How to Play

Spicy

2-6 players 15-20 min 7.2 Board Game Geek Rating

In this bluffing card game, players are cats competing in a spicy food contest. Cards are played face-down while announcing their value, allowing strategic deception. Players can lie about their cards or play legitimately by matching numbers or colors. Victory comes through clever hand management and reading opponents' bluffs. High replayability guaranteed.

Published 2020

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Shuffle spice cards

Shuffle all 100 spice cards (black) thoroughly before distributing

Deal starting hands

Give each player 6 cards as their starting hand

Form the draw deck

Place remaining spice cards face-down to create the draw pile

Insert End of World card

Place the End of World card (turquoise) vertically inside the deck at a position based on player count as shown on the card

Place prize cards

Set the 3 white prize cards (+10 each) beside the draw deck

Set aside hot cards

For standard play, put the 6 red "hot" variant cards aside - they are not used

Determine first player

The youngest player begins the game

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Choose your action

On your turn, you must either play a card or pass

Play a card face-down

Place one card from your hand face-down onto the spice card pile and announce its number and spice type

Bluff freely

Your announcement may be true or false - you are allowed to lie

Start a new pile

When playing the first card of a new pile, announce a number (1, 2, or 3) with any spice type of your choice

Continue the sequence

When adding to an existing pile, announce a higher number than the previous one while keeping the same spice type

Reset after ten

After announcing 10, you must announce 1, 2, or 3 of the same spice type

Correct wrong announcements

If you make an invalid announcement (wrong spice type), take your card back and draw one card as a pass penalty

Pass your turn

Instead of playing, say "pass" and draw one card from the deck; the next player then takes their turn

Challenge a card

Any player may challenge the top card of the spice pile by placing their hand on it and stating what they believe is wrong (the number or the spice type)

Resolve challenges

Flip only the top card face-up; only the challenged attribute matters

Win a challenge

Collect all cards from the spice pile face-down in front of you without looking at them

Lose a challenge

Draw 2 cards and start a new spice pile

Understand wild cards

Wild spice cards match all three spice types; wild number cards match all numbers 1-10

Wild card challenge rule

If a wild card is challenged for its wild attribute, it automatically loses the challenge

Announce your last card

When playing your final card, you must announce it loudly