GeoClash Choice-- 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 get 100 points, and your success depends upon the state rankings (from 1^st to 50^th) in size, statehood, and population, of the GeoPlunge cards you play.   

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

How to Play

¨         To start each round, deal each player 8 GeoPlunge cards.  After the cards are dealt and each player looks at his or her cards, the dealer says out loud either “Top Dogs” or “Bottoms Up”.  Each player then chooses 2 cards to discard so that each player has 6 cards remaining.

¨         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).

¨         The players then play six “tricks” during each round. On each trick, every player plays 1 of his or her cards.  Play 1 trick at a time until the round ends. 

¨         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.

¨         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.

¨         If the dealer said “Top Dog” at the beginning of the round, to win a trick during that round you must play the best 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 best size ranking of all of the cards played.

¨         If the dealer said “Bottoms Up” at the beginning of the round, to win a trick during that round you must play the weakest 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 weakest size ranking of all of the cards played (Rhode Island has the weakest size ranking in the deck).

¨         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.  A round ends when each player has played all of his or her cards (i.e., all 6 tricks have been played).

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 6 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 6 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 6 tricks.

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