How To Play Chez Geek

Chez Geek, the first in a long series of Chez titles by Steve Jackson games, is a statement on the human condition in one of the funniest ways imaginable. That is to say that this card game takes the parts of people who skip class, watch reality TV, and who can't always figure out what to do with their roommates and said roommates' annoying friends, and it turns those qualities from amusing into hilarious.

The premise behind Chez Geek is that all of the players are roommates in an apartment. Each player has their own "room" where they keep their stuff, invite guests over, and do certain activities. The goal of the game is to accumulate as much slack as possible and to meet your personal slack goal before your roommates do. Now, in order to explain further, let's have a look at the cards.

There are a handful of cards, which are called job cards. These are the professions that you and your roommates have to choose from. The Drummer, Sales Clerk, Graphic Designer, and others can all be found in this small stack of purple cards. Shuffle them up and pass them out face up, one to each roommate. On the job card is the amount of "free time" and "income" that roommate has in every turn, as well as their slack goal. Each activity, such as shopping or watching TV, requires free time, and some may require more. Additionally, certain activities require income in order to play, like buying the big screen TV. There are other cards, such as Money from Parents or Call in Sick that can give you more free time or income, but your job gives you the base.

Now it's time to deal out the other cards. Each player may have 5 cards, and at the beginning of their turn may draw up to 5 cards to fill their hand. Next, call people over. Simply put, a person card is placed down and a 6-sided die is rolled. On a 4-6, that person comes over to hang out. Once people have been called, activities are played. After all free time and income are used up, any other cards that a roommate holds and wishes to play are played. Then the turn moves to the next roommate. The first person to meet the slack goal listed on their job card is declared the winner!