Chez Geek is a
card game from
Steve Jackson Games. Note the omission of the world "collectable" - it is not a
CCG, once you buy the
deck, that's all there is. There are no
booster packs, it's just a fun little
game. It's kind of like
Lunch Money in that respect.
In any case, the idea behind the game is that you and all the other players are roommates in a geek house. Each of you has a Job (Examples: Web Designer, Tech Support, Professional Research Subject, Temp), and each job has a certain amount of income and free time, and a particular Slack Goal.
To win, you have to be the first player to reach your Slack Goal - this can be accomplished by buying geeky stuff, doing geeky things, or inviting other geeks over. The game has a very strong screw-your-neighbor bent to it, also; a lot of the cards are well-suited for thwarting your opponents, and sometimes it's more profitable to decrease your buddy's slack instead of increasing your own.
The rules are, with basically one exception, quite simple. Unlike some other card games, I found the instructions quite lucid. The order or operations is clearly explained in the instruction manual, and those cards with special rules associated with them are not hard to understand or use.
There are two optional add-on sets to Chez Geek, with 55 new cards each. They are Chez Geek: Slack Attack, and Chez Geek: Block Party. There are also two rules-compatible spinoffs, as well. Chez Greek covers college sorority and fraternity life, while Chez Grunt has a military theme. Additionally, you can obtain blank cards from Steve Jackson Games for replacing damaged cards or making new rules.
This game is best played with those geeks with which you've actually lived, because while you can't kill 'em in real life, using the Justifiable Homocide card has a certain visceral pleasure. From the card: "That was the last slice of pizza. No jury on earth would convict me."