The World Game
The World Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
The game contains 194 cards and a world map. Each card shows 4 facts about a country and 4 challenges, shown on the card's lower picture.
How do you win?
- 2 players: You win when you collect all of your opponent's cards.
- 3 or more players: When the first player runs out of cards, the player with the most cards wins.
Setup and Start of Game
- Deal 20 cards to each player, face down. Put the remaining cards away.
- Each player gathers their cards into a stack and holds it in their hand.
- Players play each round only with the top card of their stack, the one facing them.
- The player to the left of the dealer starts the game.
On Your Turn, You Have 2 Options
Option A: Fact
Choose one fact from your card. Choose the fact that you think is strongest for the country you hold in your hand: Area, Population, Highest point, or Neighboring countries.
- All players reveal their top cards and compare the chosen fact.
- The highest value wins. The round's winner takes the cards, places them on the bottom of their stack, and starts the next round.
- If several players have the same highest value (for example, the same number of neighboring countries), they compare the same fact on the next card in their hand.
Option B: Challenge
If your card has low fact values (for example, an island country), you can try to win by calling a challenge.
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Choose the player who will set you a challenge, either one determined in advance or of their own choice: Continent, Flag, Location, or Capital, based on that player's card.
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All players may try to answer (if they wish).
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The first player to answer correctly wins and starts the next round. If nobody answers correctly, the player who set the challenge is the winner.
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The winner takes cards from:
- the player who called the challenge
- the player who set the challenge
- all players who answered incorrectly
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The winner then places these cards on the bottom of their stack and starts the next round.
Before the game begins, the players decide which of the four challenges they want to play throughout the whole game. It is recommended that children start with the Continent challenge, while more experienced players may try the others, or even all four!
Challenges
Continent (Easy)
The player setting the challenge names the country they hold. The other players must name the continent on which the country lies.
*Some countries lie on two continents; in that case, both must be named.
Flag (A little harder)
The player setting the challenge shows the flag of the country they hold, covering the name, capital and country number. The other players must name the country to which the flag belongs.
Location (Medium difficulty)
The player setting the challenge names the country they hold. The other players must point to the country on the map or state its number.
Capital (Difficult)
The player setting the challenge names the country they hold. The other players must name the capital of that country.
*Some countries have more than one capital; in that case, at least one must be named.
Additional Tips
Playing with Younger Children
When playing one-on-one with a less experienced player, each player may choose the challenge they want to play throughout the whole game, so that the game is more interesting for both. For example, while the child plays the Continent challenge, the parent may play the Flag challenge, so that the game is equally demanding.
Reverse Challenges
You can spice up the game by playing the Location and Capital challenges in reverse. Point to the country on the map, or name its capital, and the others then guess the country's name.
About
The World Game contains the 194 countries of the world. This includes all 193 member states of the United Nations and the Vatican as a permanent observer state. The World Game is and will remain politically neutral. We simply love geography and the world. This game is not a substitute for your geography textbooks.