An original card game by James Barrett

Top This!

The Battle of the Bands Card Game

⬇ Free Print & Play Board Game Arena Soon Rules PDF

About the Game

Every set
has to top the last.

TopThis! is a cutthroat climbing card game of duelling bands. The deck is 45 dual-sided setlist cards, each showing a different energy level — from a 1 sleepy acoustic opener to a 10 face-melting finale — on each half.

The catch: the moment soundcheck ends, your setlist is locked. You can flip your whole hand end-for-end to use the other side of every card, but you can never reorder it. On your turn you either perform a set that outranks the one on stage — claiming the loser's cards as trophies — or poach a card from the current act to reshape your own lineup.

3–5 Players ~20 Minutes Ages 10+ Card Game Climbing / Take-That
45
Dual-sided cards
1–10
Song energy levels
3
Moves: perform, poach, encore
2
Values per card
The Golden Rule
Once the deal ends, your setlist is locked. Flip the whole hand if you must — but never reorder it. You play the hand you were dealt, in order.
Read the Full Rules

How to Play

Your turn, three ways to fight.

Move A
Perform
Play one or more adjacent songs — all the same energy (a tight cohesive set) or in consecutive order (a dynamic run). It must outrank the stage: more songs, cohesive over a run, or the same shape at higher values.
Blow the last band off the stage and claim their cards as face-down trophies.
Move B
Poach
Can't top the stage? Take a card from either end of the set currently performing and slot it anywhere in your setlist, in whichever orientation you like.
The band you poached from collects a 1 VP token as consolation.
Bonus
Encore
Once per round you can pull off both in a single turn — poach first, then immediately perform the very set you just rebuilt.
A round-defining combo. Time it right and the stage is yours.

Keeping Score

Who reigns at the encore.

+1
Trophy Cards
Score a point for every card you claimed by topping another band's set.
+1
Poach Tokens
Each VP token you collected when a rival poached a card from your act.
−1
Stuck Songs
Lose a point per card still stuck in your setlist when the round ends.
👑
Headliner
Play one round per band. Most VP across the whole tour is crowned headliner.

Get the Game

Take the stage tonight.

Free
🖨️
Print & Play
Download the full setlist deck, formatted to print at home. Cut out the 45 dual-sided cards, sleeve or paste them up, and you're ready for soundcheck. Everything you need to run a full Battle of the Bands.
PDF · Print-and-play deck
⬇ Download PnP PDF
Coming Soon
🎸
Board Game Arena
TopThis is coming to Board Game Arena — play online against friends or strangers, real-time or turn-based, with full rules enforcement and no setup required. Check back soon.
boardgamearena.com · In development
Read the Rules →