ICOM Card Game

The Objective

• Each player is an ICOM delegate with a Role card (kept all game). Roles give small, thematic abilities.
• The group travels together through a queue of Destinations. Each Destination applies global modifiers until the next Day.
• Each player builds their own deck, plays cards for Cash, Bants, and Glory, and tries to keep their Bleakness under control.
• The game ends when either:
  • The set number of Trips (Days) is complete (Conference ends), or
  • Any one delegate hits 10 Bleakness (collective despair — the trip collapses, no winners).
• If the Conference ends, each delegate scores: Glory – Bleakness. Highest total = ICOM Legend.

Setup

• Separate the Sanctions cards into their own deck and shuffle.
• Each player receives a shuffled copy of their 10-card Starter Deck.
• Shuffle the Destination Deck and lay out 5 cards face up to form the route. There is no active Destination during the first round (Pre‑Conference).
• Shuffle all other cards into the Market Deck and reveal 5 Market cards as the Market Row.

Card Icons and Layout

Cards use icons to summarise their effects:

• ⭐ = Glory points gained when played.
• 😬 = Bleakness added when played.
• 💷 = Cash value of the card when played.
• 😂 = Bants value of the card when played.
• ⚠️ = Sanction probability shown as a fraction of 6. (e.g., 2/6 means a sanction is drawn on a dice roll of 1 or 2; 0/6 means no risk; 6/6 means guaranteed sanction.)

Card layout:

• Top right: icon showing the card type (Travel, Experience, Food & Drink, Gear, Destination, or Sanction).
• Top left: red number = purchase cost.
• Top left: green number = cash value when played.

Market Cards

Bought with Cash from the Market Row. Four types:

• Gear: Played immediately, persists in front of you. Gear can be destroyed or stolen with Bants.
• Experiences: Personal effects; give Glory, sometimes Bleakness, often risk Sanctions. Cash redemption value reflects how costly the Experience would be (always ≤ purchase cost).
• Travel: Group effects; apply to all players. Active player usually gains 1 less Bleakness (they're "The Organiser"). Travel almost always adds Bleakness but may also give Glory or Cash value.
• Food & Drink: Low-cost cards, usually +Bants (the social current of the game). Rarely Glory. Thematically constant banter-fuel.

Starter Deck

Each player begins with 10 cards:

• 5 × Bleak Dollar (+1 Cash)
• 1 × The Bricklayers Arms (+1 Bants)
• 1 × Airport Beers (+1 Bants)
• 1 × WhatsApp Reminiscing (+1 Bants)
• 1 × Pre-Com Anticipation (+1 Bants)
• 1 × Delayed Gatwick Express (+1 Bants)

A Player Turn

1. Draw: Up to 5 cards (Sanctions in hand reduce space).
2. Play: Play as many as you like.
   • Add Glory immediately to your total.
   • Tally Cash for Market buys.
   • Tally Bants for sabotage/social actions.
   • Apply Bleakness effects.
3. Buy: Spend Cash to buy 1+ Market cards. Bought cards go to your discard pile.
4. Spend Bants: At any point in your turn, you may spend:
   • 2️⃣ Bants → Remove a card from another player's hand (discarded).
   • 4️⃣ Bants → Destroy another player's Gear.
   • 5️⃣ Bants → Scrap one of your own cards (permanently remove from deck).
   • 6️⃣ Bants → Steal another player's Gear or move a Destination to the front of the queue.
5. Resolve Sanctions: For each card played with Sanction risk, roll/resolve in any order. If drawn:
   • Add Bleakness immediately.
   • Place the Sanction into your hand (it clogs).
   • To remove later: spend the Bants cost listed on it.
   • If you ever hold 3 Sanctions at once → you become the Ultimate Delegate: immediately gain +5 Glory, clear the Sanctions, discard rest of hand.
6. Discard & Redraw: Discard everything you played (except Gear in play). Draw 5 fresh.

End of Day

• Current Destination applies until all players have had their turns.
• Then slide queue left, reveal a new Destination at the back.

End of Game

• If any delegate hits 10 Bleakness: Trip collapses, everyone loses.
• If Conference ends: each delegate scores Glory – Bleakness. Highest = ICOM Legend. Group total = overall Conference score.