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Official Race Across the USA Rules

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Race Across the USA is an educational and fun board game where players race to travel across the United States. Here’s how to play:

Objective

The goal is to be the first player to travel across the USA and reach your home state.

Components

  • Game board featuring a map of the USA

  • Deck of state cards

  • Question cards

  • Player pieces (cars)

  • Dice

Setup

  1. Place the game board in the center of the table.

  2. Each player chooses a car piece and places it on the start space (typically located in Washington, D.C.).

  3. Shuffle the deck of state cards and distribute one to each player. This card represents the player's home state, which they need to reach to win the game.

  4. Shuffle the question cards and place them in a draw pile.

  5. Decide who goes first, and play proceeds clockwise.

Gameplay

  1. Rolling the Dice: On your turn, roll the dice and move your car the corresponding number of spaces.

  2. Drawing a Question Card: After moving, draw a question card and read it aloud. These questions typically involve US geography, landmarks, state capitals, or other educational content related to the United States.

  3. Answering Questions: If you answer the question correctly, you get to move forward an additional space as a bonus. If the answer is incorrect, your turn ends.

  4. Landing on State Capitals: When you land on a space with a state capital, you may draw an extra state card. This card can provide information and potentially help answer future questions.

  5. Special Spaces: Some spaces on the board might have special instructions, such as moving forward or backward a few spaces, losing a turn, or getting another chance to roll.

Winning the Game

  • The first player to reach their home state wins the game.

Additional Rules

  • Exact Roll: Some versions may require an exact roll to land on the home state to win.

  • Optional Rules: Players can introduce their own rules to add complexity, such as requiring an extra question to be answered correctly upon reaching the home state before declaring victory.

Strategy Tips

  • Focus on answering questions correctly to get bonus moves.

  • Use state cards strategically to plan your route and answer questions.


Race Across the USA combines fun and education, making it a great game for family game night or classroom activities. Enjoy racing across the country while learning about the United States!

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