About

Logo is a simple Risk/Reward card game for 2-4 players (an additional deck could be added for up to 8 people). The game is suited for adults and children who have the ability to perform simple arithmetic.

The objective of LOGO, as the name suggests, is to “go low,” meaning you want to compile the lowest total hand that you can each round and have the lowest total score amongst your playing competitors at the end of the game.

A typical game of LOGO is played to 250 points, however the target score for a game of LOGO can be adjusted to meet any time constraints you may have. A game to 50 could be played in roughly 5 minutes, or, you can play a marathon game to 1,000.

The LOGO deck consists of 55 cards, each of which has a numeric value. The deck is broken down as follows:

• 14 Red cards, numbered 1-14.
• 14 Blue cards, numbered 1-14.
• 14 Green cards, numbered 1-14.
• 6 Black zero (0 pt value) cards
• 6 Black Action cards:
• Two (2) Jump cards (15 pt value)
• One (1) Steal card (20 pt value)
• One (1) Look card (20pt value)
• One (1) Stop card (25pt value)
• One (1) Destroy card (25pt value)
• One (1) LOGO Card (-10 pt value)

The primary way to build a low scoring hand in LOGO is to compile a hand of low-value cards. Your score for each round is determined by the sum of your hand. The following hand, for example, has a total of 14 points and is relatively strong:

Got it? Good NOW, here’s where the real fun begins...

About that LOGO card...it is the best card in the entire game, and here’s why: The LOGO card has the lowest point value of any card (-10) AND it can also be used as any “color” or any of the Action cards. So you could play it as a Destroy card or as a “green” card or as a Stop card or, well, you get the idea.

Now, some risk/reward and strategy comes into play because there is another way to build a low-value hand: Compile a hand where all of your cards are the same color. If you can do this successfully, your hand is worth zero points.

• This is risky because you are likely holding a high sum of cards when you are attempting to build your “color hand”, making you very vulnerable.
• In addition to making a green, red or blue “color hand”, you can also attempt a black “color hand” using a combination of zero cards and/or Action cards. This is especially risky because there are only 12 black cards (compared to 14 each of the other colors) and because the Action cards have such high point values

There are other ways to get a low hand each round, but we’ll get to those in a second as we get into the game play a little more...

Setup

Shuffle the deck and deal seven cards to each player, dealing one card per player at a time in a clockwise fashion.

After cards are dealt, place the deck, face down, in the center of the table. This will be the DRAW PILE.

Turn the top card over from the draw pile and place it face up. This will be the DISCARD PILE.

This will be the procedure to begin play in each round. A new player will start each round, rotating in clockwise order around the table.

Starting the Game

The player who had their birthday most recently goes first, then play continues clockwise around the table.

To start the game, and the first round, Player A (the first player) will choose the top card from either the Draw (blind) pile or the Discard (visible) pile and then discard one card, face up, from their hand into the discard pile (face up). Players must always replenish their hand to 7 cards before the next player’s turn. This constitutes a turn.

The Second Turn and Beyond

Player B (the next player) will then play a turn. Play continues clockwise around the table with each player taking a turn.

The round will come to an end when one of two things happens:

1. There are no cards remaining in the Draw pile OR
2. A player, when it is their position to play, in lieu of a turn, declares LOGO!.

See the Declaring LOGO section for further details.

The points are calculated for each player at the conclusion of each round with a running total being kept for the sum of all rounds.

Action Cards

Time to review those previously mentioned Actions cards. Properly playing these cards will determine your success. Use them too early and you can negate their power, but hold on to them too long and you can get burned

Typically when a player finishes their turn they will discard an unwanted card to the discard pile. To use an Action card, the player will likewise discard in the normal fashion, placing the Action card in the Discard pile, face up. They will then specify which player to use the Action card against.

The cards have the following actions:

• Jump: The jump card will skip a player’s turn. The player “issued” the Jump card will lose their next turn.
• Steal: The steal card allows you to blindly take one card from any opponent’s hand. When this occurs, the Steal-er has to discard one card to get back to 7 cards and the Steal-ee will have to take a new card from the Draw pile to get back to 7 cards. Play will then continue to the next player in order.
• Look: The Look card allows you to look at the hand of one of your opponents. Only the Looker gets to see their hand.
• Destroy: The Destroy card is the most feared card in the game as it allows you to completely destroy the hand of one of your opponents. The player who has their hand destroyed must immediately take seven new cards from the Draw pile to replenish their hand.
• Stop: The Stop card allows you to stop any Action card levied upon you. Consider it the only defense against the other Action cards. When a player uses an Action card and declares its use against you, you will lay your Stop card on top of the discard pile, blocking the action. The Stopper must then (you guessed it) take a new card from the Draw pile to replenish his hand to seven cards.
• LOGO: The LOGO card can be used as ANY action card OR ANY color OR taken at its face value of -10 points.

