1000 Blank White Cards

1000 Blank White Cards

A sample card in the typical 3" x 2.5" US format.
Years active	1996 to present
Genre(s)	Party game Card game Nomic
Players	Variable
Setup time	Variable
Playing time	Variable
Random chance	Variable
Skill(s) required	Cartooning, Irony

1000 Blank White Cards is a party game played with cards in which the deck is created as part of the game. Though it has been played by adults in organized groups worldwide, 1000 Blank White Cards is also described as well-suited for children in Hoyle's Rules of Games. Since any game rules are contained on the cards (rather than existing as all-encompassing rules or in a book), 1000 Blank White Cards can be considered a sort of nomic. It can be played by any number of players and provides the opportunity for card creation and gameplay outside the scope of a single sitting. Creating new cards during the game, dealing with previous cards' effects, is allowed, and rule modification is encouraged as an integral part of gameplay.

The game consists of whatever the players define it as by creating and playing cards. There are no initial rules, and while there may be conventions among certain groups of players, it is in the spirit of the game to spite and denounce these conventions, as well as to adhere to them religiously.

For many typical players, though, the game may be split into three logical parts: the deck creation, the play itself, and the epilogue.

A deck of cards consists of any number of cards, generally of a uniform size and of rigid enough paper stock that they may be reused. Some may bear artwork, writing or other game-relevant content created during past games, with a reasonable stock of cards that are blank at the start of gameplay. Some time may be taken to create cards before gameplay commences, although card creation may be more dynamic if no advance preparation is made, and it is suggested that the game be simply sprung upon a group of players, who may or may not have any idea what they are being caught up in. If the game has been played before, all past cards can be used in gameplay unless the game specifies otherwise, but perhaps not until the game has allowed them into play.

A typical group's conventions for deck creation follow:

Though cards are created at all times throughout the game (except the epilogue), it is necessary to start with at least some cards pre-made. Depending on the desired duration of the game a deck of 80 to 150 cards is usual, and of these approximately half will be created before the start of play. If a group doesn't already possess a partial deck they may choose to start with fewer cards and to create most of the deck during play.

Whether or not the group possesses a deck already (from previous games), they will usually want to add a few more cards, so the first phase of the game involves each player creating six or seven new cards to add to the deck. See structure of a card below.