Border Zap:  2 To 6 Players

What You Should Know Before You Play

The object of the game is to be the first player or team to use what you learn about border states of U.S. states to get 100 points. 

Throughout the game, you try to “Zap” cards that your opponents play and they’ll try to Zap your cards.  You Zap another player’s card when you play a card that is

                              A border state of that card.

You can play individually or with teams.  Play one round at a time until someone wins the game.  Use only the GeoPlunge cards, and shuffle the deck after each round. 

How to Play

¨         To start each round, deal each player 8 cards, even if you’re playing with teams.

¨         Beginning with the dealer and then going around the table in clockwise order, each player then announces whether he or she is “GeoPlunging” on that round.  No more than two players (and no more than 1 player on a team) can be GeoPlunging on a round.  GeoPlunging does not impact the play of the game, it only impacts the scoring (see “Keeping Score” below).

¨         Play 8 “tricks” during a round, one at a time.  On each trick, every player plays 1 of his or her cards.  

¨         To begin a trick, one player plays a card face-up first (this is called “leading” on the trick). From there, 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.  This continues until all the tricks are played.

¨         The dealer leads on the first trick played during a round.  For the rest of the round, the player who wins a trick leads a card to start the next trick.  (Whenever you win a trick, put the cards played during that trick face-down in a separate pile next to you.)

Determining Who Wins Each Trick

¨      A person who leads on a trick wins it only if no other player plays a card on the trick that “Zaps” the card led.

¨      If you Zap the card led on a trick before anyone else does, you win the trick, unless a later player on the trick Zaps your card (if that happens, that player wins the trick unless someone playing after that player Zaps his or her card).

Keeping Score 

The player or team that wins the most tricks during a round wins the round.  If two or more players or teams tie for the most tricks won during a round, the last player or team, among the tied players or teams, to win a trick during the round wins that round. 

A player or team receives 10 points for winning the round, and 10 bonus points if that player or team wins all 8 tricks during the round.  If anyone is GeoPlunging on a round, the winner of the round receives double the point total (i.e., 20 points for winning the round, and 20 bonus points if that player or team wins all 8 tricks).  If two players are GeoPlunging on a round, the winner of that round receives 40 points for winning the round, and 40 bonus points if that player or team wins all 8 tricks.

With teams, add up the tricks won by each teammate to determine how many tricks the team won during that round.