The Scrambled States of America: Deluxe Edition
The Scrambled States of America: Deluxe Edition Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
The object of the game is to send the most states home by correctly matching State Cards to Scramble Cards. The player who collects the most State Cards wins.
Contents
- 50 State Cards (blue)
- 50 Scramble Cards (red)
- 4 U.S. maps
Setup
Give each player a U.S. map for reference. Separate the cards into blue (State) and red (Scramble) decks, then shuffle and put both decks face down in the center of the playing area.
Deal five State Cards to each player. Place your cards face up in a row in front of you to form your "States Line." Take some time to become familiar with your cards, referring to the map to find each state's location. Also notice that each card has a state name, state picture, capital city and nickname.
Let's Play
When all players are ready, the player to the left of the dealer turns over the top card of the Scramble Deck, places it face-up next to the deck, and reads it aloud. There are two types of cards in the Scramble Deck: Find-It and "Go the Distance!"
Find-It Cards
These cards have various challenges on them relating to the states. They could be as simple as matching colors or as complex as finding hidden words. When a Find-It Card is revealed, all players race to match one of their State Cards to this card. Whoever is the first player to slap and announce the name of the matching state out loud, gets to collect that card. The winner puts the state card in a "Home Pile" off to the side (Each player has her own Home Pile.) and draws a new card from the top of the state deck to build her States Line back up to five cards.
Example Find-It card: "Capital has a person's first name hidden in it."
Feeling confused? Here are some examples:
- If the Find-It Card says "Capital has a person's first name hidden in it," and you have Kentucky (whose capital city is Frankfort, with the name Frank in it), in your States Line, slap it and yell out, "Kentucky!"
- If the Find-It card says "Is Orange," and you have Vermont (which is the color orange on the card and map), slap it and announce, "Vermont!"
If you're the first player to slap and announce your state, you win the round.
Multiple Match
If you have more than one card that matches a Find-It card, you can send multiple states home.
If more than one player has a match
The first player to slap and say the name of a matching state wins that round and gets to send her state home. But if two or more players slap and announce matching states at the same time, they both/all send their states home and take new cards from the top of the State Deck to build their States Lines back up to five cards.
If no player has a match
If no player has a state that matches, everyone passes one of their State Cards to the player on their left and puts their new card in their States Line. The last round's winner turns over a new card from the top of the Scramble Deck and play proceeds as normal.
Slip Slaps
If you forget to say the name of your state out loud when you slap it or you slap a State Card that does not match the Find-It card, you've made a slip slap. As a penalty, take one of your State Cards from your Home Pile and put it at the bottom of the State Deck. Remember — accuracy is more important than speed!
"Go the Distance!" Cards
When one of these yellow cards is revealed, turn over the top card from the State Deck and place it face up on top of the deck.
Then, using the map, scan your states and try to find the one that is the closest neighbor (the shortest distance away) to the State Card that was turned over. When you locate a state, pull that card forward out of your States Line so that all players can see. The player whose state is the closest wins the round and sends both her state and the state from the top of the State Deck to her Home Pile.
If multiple players' states seem equally close, whoever was first to pull out her state wins the round. (If it's difficult to tell which state is closest, use the ruler on the "Go the Distance!" card to measure between state borders on the map.)
The winner of each round turns over and reads the next card from the Scramble Deck to begin the next round.
Ending the Game
When the State Deck is depleted, all players count the states in their Home Piles. Whoever has the most State Cards wins. (Cards left in the States Line don't count.)
Rules for Young Players & Early Readers
Set-up: Deal five State Cards to each player as usual. But if in a four-player game, deal only four State Cards to each person.
In this version, it is not a race to be the first player to slap a card when a Find-It Card is revealed. Instead, all players that can make a match get to send a State Card home and draw a new one from the State Deck. You may only match one state per round, so even if there is more than one match in your States Line, just pick one to send home. All other rules remain the same as above.
House Rules
Here are some ideas in case you want to try different variations of this game:
Home State Advantage: If one of the cards in your States Line shows the state where you live, announce "I live here!" and send that state home.
New and Improved: When you get a card with "New" in its state name, you can switch that card with another player's card of your choice.