Color Combo

PLAYERS: 2-?          PLAYERS: 14+           PLAYERS: 20-30 minutes

 

OBJECT:  To score the most points by guessing a color combination from clues given by a teammate.

 

CONTENTS:  One deck of 54 cards; 50 Color cards and 4 Reference cards.

 

BEFORE PLAY:  Gather a pen and paper to keep score. Next, divide up into two teams making sure each team has Color Reference cards. Shuffle the rest of the cards and cut the deck into two even piles. Decide who goes first by turning over the Reference cards. 

 

PLAY: The clue “Giver” from the first team draws a card off the top of each pile, making sure to keep them hidden from all other players. They then give a clue consisting of 1-5 words to try and get their teammate(s) to guess the Color Combo. “Guessers” may either guess one or two colors, but not more, or simply say they don’t know. Note: If there is more than one Guesser on a team, they may elect to discuss what they’d like to say before giving an “official” answer. After the Guesser(s) have acknowledged the clue, the Giver may then give another clue if they have not used up their 5 words. The Giver should try to use as few of their 5 words as possible, and ideally only go for 1 word, as the more Clue Words that are given means less points to win. 

 

If they guess one of the colors correctly, the Giver will acknowledge the answer, and put the card down, face up. Then they’ll try for the second color, as both are needed to score points.

 

After the Giver has given a total of five one-word clues, the Guesser(s) get one last chance to guess correctly. If they are not successful, the other team has one guess to steal a point. Play then switches to the other team, and continues on in turn with each player getting a chance to be the clue Giver.

 

After teams play ten rounds, there is one final round where each team draws three cards, and point values are doubled. Teams may choose who gives the clues in this round.

 

Note: If a Giver draws two cards of the same color, they may place one card face down to let the Guesser(s) know only one color is needed for a correct answer. However, in the final round, all three colors should be different. If they are not, continue to draw more cards until you have three unique colors. 

 

TIE BREAKER: If there is a tie after all eleven rounds have been played, teams will get one more chance to win the game. In this round, each team will select one Giver and those two will draw one card each, showing their card to the other Giver. The Giver from the team that last held the lead will then make a bid for how many words they think it will take their Guesser(s) to get the color combo. If the bid is 2 or more, then the other Giver can also make a bid, or tell their opponent to go for it. Bidding may continue until one team’s bid is at 1 Clue Word. If the team playing gets the combo correct within the predetermined number, they win. But, if not, the other team takes the game.

 

SCORING: If the team gets both colors with just one clue word, they get five points; and lose a point for each additional clue word given. Note: Points are doubled in the Final Round.

 

1 Clue Word   = 5 Points

2 Clue Words = 4 Points

3 Clue Words = 3 Points

4 Clue Words = 2 Points

5 Clue Words = 1 Point

 

COLORS BREAKDOWN:

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Blue    5

Red    5

Yellow    5

Black    4

Green    4

Orange    4

Purple    4

White    3

Gray    3

Brown    3

Gold     2

Silver    2

Olive    1

Maroon    1

Pink     1

Teal    1

Peach    1

Tan    1

​

TO MAKE THE GAME A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT: If it is decided that the game is too easy for one or both teams, gameplay can be altered in a couple of ways. Firstly, clues about sports teams are not allowed. Secondly, instead of having the option to use more than one Clue Word at a time, a Giver may only give single word clues. Either one or both of these can be used; or any house rules that are agreed upon beforehand.

 

TWO PLAYER VERSION: Players may play cooperatively, taking turns giving and guessing, while trying to reach the perfect score of 60 points.

 

THREE PLAYER VERSION: Player 1 would begin by giving clues to player 2, then player 2 would give to player 3, and 3 would give to 1. Play would then reverse and player 1 would give clues to 3 and so on until each pair has played 4 rounds together. Each player would count points won with others toward their own total.