College the Card Game (Chez Geek)

Wake up, go to class, eat a "healthy" lunch, do homework, and go to bed.  Is that how you expected life on campus to be?  No!  You need to break from that dull routine, and have adventures.  Or more accurately, do as little as possible while still passing class.  It's now your mission in life to be the best slacker imaginable at Chez Geek.



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Chez Geek is a card game by Steve Jackson for 2 to 5 players.  Each player takes the role of a geeky college student, with the goal being to get away with doing as little as possible, such as napping or watching TV.

SET-UP:  Each player is dealt 1 Job card face-up, and 5 Life cards from the deck to their hand.  At the start of each players turn, they draw until they have 6 cards in their hand.  All cards with Slack will stay in front of the player, such as People or Activities, in their Room.

JOB CARD:  Each player has a set Free Time, Income, and Slack Goal located on the Job card.  If a Job card have a "/" printed with 2 numbers on the Free Time or Income, then each turn, that player rolls a die/  If they roll a 3 or less, the lower number applies; but if they roll a 4 or higher, the higher number applies instead.  Each Job card's Free Time and Income may be spent, but is reset at the beginning of the turn.



FREE TIME:  Each player has a set amount of cards they can play determined by Free Time.  On the players turn, they may do an Activity, such as watch TV or have Nookie (which, apparently, is a type of snack).  They may also use their Free Time to go Shopping to buy cards like Booze and Food from their hands.  However, those also require spending Income depending on the card.

PERSON CARDS:  Each player may also call a Person to any Players Room, which does not require spending Free Time.  Instead, the player may only call them during the Call phase, which takes place before spending Free Time.  If no Slack is given from the person, they go in that Room automatically.  Otherwise, the player calling rolls the die.  On a 3-6, the call succeeds and goes into that Room.  On a 1 or 2, the call fails, and the card is discarded.

WHENEVER:  These cards are the only ones that can be played regardless of who's turn it is.  Some require a certain activity to be played in order to use them, whereas others can be played anytime to get their effect for the next event.  In most cases, these are usually discarded.



SLACK GOAL:  Most cards have a Slack count in the top right corner.  Whenever a card with Slack enters your Room, gain that many Slack counters as points.  The player who manages to get Slack points equal to or greater than their Slack Goal on their Job card wins.

CONCLUSION:  Steve Jackson manages to pull out another solid title in Chez Geek.  It invokes a similar feel from things like Munchkin, but the gameplay is still as strong as ever, and the rules just as crazy.  Plus, there's still variations in expansions like Slack to the Future, and thematic changes in Chez Cthulhu and Chez Goth.  Steve Jackson is a giant among the tabletop industry, and Chez Geek shows you the reasons why.