I stumbled across these nice simple cartoon characters in my Instagram feed and couldn’t resist looking a bit deeper. It turns out they are the players in a game based on the classic card game War, called Pro Cycling Trumps. Each card includes specialty ratings for some of the most iconic current professional cyclists; and as you play against your friends, the highest rated rider in a given category trumps the weaker pro.
Shuffle past the jump for the detailed rules of the game, price, and where to get a set…
This deck of cards is made up of 54 of our favorite professionals from the 2014 men’s road cycling peloton (can you spot who is #55 in the tiny avatars above?) The game is simple and should be fun for all ages, maybe best pulled out during a rained out training ride or Grand Tour rest day. A simple instruction card included in the deck explains the rules.
The cards by designer Jim McLeman are just £8; plus £2 shipping to the UK, £4.5 to the EU or £5.5 to the US.
Also available from their website are an art print poster of all 54 pro cyclist avatars, prints of individual riders (including many more than are in the standard deck), or a custom made-to-order print of you or your favorite cyclist.
How to play
* Shuffle the cards and deal them all out, face down.
* The youngest player goes first, using their top card and choosing which category to play. (The maximum score for each category is 100.)
* The rest of the players use their top card and read out their score for that same category.
* The player with the highest score wins the hand, and takes all the other players’ card, adding them to the bottom of their stack. They then use their top card, and pick a category.
* If there’s a tie, all players put their cards in the middle, and the same player chooses again from the top card in their hand. Whoever wins that round also wins the cards in the middle.
* When you’ve lost all of your cards, you’re out.
* The winner is the player holding all the cards at the end.
* For a shorter game, try playing with fewer cards.
* Have fun!
