1000 Blank White Cards

The game of 1000 blank white cards is the improvisational spirit of Calvin Ball applied to the play style of a collector card game. Think Magic the Gathering or Munchkin, but you get to make it up as you go. The goal of the game is not so much to win the game, as it is to metagame well. It is more challenging (and more impressive) to lose well than it is to win poorly. The point of the game is creativity, cleverness, and gamesmanship. Since a majority of geohashers are creative, clever, and/or gamers, this game is an ideal meetup activity.

Play consists of three stages: the Prologue, the Game, and the Epilogue.

Prologue

In this stage, the deck for the game is created. It should consist of cards from previous games, cards created now, and blank cards to be created during game play. In one tradition, it should consist of 4 of each type per player. This number can be changed to 3 for a short game or 5 for a long game. The cards from previous games are selected randomly from the 'keep' deck that the group has built up over previous games. If no such deck is available, then no pre-made cards are used, and additional prologue-made and blank cards are used in their place. All of these cards are shuffled together well to make the draw pile. If you plan on making a card which is 'overpowered' this is the best time to do it. If you make such a card in your hand, it too advantageous, and considered poor gamesmanship. If you make it here, it could end up in anyone's hand, to surprising and often amusing results.

Making Cards

Cards are made from blank white cards. 3"x5" note cards cut in half make a good choice. Just like a collector card game, cards consist of a title, pertinent rules information, a picture, and maybe some flavor text. However, any of these can be left off if the card's creator so desires. Remember: it's your card design. The only limitations here are that it cannot be left blank, and it should not upset the other players enough to make them quit playing. Many cards are based around giving or taking points, but they can introduce any rule into the game, or play off of any sort of game mechanic. Good examples can easily be found with a quick internet search to help you see the possibilities here.

The Game

Starting the Game

The dealer distributes a hand of 5 cards to each player from the game deck made in the Prologue. The rest of the deck is placed face down to make the draw pile. The player to the dealer's right(or left it doesn't really matter) goes first.

Turns

Each player, on his turn draws a card, and plays a card. If he has drawn a blank, he may fill it out, but he cannot hold up the game to do so, unless he has no cards to play when it is his turn. Play then proceeds to the next player in rotation.

Points

Cards may, among other things, award points. These can be just ordinary points, or they can have a type attached, such as 'Spartan points' or 'potato points.' If something affects points, it does not necessarily affect points of any other type. One of the players should be a scorekeeper and track the points gained and lost by all of the players.

Game ending

The game ends at the end of the turn on which the draw pile becomes empty.

Winning

The person with the highest point total (including all types of points) when the game has ended is the winner. There are, of course, other ways to win, since the cards can change the rules.

Golden Rule 1

The rules and instructions on the cards always override the rules and instructions here. This is how most CCGs work. Rule changes can be effects of cards, and when the card is no longer in effect neither is the rule change. Regardless, rule changes are undone after the game ends, and each game starts on a clean slate.

Golden Rule 2

Any dispute on the rules is resolved by consensus. When voting on an interpretation, players should weigh the intent of the rule's creator, the literal interpretation of the rule, and above all, which of these would be more amusing for everyone.

Epilogue

In this portion of the game, players vote on which cards to keep for future games. This decision is usually based on a cards entertainment and game play value. When all the cards have been voted on, the Epilogue is over.