#shell game

• Shell game — An illegal and fraudulent game of chance, usually practiced in crowded public places (fairs, markets, stations), consisting of spectators guessing the hidden object (a ball, a coin) under one of three cups, thimbles, or playing cards manipulated quickly and with manual skill by a swindler. In a figurative sense, the term describes an action based on deception, manipulation, hidden tricks, or a duplicitous strategy by which the truth is concealed.