Note: When an Action card is played and placed on top of the Discard pile it cannot be claimed by any other player.

Example: If Player A uses an Action card against Player C, then Player B will play next after the action is carried out and Player’s A and C have both replenished their hands as necessary.

Declaring LOGO!

A player, when it is their position to play, in lieu of a turn, can declare LOGO.

This ends the round, regardless of how many cards remain in the Draw pile, but there are two important rules to follow:

1. Play will continue around one complete turn, giving each player a final turn in the round, until it reaches back to the player who declared LOGO
2. Action cards can no longer be used on any opponent but they can still be discarded to remove their high point values from your hand.

So, what’s the benefit of declaring LOGO!?

Simple, if you have the best (i.e. lowest total hand) amongst your competitors for the round, your hand is automatically given a value of zero points (or the hand’s total if it is a negative value).

BUT, not everybody can be declaring LOGO! all willy-nilly If you declare LOGO and you don’t have the lowest total hand, then:

1. Your point total for the round is doubled.
2. The competitor with the lowest total score in that round gets zero points (or the hand’s total if it is a negative value).

Winning the Game

Point totals are tallied after each round. When a player’s total points reach the pre-determined point value for the game (i.e. 250), then they are eliminated. This continues until one player, the winner, remains.

Rules Clarification

If the Draw pile runs out of cards before completing the final rotation after a player has declared LOGO or before trying to replenish a hand back to seven cards after an Action card is used, then you should shuffle the discard pile and take as many cards are needed to complete the round/replenish back to seven.

Examples

Round #1

Player A declares LOGO instead of taking a normal turn. Player B then plays and discards the Destroy card (which is rendered useless). Player C completes his turn.

Player A shows a hand totaling 15 points, Player B shows a hand that includes a Steal card and a Jump card, amongst others, that add up to 61 points and Player C shows a hand totaling 27 points.

Player A earns zero points for declaring LOGO and winning the hand.

Player B gets his full 61 points.

Player C gets his full 27 points.

Round #2

Player A declares LOGO instead of taking a normal turn. Player B completes his turn. Player C completes his turn.

Player A shows a hand totaling 11 points, Player B shows a hand totaling 18 points and Player C shows a hand totaling 10 points.

Player A gets his (11) points doubled for declaring LOGO and losing the hand for 22 points.

Player B gets his full 18 points.

Player C gets zero points for having the lowest hand in a round in which someone declared LOGO!.

After 2 Rounds the cumulative score is:

• A: 22, B: 79, C: 27

Round #3

The draw pile runs out of cards ending the round (no player declared LOGO).

Player A shows a hand totaling 15 points, Player B shows a hand totaling 8 points and Player C shows a hand totaling 16 points.

Each player receives the amount of points they are showing.

After 3 Rounds the cumulative score is:

• A: 37, B: 87, C: 33

Round #4

Player A discards the Jump card and wants to use it on Player C but Player C discards the Stop card blocking the action. Player C then takes a card from the Draw pile to replenish his hand back to 7 cards.

Player B then plays their normal turn and discards the Destroy card on Player C who doesn’t have the ability to stop it.

Player C discards his entire hand and takes seven new cards from the Draw pile.

Player C then plays his normal turn.

Player A declares LOGO and Player B and C complete their turns.

Player A shows a hand totaling 15 points, Player B shows a hand of all green card (earning a zero point hand) and Player C shows a hand totaling 60 points.

Player A gets his (15) points doubled for declaring LOGO and losing the hand for 30 points.

Player B gets zero points.

Player C gets zero gets 60 points.

After 4 Rounds the cumulative score is:

• A: 67, B: 87, C: 93

Definitions

• Draw pile: the pile of cards, face down, in the center of the table.
• Discard pile: the discarded pile of cards, face up, in the center of the table.
• A turn: The act of a player selecting a new card and discarding another.
• Replenish: Selecting cards from the Draw pile to bring your total number of cards back to the required seven.
• Low Hand: The lowest total value hand amongst the competitors in a given round.
• Color Hand: A hand comprised of all seven cards of the same color (green, red, blue or black). This is worth zero points.
• Action card: A card that when discarded has a specific action. See the Action Cards section for more details.
• LOGO card: The game’s ultimate card. It can be used as any Action card, any color or taken at its face point value of -10 points.

Credits/Contact

The following people made this game possible:

• Game Concept: Mike Viscusi & Rod Granger
• Artwork: Mike Viscusi
• Play Testers: The Viscusi Family and The Granger Family
• Contact: Mike Viscusi
• mike.viscusi@gmail.com
• (215)803-5337