Rules Text

CHAOS!™ RULES! Designed by Gloucester Game Institute in association with BUZZ GAMeS, an enterprise of GAMeBIT, Inc. 2 to 4 players · Ages 8 and up

THE OBJECT of the game is to spell the word CHAOS! (in any order) on the table in front of you.

THE DECK consists of Letter Cards and Action Cards. There should be 32 Letter Cards(C, H, A, O, S, and "!" [exclamation point]) that say "CHAOS! RULES!" in lavender on the backs. The 40 Action Cards say "CHAOS! RULES!" in yellow on the backs. These cards feature specific actions that are to be followed immediately after the card is played.

DEALING is done after all the cards are shuffled. (Mass CHAOS! can be played by shuffling together two decks.) Deal five (5) cards to each player. The remainder of the deck remains face down as the Draw Pile.

THE TABLE Place the Draw Pile in the center of the table. Create a Discard Pile as cards are played. Note: Cards are discarded face up. Table Area is the space in front of each player onto which Letter Cards are placed over the course of the game. "Table Cards" refers only to Letter Cards in a player's Table Area. Cards in the Discard Pile and Draw Pile are not "Table Cards."

PLAY begins with the person to the left of the dealer. A turn consists of one of two possible options... 1. Draw one card from the Draw Pile and place it in your hand. If you draw a card, your turn is now complete. 2. Play a card. To play a Letter Card simply place it in your Table Area.

The only exception is the Wild Card. To play an Action Card, read the card aloud, follow the instructions, and then place the card on the Discard Pile.Your turn is now complete.

DISCARDING occurs when at the end of your turn you have more than six (6) cards in your hand. Discard cards of your choice until your hand has only six (6) cards. All discarded cards go into the Discard Pile.

WINNING results from being the first player to spell the word CHAOS! in front of his/her Table Area. Remember, CHAOS! can be spelled in any order.

IT'S ALL IN THE CARDS . . .

GUESS allows you the chance to force another player to discard his/her hand. To prove you wrong, a player must show all of his/her cards of the type requested on the Action Card played.

NOT! is the only card that can be played at any time. It can eliminate any one Letter or Action Card. Both the cards go to the Discard Pile.

PASS requires players to exchange cards or hands even if one player has no cards to give in return.

WILD requires you to discard two (2) Letter Cards from your Table Area in order to play it. This is the only special Letter Card. This card can be stolen or traded. A Wild Card can change at any time to any Letter Card its owner wants once in the Table Area.

Other cards call for such actions as: DISCARD, PLAY, LOOK, STEAL, TAKE and TRADE; the intent of which is fairly plain.

VARIATIONS ON THE THEME

PARTNERS PLAY Partners sit across from each other. You may play Letter Cards to your partner's Table Area. Partners may not share Hand Cards. The winner of Partners Play is the first team to complete CHAOS! in front of one of the players. Try this variation with six (6) players for some added fun.

PERFECT ORDER is a more challenging game. The rules are the same as for standard CHAOS! RULES! except for the conditions for winning. In order to win, players need to collect Letter Cards for CHAOS! but reserve playing the "!" until the very last. Having extra Letter Cards is all right.

MASS CHAOS! can be played by combining two (2) decks for twice as many players (up to 8). Creates twice the CHAOS! with the same RULES!. The only requirement is to have fun!

TOURNAMENT RULES! Same as regular play. Score 2 points for winning a round and 1 point for every different Letter Card in your Table Area. When a total score is above 13, play ends. Highest score above 13 advances or wins. Ties won by winner of the most recent hand. You score no points for playing the "!", but you can't win without it! This makes it important to score well on the average, not just win!

© 2000 GAMeBIT, INC.  Rochelle, VA, USA