How to play Ride the Bus
Ride the Bus is a card game for 2 to 8 players, traditionally played as a drinking game. Everyone guesses four things about the next card, then plays matching cards off a pyramid to hand out points. The player left holding the most cards rides the bus. The lowest score wins.
- Players
- 2 to 8 (1 to 8 in the solo gauntlet)
- Deck
- One standard 52-card deck, aces high
- Rounds
- Four questions, the pyramid, then the bus
- Goal
- Finish with the lowest score
Setup
Shuffle one deck. Each player builds a row of face-up cards in front of them during the first part of the game, and those cards stay there until the pyramid. Points are bad: you want as few as possible at the end.
How to play
Part 1: The four questions
There are four rounds, and everyone takes a turn in each. On your turn you guess something about the next card off the deck, then it goes face up in front of you. Guess wrong and you take the points. Guess right and you give them to another player.
- Red or black? Worth 1 point.
- Higher or lower than your first card? Worth 2 points. The same rank counts as wrong.
- Inside or outside your first two cards? Worth 3 points. Matching either one counts as wrong.
- Which suit? Worth 4 points.
Part 2: The pyramid
- Deal ten cards face down in a pyramid: four in the bottom row, then three, two, and one.
- Flip them one at a time, starting with the bottom row.
- When a flipped card matches the rank of a card in front of you, play those cards. The bottom row is worth 1 point per card you play, and each row above it is worth one more, up to 4 at the top.
- For each card you play, pick another player to take the points.
- A flip that matches nobody moves straight on to the next card.
Part 3: The bus
- Whoever still has the most cards in front of them rides the bus. A tie goes to the player with more points, then to the earlier seat.
- Flip one card. The rider guesses whether the next card is higher or lower. The same rank counts as a miss.
- A hit adds one to the rider’s streak. A miss is 1 point and sets the streak back to zero.
- The bus ends at 5 hits in a row, or after 40 guesses.
Winning
Once the bus ends, count everyone’s points. The lowest score wins. Points from all three parts count, so the rider can still finish ahead of other players.
Variants
Each option below is one the host can pick before the game. The first choice listed is the standard game described above.
| Option | Choices | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Pyramid (default), Give & Take | Give & Take lays out eight spots in four rows of two: a Give spot, then a Take spot. They flip in order. If nobody holds the flipped rank, it is flipped again until someone does. On a Give spot, anyone holding that rank plays those cards and picks another player to take the points. On a Take spot, they take the points themselves. This part ends after the eighth spot, or sooner if only one player still has cards. |
| Row points | Escalating (default), Flat | Escalating makes each higher row worth one more point per card, from 1 up to 4. Flat makes every card or spot worth 1 point per card played. |
| Bus | Higher/lower (default), Questions | With Questions, the rider answers the four questions again, in order, each on a new card laid beside the last. Higher or lower and inside or outside compare against the cards laid out on the bus since the last miss. A right answer moves on to the next question. A miss is 1 point and sends the rider back to the first question. The bus ends when the rider answers all four in a row, or after 40 guesses. |
| Streak | 3, 4, 5 (default), 6, 7 | How many higher or lower calls in a row end a Higher/lower bus. |
| Mode | Classic (default), Solo gauntlet | See the solo gauntlet below. |
Solo gauntlet
The gauntlet works for 1 to 8 players. The goal is 5 higher or lower calls in a row on the bus. The four questions play the same way, but the points only decide who rides first, and if you are playing alone a right answer costs nothing. Then everyone rides, starting with whoever has the most points, with seat order breaking ties. A miss ends that ride and the next player takes over, and each player gets 10 rides. Five hits in a row wins on the spot. If nobody manages it, the longest streak wins and ties share the win. A lone rider who never reaches five loses.
Playing it in Deckhand
Deckhand keeps score in points, with no drinks involved. Your face-up row sits on your own screen, and on the pyramid any matching cards play for you automatically; you just choose who takes the points. After a flip that matches someone, the host taps Continue to flip the next card. The host picks the board, row points, bus, and streak in the lobby, or switches to the solo gauntlet to play alone.
Deckhand is free on the App Store and Google Play. One phone starts a table and everyone else joins with the code, so nobody needs a physical deck.
FAQ
Is Ride the Bus a drinking game?
Traditionally, yes. Points stand in for drinks: whoever guesses wrong or gets handed points would drink. Deckhand plays it as a points game, and the lowest score wins.
How many people can play Ride the Bus?
The classic game takes 2 to 8 players. The solo gauntlet mode works for 1 to 8, so you can also play alone.
Who has to ride the bus?
The player with the most cards still in front of them after the pyramid. A tie goes to the player with more points, then to the earlier seat.
Does the same card count as higher or lower?
No. A card of the same rank counts as wrong on the second question and as a miss on the bus.
How do you get off the bus?
In the default game, by calling higher or lower correctly 5 times in a row. Each miss costs a point and resets the streak, and the bus stops after 40 guesses either way.