GeoPlunge Combo 2
Cards: The cards used in Combo 2:
- 50 GeoPlunge cards
- 50 Map cards
- 15 Power cards
- 45 Clue cards
- 1 answer key card showing the postal code (i.e., state abbreviation) for each state on one side and a map of the U.S. on the other side
- 1 “Cut-out card” with a shape cut out near the top that is used in State IQ™ when the clue is “Flag.”
Format: A Combo 2 tournament is played a round at a time, and participating teams should
have 3 players. In each round, each team plays another team in a head-to-head match. Each
team plays four matches in the morning in rounds that last 20 minutes each, and four matches
in the afternoon in rounds that last 12 minutes each. Teams switch who they play after each
round. After each team plays eight matches (i.e., one per round), the championship match is
played between the top two teams to determine the champion. Use the rules for Level 2 games.
Morning Rounds (20 minutes each): A match during a morning round is played a game at a
time in the order listed below. After playing all of the games once during a morning round, if time
permits, the teams continue playing the games in the same order again until the round ends.
● Game 1: Border-Up™
● Game 2: State IQ™
● Game 3: Dashing States™
● Game 4: Play the Ranks™
Afternoon rounds (12 minutes each): At the beginning of each afternoon round, each team
picks a GeoPlunge card and whichever team picks the card with a Statehood rank closer to 1
gets to choose a game it wants to play during the match in that round. The other team then
chooses a different game that it wants to play during the match in that round so that there are
two different games being played during the match. After playing both of the selected games in
the order they where chosen, if time permits, the teams continue playing those two games in
the same order until the round ends.
advance to the championship match to determine the champion. If a tie needs to be broken to
determine which teams advance to the championship match, those tied teams participate in a
playoff game, Border-Up, to determine which team advances to the championship match.
most games wins the championship. If after playing all four games each team has won the
same number of games, the teams participate in a tie-breaker game, Border-Up, to determine
the champion. If one team wins the first three games of a championship match, or two of the
first three games and the third game ends in a tie, that team wins the championship and the
remaining game is not played.
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- Red: Eastern Time Zone
- Green: Central Time Zone
- Blue: Mountain Time Zone
- Purple: Pacific Time Zone
- Brown: Alaska
- Orange: Hawaii
Shuffling and Scoring: Shuffle the decks as needed during a match. Scoring is the same for
each game.
● Tie: Points for Each Team 5 points
● Winning: Minimum points for Winning Team 10 points
● Bonus Points: If Winning Team earns the Bonus Points it gets 10 extra points
Game rules for each game describe how to win the Bonus Points.
● GeoPlunging Points:
○ If one team is GeoPlunging, Winning Team also gets 10 extra points
○ If both teams are GeoPlunging, Winning Team also gets 20 extra points
GeoPlunging does not impact the play of the game and is similar to raising the stakes in a game
of poker; a team, by GeoPlunging, is simply increasing the amount of points the winning
team will receive for that game. For each game, each team decides if it wants to GeoPlunge
for that game. That happens in the following manner: At the time specified in the game rules,
the dealer will simultaneously ask the teams, “Are you GeoPlunging? TM ” and then slowly count
to 5. For a team to indicate that it is GeoPlunging, the person closest to the dealer must be
standing by the time the dealer reaches 5.
Example of point totals: If a winning team for a game earns the Bonus Points and both
teams are GeoPlunging, it receives 40 points for that game.
Game 1: Border-Up™: Level 2
Cards Used: GeoPlunge cards
Objective: This game is a race! Each team tries to find winning groups of cards as fast as it can. The border states of each state determine the winning groups, as described below.
Step 1: Determine which teams are GeoPlunging for this game (see description in the overview). Then deal each team 18 GeoPlunge cards face-down. Teams do NOT turn over or look at their cards until the dealer says, “Ready, Set, GeoPlunge!!”
