GeoPower Zone Toss Back:  2 To 5 Players

What You Should Know Before You Play

The object of the game is to be the first player or team to get 50 points, and your success depends upon the time zones, state border states, and state rankings (from 1^st to 50^th) in size, statehood, and population, of the GeoPlunge cards you play. The Rhode Island card has the weakest (50^th) size ranking, Hawaii has the weakest statehood ranking, and Wyoming has the weakest population ranking.  

Play one round at a time until someone wins the game. Each round the players select 1 GeoPower card.  That card decides which ranking is important for that round.  Try to make sure the GeoPower card selected puts you in a great position to win the round.  Each GeoPower card says either Size, Statehood or Population.

Each round the players also select 1 GeoPlunge card (from among the cards not dealt to the players) to be the Control Card for that round.  The Control Card helps determine which GeoPlunge cards will be powerful during that round.  You, of course, want the Control Card selected to be one that makes the GeoPlunge cards you’re dealt powerful.

You can play individually or with teams. Use the GeoPlunge and GeoPower cards, and shuffle both decks after every round. 

Getting Started

To start each round, deal each player 8 GeoPlunge cards, even if you’re playing with teams.  The players then select the GeoPower Card for the round, and then the Control Card for the round.  Here’s how they do it.

Selecting the GeoPower Card for a round – After each player is dealt 8 GeoPlunge cards, the dealer then deals face-up on the table 1 more GeoPower card than there are players.  The dealer then removes 1 of the GeoPower cards laid face-up.  From there, each other player in clockwise order around the table removes 1 of the remaining GeoPower cards.  The 1 GeoPower card left face-up, after everyone gets rid of a GeoPower card, is called the “GeoPower Card” for that round.

Selecting the Control Card for a round -- Each round, after the GeoPower Card is chosen, the dealer then deals (from the remainder of the GeoPlunge deck) face-up on the table 1 more GeoPlunge card than there are players playing. The dealer then removes 1 of the GeoPlunge cards laid face-up.  From there, each other player in clockwise order around the table removes 1 of the remaining GeoPlunge cards.  The 1 GeoPlunge card left face-up, after everyone gets rid of a GeoPlunge card from the table, is called the Control Card for that round. 

Knowing which cards are the Capital Cards and the PowerZone Cards for a round -- For each round,

§         The “Capital Cards” are all cards whose state capital has the same first letter as the state capital of the Control Card for that round.

§         The “PowerZone Cards” are all cards that have the same color coded border near the top of the card as the Control Card for that round.

 

How to Play

·        Once the GeoPower Card and Control Card for a round are selected, play 8 “tricks” during the round, one at a time. On each trick, every player plays 1 of his or her GeoPlunge cards.

·        To begin a trick, one player plays a GeoPlunge card first (this is called “leading” on the trick). From there, play proceeds in clockwise order around the table until each player has played one GeoPlunge 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 will lead a card to start the next trick.

·        If you’re leading on a trick, you may play any card you have. 

·        If another player leads a card, you must play a card that is in the same “Zone” as the card led (but if you don’t have any such cards, you can play any card you have). 

·        Two cards are in the same Zone if they have the same color-coded border near the top of the cards (except that, for the purposes of this game, Capital Cards are considered to be in the same Zone as the Control Card regardless of whether they have the same color-coded border near the top as the Control Card).

Who Wins the Tricks

o       The GeoPower Card for a round determines which ranking is important.  So if the GeoPower Card says Size, the cards played on each trick in that round are ranked based on Size.

o       For tricks in which one or more Capital Cards are played, the first player to play a Capital Card on the trick wins the trick.

o       For tricks in which no Capital Cards are played, but one or more PowerZone Cards are played, the player who plays the weakest ranked PowerZone Card on that trick wins it.

o       For tricks in which no Capital Cards or PowerZone Cards are played, to win the trick you must play the weakest ranked card played on that trick that is in the same “Zone” as the card led.   Therefore, if you lead on a trick in which no Capital Cards or PowerZone Cards are played, you win it only if no one plays a weaker ranked card in the same Zone as the card led.

o       Whenever you win a trick, put the cards played during that trick face-down in a separate pile next to you.

 Keeping Score

The player or team that wins the most tricks during a round wins 10 points.  If that player or team announces before the 5^th trick is played that they wish to GeoPlunge, they receive 15 bonus points if they win at least 6 tricks.  However, if they try to GeoPlunge and do not win at least 6 tricks, they win no points for the round.  If two or more players or teams tie for most tricks won during a round, they each get 5 points.

Also, for each round the first player (or team) to win a trick that includes a border state of the Control Card gets 5 points. 

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