GeoClash Down Back-- 2 To 7 Players

What You Should Know Before You Play

The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards faster than your opponents can get rid of their cards.  Your card playing skills, and the state rankings (from 1^st to 50^th) in size, statehood and population of the GeoPlunge cards you play, determines how well you’ll do. The Alaska card has the best (i.e., 1^st) size ranking, Delaware has the best statehood ranking, and California has the best population ranking.

The game is played one round at a time, and your goal each round is to do better than at least one other player. So when you’re playing with 3 or more players, you don’t have to do great each round.  You just need to do better than somebody else. 

When only 1 player is left in the game, that player is the winner. Use the GeoPlunge cards only, and shuffle the deck after every round.

How Many Cards You’re Dealt Each Round

¨         To start the first round, deal each player 7 cards.  After that, the amount of cards you’re dealt in a round depends on how well you’re doing in the game.

¨         Whenever you win a round, to start the next round you’re dealt the same number of cards that you got to start the previous round.

¨         Whenever you lose a round, to start the next round you’re dealt one fewer card than you got to start the previous round.

¨         The players play “tricks” during each round.  The 1 player who wins the fewest tricks during a round loses the round.  Everyone else wins the round.

¨         If 2 or more players tie for fewest tricks won on a round, the player (or players), among the tied players, who was dealt the most cards to start the round is the one who loses the round. 

How to Play

o       Play 1 trick at a time until the round ends.  On each trick, every player plays 1 of his or her cards.  

o       To begin a trick, one player plays a card first (this is called “leading” on the trick). Play proceeds in clockwise order around the table until each player has played one card face-up. At that point the trick is over.  You’re now ready to begin the next trick.

o       Whenever you’re leading on a trick, before playing your card you must choose (by saying out loud) whether the cards to be played on that trick will be ranked based on Size, Statehood or Population.

o       To win the trick, you must play the worst ranked card played on the trick in the category announced by the person leading. For example, if the player leading says “Size”, you’ll win the trick if the card you played has the worst size ranking of all of the cards played. 

o       The dealer leads on the first trick played during a round.  For the rest of the round, the player who wins a trick will lead a card to start the next trick.

o       A round ends when at least one player has played all of his or her cards  (So if you are dealt more cards than another player, at the end of the round you will have some leftover cards that you did not play.  Those cards are also placed back into the deck after the round.) 

How You Know if You Have Lost the Game

You lose the game when you are dealt 1 card during a round and do not win the 1 trick played in that round.  You are then out of the game.

Skill Level:  Advanced

What You'll Learn:  State Rankings

GeoClash Down Back is one of over 60 geography games you can play with GeoPlunge cards!