Gamehelptopthis

TopThis

TopThis! is a cutthroat climbing / trick-taking-style card game for 2–5 players (2 not recommended) where competing bands play sets that each have to top the last one on stage. Your setlist is locked the moment soundcheck ends — no rearranging the lineup. The crowd decides who reigns.

Components

The deck is 45 dual-sided setlist cards. Each half shows a number from 1–10 — every combination of 1–10 is represented across the deck. Each value is the energy level of a song: 1 is a sleepy acoustic opener, 10 is a face-melting finale.

Setup (Soundcheck)

Shuffle the deck, randomizing both card order and orientation (some songs are dealt upside-down), then deal every card out so each band gets a full hand.

Once dealt, that's your setlist — you cannot reorder it. You may flip your entire hand end-for-end to use the values on the other side of each card, but the running order stays locked.

On Your Turn (Showtime)

Choose one of two moves.

Perform

Choose one or more adjacent songs in your setlist that are either:

• all the same energy level (a cohesive set), or
• in consecutive order up or down (a dynamic run set).

You can only perform if the stage is empty (opening act) or your set outranks the one currently on stage. A set outranks another if it:

• has more songs, or
• is cohesive (all same value) versus the previous set's dynamic run, or
• is the same size and type but with higher values.

When you blow the previous band off the stage, you claim their cards as trophies, face-down in front of you.

Poach

Instead of performing, take a card from either end of the set currently on stage and slot it anywhere in your setlist, in whichever orientation you like. The band you poached from collects a 1 VP token as consolation.

Encore

Once per round, instead of choosing between perform and poach, you may poach first, then immediately perform.

Ending a Round (Last Song)

The round ends when a band plays their last card and leaves the stage empty-handed, or when all but one band have been poaching instead of playing.

Score the round:

• +1 VP per face-down trophy card.
• −1 VP per card still stuck in your setlist — unless you were the one left on stage while everyone else poached (no penalty; you held it down).

Winning (Headliner)

Play a number of rounds equal to the number of bands. When the tour ends, the most VP is crowned headliner.

Table Options

• Poach-lock hand penalty — Exempt last performer / Penalize last performer.
• Highlight potential plays — Show all valid patterns / Only show stage-beating patterns.