I will start by stating that Rage ranks as the #4 Best Selling game of All-Time (based on modern records) and in time you will understand why. Firstly Rage is a variation on the classic card game of '500'. Indeed it even replicates a version of '500' played by many people (including my family as a child) called 'Oh Heck', 'Up the River' or a number of other alternatives. Rage plays just like '500' in that a trump is determined and players must follow suit at all times and can either 'throw off' or trump a lead suit if they do not possess any of the lead suit. So far so good. However, Rage offers 6 suits instead of the usual 4 in a standard deck of cards and these are colour based. Each colour (suit) has the numbers 0 to 15 and there is only 1 of each card. The game lasts for exactly 10 rounds with the first hand requiring that 10 cards be dealt to all players. The second hand will have 9 cards dealt etc etc until the last round where only 1 card is dealt to all players. At the start of each round the players must declare how many tricks they think they will win. A card is turned over on top of the deck to determine the trump for the round, so players must assess their hand for the number of trumps and other cards that may take tricks. The game also offers the variant where the number of bids cannot equal the number of cards dealt for the round. Therefore the dealer (who bids last) can at times be forced into a bid they did not want to make. Each trick is worth 1 point, regardless of whether you bid correctly or not. A correct bid is then worth an additional 10 points and an incorrect bid costs -5. The highest score at the end of the 10th round is the winner.
Rage then departs from traditional '500' variants by offering 4 different grey cards that bring chaos to the table. There are '+5' and '-5' cards that when played will earn the winner of the trick the value shown. This results in some players deliberately losing tricks they wanted to take, making their bid difficult to achieve. The '!' cards will change the trump in the middle of the current trick. It is great fun to play this card and watch the horror on an opponent's face as they realise that their 0 orange card has won the trick as orange was made the new trump. Finally the O with a cross through it card means that 'No Trump' is in play for the remainder of the trick. Instead the highest value card of the lead colour will win the trick. A new trump is turned over before starting the next trick. There are also 2 Joker cards that when played will become the highest value card of the colour the player nominates, trump or otherwise. In all cases the grey cards cannot be played if the player has a coloured card that matches the lead colour.

I have never been a big '500' player but this appeals to me greatly and those '500' playing buddies of mine. It is fast paced, highly chaotic and a load of fun. It may be a little too chaotic for some '500' enthusiasts but I'm yet to find a player that dislikes it. Rage can also accommodate a large number of players!