Cheating Moth

About this board game

Cheating Moth is a 30-minute card game for 3–5 players in which everyone races to empty their hand, often by cheating. Cards can be dropped, hidden, or otherwise made to disappear, but the player holding the Guard bug is watching for suspicious moves.

Each player begins a round with eight cards. On a normal turn, play a card one number higher or lower than the top card of the discard pile; the numbers wrap, so a 1 can follow a 5 and vice versa. If you cannot play, draw a card and end your turn.

Cheating is not just permitted—it is necessary. Cheating Moth cards cannot be played onto the discard pile and must be removed through cheating. You must keep your hand above the table, lose no more than one card at a time, and cannot cheat away your final card.

The Guard is the only player who may accuse someone of cheating. A false accusation makes the Guard draw a card. A successful accusation forces the culprit to take back the card, receive another card from the Guard, and become the new Guard.

• Ant: Every other player draws a card.
• Cockroach: Players race to play an identically numbered card, with only the fastest card remaining.
• Mosquito: Everyone else slaps the pile; the slowest player receives a card from each opponent.
• Spider: Give a non-Cheating Moth card to another player.

The round ends when one player has no cards. Others score penalty points for cards left in hand, and after as many rounds as there are players, the lowest total score wins. With its mix of card play, quick reactions, and risky deception, Cheating Moth rewards timing as much as it does a willingness to break the rules.