cockroach Poker (2026): Cockroach Poker is a bluffing card game by Jacques Zeimet where nobody wins by collecting the most. Instead, everyone tries to palm off creepy critter cards on each other, and the first player stuck with four of the same critter loses. It plays with two to six players ages 8 and up, takes about 20 minutes and needs nothing but the deck and a good poker face. This guide follows the official rulebook, including the two-player rules.

Get the game: Cockroach Poker

The current English edition lists two to six players, ages 8 and up and about 20 minutes. It costs about $15 and fits in a coat pocket.

Price band: $10–$20 (about $15) · Check today’s price on Amazon

The Cockroach Poker deck

Sixty-four critter cards: eight each of the rat, cockroach, bat, fly, scorpion, stink bug, spider and toad. That is all you need.

How you lose (and everyone else wins)

You want other players to take cards from you. A card ends up face up in front of whoever misjudges it. The game ends when one player has four of the same critter face up in front of them, or when a player has to start a round with no cards left in hand. That player loses and everyone else shares the win.

Dealing the cards

Shuffle all 64 cards and deal them face down to everyone. It does not matter if some players get one more card than others.

How a round works

The starting player picks any card from their hand, slides it face down to any other player and names a critter, for example: “Cockroach.” The claim can be true or false.
The player who receives the card chooses one of two options: accept it, or peek and pass it on.

Option 1: accept the card

Before turning it over, say “true” if you believe the claim or “false” if you think it is a bluff. Then flip it. If you judged correctly, the player who passed it to you takes the card face up in front of them. If you judged wrongly, it goes face up in front of you.

Option 2: peek and pass

Look at the card secretly, then slide it to a player who has not seen it yet. You must either repeat the claim (“Yes, it’s a cockroach”) or make a new one (“It’s a stink bug”). The new player now has the same two options.

A card can never go to someone who has already seen it. If everyone else has seen it, the last player must accept it and call true or false.

Starting the next round

Whoever ends up with the card face up in front of them starts the next round by offering a card from their hand.

How the game ends

Four of a kind: a player who has four of the same critter face up in front of them loses.
Out of cards: a player who must start a round but has no cards in hand loses.
Everyone else shares the victory.

Cockroach Poker with two players

Before dealing, remove ten cards from the shuffled deck without looking at them. Passing is not allowed, so every offered card must be accepted with a call of true or false. The game ends when a player collects five of the same critter, or has to start a round with no cards.

Strategy tips

Target the player with three. If someone already has three bats, sliding them a “bat” forces a tough decision.
Tell the truth sometimes. A true claim is often the hardest to call.
Passing is information. When you peek and pass, you know the card. Use that to steer it toward the player in the most danger.
Watch the table. Face-up cards show which critters are running out, which makes some claims more believable.

Is Cockroach Poker right for your group?

It shines with four to six players who like reading faces and laughing at bad bluffs. It is a little meaner than it looks, because ganging up on the player with three of a kind is half the strategy. If you love it, see our best bluffing card games, try a royal version in our Coup rules guide or compare with Skull vs Coup.