Step 2: The teams then turn over their cards and the race begins. Each team tries to create 2 winning groups, or 3 winning groups if it wants to earn the Bonus Points, from the cards it was dealt. A winning group of cards consists of 3 cards where one state in the group borders both of the other states in the group. (For example, the states Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina are one group because Virginia borders both Maryland and North Carolina.) A team cannot use the same card in more than one group.
Step 3: A team shouts “GeoPlunge” as soon as it finds 2 winning groups, except that if it is trying to earn the Bonus Points, it should wait until it finds 3 winning groups and then shout “ThreeOPlunge.”
Determining Who Wins and Whether that Team Receives the Bonus Points: If the first team to shout GeoPlunge or ThreeOPlunge immediately shows its winning groups of cards, which is 2 groups if it shouted GeoPlunge and 3 groups if it shouted ThreeOPlunge, it wins this game. If it shouted ThreeOPlunge it also receives the Bonus Points. However, if the shouting team does not immediately show its winning groups, the other team wins the game and receives the Bonus Points. If both teams shout at the same time, the game is a tie unless only one team immediately shows its winning groups, in which case that team also receives the Bonus Points.
Game 2: State IQ™: Level 2
Cards Used: GeoPlunge cards, Clue cards, Power cards, Cut-out card
Objective: Each team has up to 3 guesses to guess the state held by its opponent. Each team gets 2 new clues before each guess that it makes.
Determining Who Guesses First: In this game, the first guessing team will be the team that just won Border-Up™. If Border-Up™ was a tie, each team picks a GeoPlunge card without looking at that card in advance. Whichever team’s card has a statehood ranking closer to 1 is the first guessing team.
Step 1: Deal each team 1 GeoPlunge card face-down. Each team looks at its card. Teams then decide if they are GeoPlunging for this game. (See description in the overview.)
Step 2: The dealer then turns the top Power card in the deck face-up. Teams use the order of the letters A, B, and C in the upper right corner of that Power card to give clues from two Clue cards before each guess.
For example, if the Power card turned face-up has BAC in the upper right corner (see example) each guessing team will receive two Type B 
clues before its first guess, two Type A clues before its second guess, if necessary, and two Type C clues before its third guess, if necessary.
For Type A and B clues, there usually will be options for which clue is provided as described by the Clue card. If the clue-giving team is required to show its opponent the state flag, use the cut-out card to hide all of the information with the exception of the state flag.
The dealer will turn over 2 new Clue cards before each guess. Used Clue cards are placed at the bottom of the deck.
Step 3: The first guessing team has up to 3 guesses to try to guess the state of the GeoPlunge card in the other team’s hand.
Step 4: After the first guessing team correctly guesses the name of the state held by its opponent or has made 3 incorrect guesses, the teams switch roles with the first guessing team then providing clues regarding its state. Use the same Power card for both teams. The second guessing team does not continue to guess once it has won or lost even if it has not made all three guesses.
Determining Who Wins and Whether that Team Receives the Bonus Points: Whichever team guesses the state of the GeoPlunge card in the other team’s hand in fewer guesses wins this game. The winning team receives the Bonus Points if it guesses correctly on its first guess. The game ends in a tie if neither team guesses correctly or each team guesses correctly using the same number of guesses.
Game 3: Dashing States™: Level 2
Cards Used: Map cards
Objective: Dashing States™ is a series of races! Whichever team wins 2 races wins this game. During a race, each team tries to identify the states in red on 6 of its 7 Map cards so that it can sort those cards in alphabetical order as quickly as it can, as described below, and the first team to do so then announces the state names and capitals of those states. There is only one state in red on each Map card.
- Races 1 and 3: The 6 map cards must be placed in alphabetical order by state name.
- Race 2: The 6 map cards must be placed in alphabetical order by the name of the state capitals.
Step 1: Before the first race, determine which teams are GeoPlunging (see description in the overview).
Step 2: For each race:
Step 2A: Players for each team stand up and turn around so that their backs are facing away from the game table. Deal each team 7 Map cards face-down. Teams do NOT turn over or look at their cards until the dealer says, “Ready, Set, GeoPlunge!!”
