Time Zone 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 U.S. state time zones to get 50 points (for purposes of this game, Alaska and Hawaii are grouped with the states that are primarily in the pacific time zone, and are referred to as part of the pacific/western time zones group). 

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 has

The same color coded border at the top of the card as the card you are trying to Zap.

For example, if a player plays Texas, you could Zap that card by playing Missouri because both of those cards have the same color coded border at the top (since both states are both primarily in the central time zone).

You can play individually or with teams.  Play one round at a time until someone gets 50 points.  Use only the GeoPlunge cards, and shuffle the deck after each round. 

How to Play

¨         To start each round, deal each player 5 cards, even if you’re playing with teams.

¨         Play 5 “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 1 player plays a card on a trick that Zaps the card led, that player wins the trick.

¨      If 2 or more players play a card that Zaps the card led on a trick, the last person to play such a card on the trick wins it.

Keeping Score 

The player (or team) that wins the most tricks in a round receives 10 points.  If there is a tie, they each get 5 points.  The winning player or team in a round also gets 10 bonus points if they win at least 4 tricks, and 20 bonus points for winning all 5 tricks. 

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