Bluff

"There I was. Sitting at a Bluff table, martini in one hand, fork in the other. That had always been my Bluff strategy - food and drink. It had never failed me before. You can say a lot, suggest a lot, with a plate full of food and a glass with an exact number of ice cubes in it. He was wearing a shirt so tight it looked painted on. Aranis silk, probably. Bought with all his dirty money. Money I was going to take from him tonight."
Lydia Wyrm, in Jo Insugi's The Last Kiss is the Deadliest.

History

Bluff is such an ancient game, its origins are hard to confirm. Playing tiles that could have been used for an early version have been found in ruins of Lanzathida, but without context it is hard to prove their use. The original Symposiasts, by record, seemed to play a game similar to Bluff, but with magic being allowed to change the value of the card during the game at certain intervals. The game that would be recognised as Bluff today is likely to have come from the early King's Courts of Mukasi.

Execution

In the standard two player version, each player takes one chit or card, numbered between one and thirteen. They keep this information to themselves, and the game is spent guessing if your opponents' card is higher, lower, or equal to yours. Players are welcome, or rather, encouraged to speak on any topic, excluding the forbidden topic of the contents of their card. In some regional variations, there is no time limit, leading to games several hours long.
The numbers a cyclical - one is considered higher than thirteen, and thirteen lower than one.
Three or more player variants may be played as last man standing rules, or as concurrent guess rules. Each brings their own challenges - concurrent guesses are more like the original game, but last man standing adds a new element of information, as the player making a guess does so out loud.

Components and tools

Bluff chits, chips, or cards, vary widely by culture. The people of Mukasi prefer pressed paper, while Maritun use carved stones or shells.