5 Slam (Border Caps): 10 To 60 Players

What You Should Know Before You Play

The object of the game is for your students to try to be on the winning team by using what they know and learn about U.S. state capitals and state border states, and by utilizing good strategies throughout the game.  The state rankings (from 1^st to 50^th) in size, statehood, and population of the cards your students play also will help determine their success.   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.  Use only the GeoPlunge cards to play.

The teacher should divide the class into 5 teams.  Teammates should sit or stand next to each other and can talk to each other.  Throughout this game, if teammates cannot decide who will act on behalf of the team at any time, the team captain or teacher will decide.

How You Win

The first team to play or discard all 10 cards dealt to it wins.

If two or more teams run out of cards at the end of the game on the same “trick” (i.e., before another “trick” is played), the team who wins that trick wins the game.  If neither of those tied teams wins that last trick, they are co-winners. 

How to Play

*        To start the game, deal each team 10 cards.  The teacher will decide which team plays a card first to begin the game.

*        Play one “trick” at a time until someone wins the game.  On each trick, each team plays one of its cards. 

*        To begin a trick, one team plays a card face-up first (this is called “leading” on the trick). From there, play proceeds in clockwise order around the class until each team has played one card face-up. At that point, the trick is over.  (Whoever wins the trick gets to discard an extra card from its hand and gets to lead a card to begin the next trick.)

*        For each trick, the team that leads a card to start that trick must, before playing a card, 

o       Choose (by saying out loud) whether the cards to be played on that trick will be ranked based on Size, Statehood or Population (that team then leads its card).

*        For each trick (other than the first trick), the two teams to the immediate left of the team leading on the trick must, before playing their cards,

o       Say out loud either (1) the name of the state capital, or (2) each of the border states, of the card they plan to play (the team to the immediate left of the team leading on the trick does this first, followed by the team second to the left of the team leading); AND THEN

*        Before those 2 teams play their cards, the team who already led a card on the trick gets 1 guess apiece at what state each of those teams is playing. 

*        If the team leading on the trick

o       Guesses right on both guesses – it discards an extra card from its hand.

o       Guesses right on one guess and wrong on the other guess – it does nothing.

o       Guesses wrong on both guesses – it takes back into its hand the card it just discarded after winning the prior trick.

*        After the guesses are made by the team leading on the trick, each other team in turn, in clockwise order then plays a card.  Whoever plays the best ranked card on the trick wins the trick.