Perpetual Commotion

About this board game

Perpetual Commotion is a real-time card game for 2–6 players that takes about 45 minutes, challenging everyone to race through color-coded decks with no turns and nonstop action.

Each player begins with five face-up cards called the Front Five, thirteen face-down Feeders, and a remaining draw pile known as the Playmakers. When someone shouts “Go!”, players simultaneously look for cards they can play onto the shared piles in the center of the table.

Every central pile starts with a wild Start card and is built in its color from 2 through 12 before being finished with a Stop card. Whenever a space opens in your Front Five, refill it from your Feeders. If no Front Five card can be played, turn over three Playmakers, using only the top card, and keep cycling through them until you find a playable option.

• Front Five: Five face-up cards that form your active playing area.
• Feeders: Thirteen face-down cards that must be cleared to finish the round.
• Playmakers: The draw pile used when your available cards cannot be played.
• Shared piles: Color sequences that run from 2 to 12 between Start and Stop cards.

As soon as you discard your last Feeder, call “Out!” to freeze the round. Score one point for every card you placed in the center, lose two points for each card remaining in your Feeders, and receive a bonus for finishing first. After the opening round, an eight-sided die changes the bonus, including possible extra points, doubled round totals, or a Perpetual Demotion that costs points.

Keep the commotion moving from round to round. In Perpetual Commotion, the first player to reach 150 points wins. The game is also expanded by Black & White Edition Cards and Silver & Gold Edition Cards.