Game Of The States Rules

THREE WAYS TO PLAY!

You can play a Trivia Game, a "Buy and Sell" Game, and a Junior Version with the equipment provided.

ABOUT THE STATE CARDS

Each state card contains many interesting facts about the state: its nickname, recent population, capital city, the year it was settled, the date it entered the union and its rank (from the first to join to the last). These facts are not required to play the "Buy and Sell" and "Junior" versions of play, but they’ll be easy to remember because you’ll see many of these cards every time you play.

Use the state cards to play a trivia game to test your knowledge of state facts. Shuffle the deck and place it face down. Place it on the board’s “draw pile” space if you wish. (The game board might help you because you’ll see all the states as you play.) Take turns. On your turn, draw the top card and ask one question to the player to your left. You can ask a question about any one fact on this card (for population, ask how many millions of people are in the state; a correct answer is within one million. For date entered the union, the correct year only is required). If the player to your left is correct, he gets to keep the card. If incorrect, the player to his left can answer, and so forth. If no player guesses the answer correctly, you announce the answer and keep the card yourself. After all 50 cards are played, the player with the most cards wins the game.

1. ASSEMBLE THE SPINNER: Punch out the spinner card. Press the circular plastic spinner base into the central hole, from behind. Then press the spinner arrow into the opening, from the front side of the card.
2. Punch out 4 disks of each color (there is an extra disk in case you lose one). Each player takes 4 disks of a color and the matching truck.
3. Each player receives $5,000 in play money - two $1000 bills, five $500 bills and five $100 bills.
4. Shuffle the 50 state cards and place them face down on the "draw pile" space. (The 4 extra cards are not used.)
5. Draw four state cards and place one of your colored disks in each of these four states. Return these cards to the bottom of the draw pile.
6. Draw another state card and put your truck in this state on the board, then, return this card to the bottom of the draw pile.

1. Spin the spinner. The player who spins the highest number goes first.
2. Spin and move your truck the number of spaces showing on the dial (0, 1, 2 or 3). Play passes to the left.
3. Move toward a state that contains an opponent’s product disk.
4. Moves are made from state to state. Each state counts as one space. You do not have to reach your destination by exact count. You must pass through Washington to reach Alaska. You must pass through California to reach Hawaii.
5. You can move through any state even if there is another truck or product disk in that state.
6. When you reach a state that contains an opponent’s product disk, ask your opponent what product he has for sale. He decides based on the symbols pictured on the state (check out the platform to find out what each symbol stands for.) Then, you buy the product by spinning the spinner. Refer to the band of numbers marked with $300, $800, etc. and tell your opponent that you will pay him the amount indicated by the spinner for his product.
7. If your opponent accepts the price, you pay him that amount of money and put the disk in your truck. Immediately draw a new card. This is the state to which you must deliver the product. (See Special Rule #3.)
8. On your next turn, move your truck towards this state by spinning the spinner. You do not have to reach your destination state by exact count.
9. When you reach your destination, sell the product back to the opponent you bought it from. Your opponent spins the spinner and pays you the amount spun. He then places the disk on the appropriate space on the box platform where it stays for the rest of the game. Place the used state card on the “discard” space, face up.
   Example: You have the blue truck. You start in Ohio and move down to Florida where there is a red disk. When you reach Florida, the red player says that he is selling oranges. You spin and pay the red player $500. Put the red disk in your truck and draw a card. Let’s say you draw the state of Maine’s card. During your next turns, move towards Maine. When you reach Maine, put its card face up on the discard pile. The red player spins. Let’s say that $800 is spun on the spinner. He pays this amount of money. The red disk is then placed on the space marked "Oranges" on the box platform.
10. After reaching a destination, you must wait until your next turn to begin moving towards a state with another product disk.
11. The game continues until all of the product disks have been removed from the board.

At the end of the game, all players count their money. The player with the most money wins the game.

TRAFFIC JAMS. When the spinner stops on "Traffic Jam" you leave your truck on the state you are on until your next turn. If you are delivering a product disk, take the disk out of your truck and place it on the state you’re "stuck" in.

• If another player with an empty truck reaches this state, that player takes your product disk and pays you $200 for it. The new buyer takes your state card, completes the delivery and sells the product as usual.
• If you should buy back one of your own disks, deliver the product to its destination and then place it on the platform. Don’t spin. Collect $200 from the bank (at least you’ve prevented your opponent from making money on it!)
• If no other player buys the product before the next turn of the player stuck in the “traffic jam,” that player puts the disk back in his truck and proceed towards his destination.

TRYING FOR A BETTER PRICE. You can try to get a better price when buying or selling. If you have a product for sale and feel that the price your opponent spins is too low, you can (hoping for a higher price) ask him to spin again. You must sell your product at the second price. Even if it is lower than the first price. This rule applies when you are selling a product to an opponent and also when an opponent sells a product back to you.

This version is aimed at 6 and 7 year olds. It will give them an easy way to play until they are ready for “Buy and Sell.”

SETUP

Each player gets one truck and one product disk. Place the remaining trucks and product disks back in the box. Each player draws the top card of the state deck and places his truck, loaded with his disk, on this state. This will be the player’s "home" state. Turn this card face down and keep it nearby during the game. Each player now draws 4 more state cards and places them in a separate pile, face down.

HOW TO PLAY

Youngest player goes first. Play passes to the left. The first player turns over the top state card on his pile. This becomes his "destination." He now spins and moves his truck, state by state, towards this destination. In turn, each player turns over the top state card on his pile and spins to move towards his destination. When a player reaches a destination state (it doesn’t have to be by exact count), he spins to make a "sale." He collects the money spun from the bank. The player discards this state’s card and turns over the next state card in his pile, which becomes his next destination. After a player reaches his last state, he must go "home." Turn over the "'home" state card placed aside at the start of the game. The first player to reach his home state collects a $500 bonus and also spins and collects the amount spun. The other players continue playing until each reaches their home state. They each spin and collect the amount spun when reaching home (but none collects a $500 bonus). The player with the most money wins the game!