Home » Cards and Dice » Bad People Card Game | Rules & How to Play?

Bad People Card Game | Rules & How to Play?

You’ll surely enjoy the Bad People card game if you’re ready to test your friendship. Now, this isn’t a game for the faint-hearted, but if you’re looking for something different and aren’t afraid to be shocking or loud with friends and family, you’ll probably enjoy this game.

What is The Bad People Card Game?

Bad People is a card game for, well, bad people! But don’t worry, everyone has been at least a little bad before, and this game is all about celebrating that.

It’s not a traditional drinking game, but it will certainly be fun to play after you’ve had a few drinks and loosened up a bit. If you enjoy games like Cards Against Humanity, then you’ll surely enjoy a game or two of Bad People.

Players first choose one of the colorful (some may say offensive) identity cards and matching voting cards to play. Then one player will take on the role of the dictator, take one of the question cards, and read it aloud to the group.

The dictator will choose who they think the question best applies to and vote by placing a matching voting card facedown. The other players will then take their turn and choose who they think the dictator voted for.

Remember, you aren’t voting for who you think the question best applies to; you’re voting for who you think the dictator has chosen. Then one by one, everyone reveals who they voted for, with the dictator showing their card last.

If you voted the same as the dictator, you earn a point, and then the play moves clockwise with the next player becoming the dictator and asking a question aloud. The game can end at numerous points; since it’s a party game at heart, winning or losing shouldn’t matter.

Now while this covers the basics of the Bad People card game, there are still a few more things to learn. But we’ll take a more detailed look at all this in the rules section below. Before that, let’s examine how to get a copy of this fun, quirky card game.

What You’ll Need To Play?

What You'll Need To Play?

To play Bad People, you’ll need a card set. The standard Bad People card game is easy to find online and is usually sold along with the After Dark expansion set. Now, if you enjoy the game, there are numerous other expansion sets you can play with.

On Sale Bad People Card Game

These expansion sets add new question cards to the game, each with 100 cards. While they make fun new additions to the game, you get 200 cards with the base game, so you will have plenty to play with.

Rules And Gameplay

Rules and Gameplay

1. The Aim of The Game

Bad People is a fun party game and even more fun after you’ve had a drink or two. While the game does have a point system, it’s mostly just played for fun. You’ll need to match votes with the dictator as often as possible to win. But this can be quite tricky but win or lose- you’re sure to have a good time.

2. The Set-Up

You can play the Bad People Card Game with up to 10 people; hence, you need to prep up a little if you’re playing with a larger group. The first thing to do is for every player to choose an identity card. These cards are gray and have a cartoon-style illustration on them.

Once this is done, every player should take a corresponding number of voting cards. These have the same illustrations as the identity cards but have a different color backing. Each player should also take a double-down card.

Once every player has their cards, you simply choose the first dictator. This is normally going to be the player who arrived last, but you can choose however you like. We’ll outline how these cards work in more detail soon.

You might also want to discuss the end-game point total. If you want the game to finish when someone wins a set amount of points, say 10 points, then make sure everyone knows before the game begins.

3. Playing Bad People

The dictator should begin by choosing one of the question cards. If you want to add a fun twist to the game, let the dictator choose three cards, so he has multiple choices when it comes to picking a question.

The dictator should then read the question aloud to the group and decide when he thinks the question best applies. For example, let’s say the question is – “Whose funeral would have the smallest audience” – he then chooses which person playing is most applicable.

He makes his decision by selecting the person’s identity card and placing it face down in front of others. The dictator can’t choose himself during this part of the game. Once the dictator has made his decision, the other players can do the same.

However, the other players aren’t deciding who they think the question best applies to; they are choosing who they think the dictator picked. Normally, players should be able to talk during this point of the game; we think it makes things more fun and frantic, but some players impose a no-talking rule.

Once everyone has chosen and put their voting card facedown, the round is over, and everyone can unveil their chosen cards. The dictator should be the last player to reveal their card. Any player whose voting card matches the card chosen by the dictator earns one point.

The player to the left of the dictator becomes the new dictator, and a new round starts following the same rules. The game is over when either a player meets an agreed-upon point total, or you simply decide you’ve had enough.

4. The Double-Down Card

Now, one thing we didn’t mention is the double-down card. If you’re not playing for points, you can ignore these cards, but if you are using points, every player should have one double-down card.

You can play your double-down card during any round if you are confident you have made the right decision and guessed who the dictator has chosen. Simply put your card down on top of your chosen identity card.

If you are correct, then you earn two points instead of one at the end of the round. Double-down cards can only be used once and should be discarded once used.

5. Drinking Game Rules

The Bad People card game makes a great drinking game, and with just a few additional rules, it can become one. The main difference is that anyone who guesses incorrectly should take one penalty drink at the end of the round.

Anyone who guessed correctly can also choose another player to take an extra drink. The dictator should also take a drink to start each round as well. Think of these rules like house rules in Monopoly and make your own to add a new twist to the game.

Bad People – A Fun Party Card Game! 

Bad People is a fun party game that is sure to provide endless hours of fun! If you’re looking to liven up your next get-together, you’ll be sure to enjoy playing Bad People.

You May Also Like to Read: The Top 10 Best Zombie Board Game in 2022

About Bar Games 101

Bar Games 101 is a website devoted to helping you learn about the best games to play with your friends. We review the games, research the rules, and uncover helpful tips and strategies.

Get our free guide to the 50 Best Bar Games.