Step 2B: The teams then turn around, turn over their cards, and the race begins. Each team tries to place 6 of its 7 states in alphabetical order as described in the objective and then shout “GeoPlunge!” The unused card must be turned face-down before shouting GeoPlunge.
Step 2C: Each member of the first team to shout GeoPlunge must then correctly identify the states and capitals on 2 of the 6 map cards WITHOUT help from his/her teammates, as follows: the player on the left must identify the information for the 2 cards that are most to the left, the player in the middle must identify the information for the 2 cards in the middle, and the player on the right must identify the information for the 2 cards that are most to the right.
Determining Who Wins a Race: The first team to shout GeoPlunge wins if:
- before shouting, it has correctly placed its 6 states in alphabetical order as described in the objective, and
- before shouting, it has turned its unused card face-down, and
- after shouting, each member of the team correctly identifies the states and capitals on 2 of the 6 map cards WITHOUT help from his/her teammates in the manner described in Step 2C.
Otherwise, the other team wins the race. If both teams shout GeoPlunge at the same time, the race ends in a tie unless only one team successfully completes Step 2.
Step 3: After the first race is completed, start the second race by returning back to the beginning of Step 2. If neither team wins this game after the first 2 races, the teams have a third race (unless the first two races both ended in a tie, in which case this game ends in a tie). Do not shuffle the cards between races. The cards used in a race should not be used in any later race during this game.
Determining Who Wins this Game and Whether that Team Receives the Bonus Points: If one team wins the first two races, it wins this game and receives the Bonus Points. If the first two races end in a tie, the game ends in a tie. Otherwise, the teams have a third race. If that happens, the game ends in a tie unless a team won 2 of the 3 races.
Game 4: Play the Ranks™: Level 2
Cards Used: GeoPlunge cards
Objective: A “trick” consists of two cards, one from each team. Each team tries to win as many tricks as it can. Two things determine who wins each trick: (1) the base for the trick, which in this game is either 1 or 50, and (2) the state rankings of the cards played in the selected category. The selected category for a trick will be either size, statehood, or population.
Determining the Lead Team for the First Trick: In this game, the lead team (i.e., the team that plays the first card) for the first trick is the team that just won Dashing States™. If Dashing States™ was a tie, each team picks a GeoPlunge card without looking at it in advance and whichever team’s card has a statehood ranking closer to 1 is the lead team for the first trick.
Step 1: Deal 9 GeoPlunge cards to each team face-down. After looking at its cards, each team discards 1 card from its hand, face-down, so that each team has 8 cards.
Step 2: Determine which teams are GeoPlunging for this game (see description in the overview).
Step 3: The teams then play 8 tricks, one at a time. Whichever team wins a trick is the lead team for the next trick.
- For each trick, the lead team decides which base and which category will be used for that trick. To do this, the lead team plays one card face-down and announces: (1) the name of the state that it is playing, (2) the base for that trick, which in this game is either 1 or 50, and (3) the category of either size, statehood, or population for that trick.
- The other team then plays a card face-up. The lead team then turns the card it played face-up so the players can determine which team wins the trick. Whichever team plays the card that has the better ranking in the category chosen by the lead team wins the trick.
- When the base for a trick is 1, the best ranking is 1st, followed by 2nd, followed by 3rd, followed by 4th, etc.
- When the base for a trick is 50, the best ranking is 50th, followed by 49th, followed by 48th, followed by 47th, etc.
- If a team wins 6 tricks before all the tricks have been played, the game ends early, and there is no need to play the final tricks.
Examples: The lead team plays Georgia face-down, announces “Statehood” and a base of 1. It will win the trick unless the other team plays a card with a statehood ranking of 1, 2, or 3.
The lead team plays Maine face-down, announces “Population” and a base of 50. It will win the trick unless the other team plays a card with a population rank of 42 or higher.
Determining Who Wins and Whether that Team Receives the Bonus Points: Whichever team wins at least 5 tricks wins this game. If both teams win 4 tricks, whichever team wins the last trick wins this game. The winning team receives the Bonus Points if it wins 6 tricks.