How to Play the Team Game With 4 or 6 Players

Objective

Secretly communicate with your partner to ZAP a matching group aliens back home (even though they want to stay on Earth) or warn your opponents’ aliens that it’s a TRAP.

These rules will describe how to play with four or six players. See below for the variant for three or five players.

Contents

• 49 cards

• 19 point cubes

• Hook box with rules

Setting Up to Play 

Players must form teams of two. Away from the table each team can privately decide on their secret signal. It can be any subtle action or sign they will use to alert each other that it’s time to call ZAP. (Ex.:  Clear throat, flick hair, sniff, etc.)

When teams are ready, they sit across from each other around the table, so teams alternate in turn order. Set the point cubes aside for now. The player who is furthest from home (or bedroom, if everyone’s at home) becomes the first dealer. 

Playing Each Round

To begin, the dealer shuffles the whole deck thoroughly and deals five cards to each player. Players can look at their cards and should take care to not let others see which they hold. 

The dealer then deals four more cards face up in the middle of the table and says, “Go!” There are no turns. Players can put any one card from their hand onto the table and take another from the table to their hand. If multiplayers go for the same card, the one who touches it first gets it. 

Often the round will come to a lull when no one wants the four cards still on the table. When swapping of cards stops, the dealer discards the four face up cards to a pile, then deals four more from the deck face up. After the deal calls, “Go!” players can again begin to swap from their hands with cards on the table.

When a player has at least four matching aliens in hand, the player should make the secret signal to their partner. If the partner notices, they can call ZAP and point to the player who made the signal. That target player immediately places their hand face up on the table. If the player does in fact have a set of four matching aliens, the team gets one point cube. If they don’t actually have such a set, the other team or teams get the point. 

Holding a set of five matching aliens earns two point cubes for the scoring team. 

If a player thinks an opposing player holds a matching set, that player can point to that opponent and call TRAP. At this time the target player must show all their cards. If they do hold a set of four or five matching aliens, the calling player’s team gets one or two point cubes, respectfully. If the player doesn’t have a set, the target player’s team gets a point cube. Be wary of tricky players who make false signals!

Four special cards can add one or two points for the scoring team. See the card text and details below for their effects.

After a team scores, the round ends. If any team now has at least seven points, they win! Otherwise gather all cards and have the player to the left of the dealer start a new round as a new dealer. Teammates can agree on a new secret signal between rounds.

The Three Special Cards

How to Play With 3 or 5 Players

Playing with an odd number of players is a little trickier than the standard game. It will require players to think more about who to signal to, who they can ZAP, and who they can TRAP. All standard rules above apply to playing with 3 or 5 players, except for the following changes. Each is explained in detail below.

• Since players don't play in teams, they will signal to a different player than they can ZAP. 

• That introduces more possibilities for how points are awarded. Everyone has their own individual score, but ties and a team win are still possible.

• There might not be enough point cubes for some games, so points will be tracked on paper.

Secret Signals to the Left

When playing with an odd number of players, instead of signaling to a teammate when they have a complete set of at least four matching aliens, each player will signal to the player on their left. That means everyone will have to remember a signal they hope to make (to the player on their left) and a signal they’ll have to watch for (from the player on their right).

In order to communicate the secret signal each player will make to the player on their left, the other player or players at the table will have to look away, or the pair will have to leave the room briefly, to discuss the signal. For example, in a five player game, if Seth sits to the left of Marie, the other three players could turn away or put their heads down while she shows her chosen signal to Seth. When finished, the player to Marie's left would explain their signal to her, while Seth and the other two aren't looking. And so on.  

As you can see, simple, silent signals are best for these versions, so this can be done quickly. 

If a player wants or needs to change their signal after a round, it's easier if that player and the player to their left step away from the table to discuss it.

Play Fair!

Here are some things to consider as players are now working together (somewhat), while there’s still a possibility of winning alone.

Players are essentially seated next to their partner, so they must take special care to keep their cards secret. This requires honesty on the part of players! No cheating. Showing your cards to the player on your left is not a legal secret signal!

Never share or give away the signal you’re watching for from the player on your right. That would be very poor taste!

Likewise, calling TRAP on the player on your right is not allowed. If you do it by mistake, you will get a penalty. 

End of Round Calls and Scoring

When someone calls ZAP or TRAP the round will end. To see who scores, determine these two things:

• Did the caller legally ZAP or TRAP a correct player? Remember, you can only ZAP the player to your right, and you can only TRAP the other players. This can be easier to forget in a game with 3 or 5 players, so penalties are explained below.

• Did the target player (the person the caller pointed to) actually have a complete set of matching aliens? 

Points are awarded to different players according to how those questions are answered. All cases are described in the table below. When it says, “score points as usual”, that means the number of points is determined exactly as it is in the regular game:  1 base point, plus any bonuses for a 5th alien in the targeted hand, plus points from any special cards that apply in either the caller or the target player’s hand. 

Track a player’s accumulated points on a single score sheet. 

A player wins if they have 7 or more points at the end of a round. If several have 7 or more, the player with the most points win. Ties are possible, though. Also, there’s a possible team win. If a player successfully calls ZAP and this causes either the caller or the targeted player to reach 7 or more points, those players immediately win as a team. No other individual scores matter in that case.

For Round 3, Sara calls TRAP and points to Matthew. Matthew lays down his cards showing he has a complete set of five matching cards depicting the same alien. She’s correct! But she’s also holding the card Be Free!! Be Free!! That earns an extra point, so she gets two points total.

Later in the game Kaylee has just 2 points, but Sara has 5. Kaylee makes her secret signal to Sara. Sara notices and calls ZAP. Kaylee lays down her cards showing she has a set of 4 matching aliens, plus the Dangerous Mission card. That makes Sara’s successful call worth a total of 3 points. It brings Sara’s score to 8 points, which is enough to win. Since this was a successful ZAP, though, it’s a team win! That means Kaylee is also a victor (even though she would have had only 5 points total, if points mattered). 

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Credits

Game Design and Art:  Mike Petty

Thanks to all the students and friends who played versions of this game over the years.

Origins of the Game

Zap or Trap is based on the classic game Kemps. You can play Kemps with a regular deck of cards, and some know it by other names. Mike learned to play from a website many years ago and had fun teaching it to friends. He changed the scoring so the losing team earned letters in the word LOSER. He taught it that way students in his math class and it became a hit in the cafeteria.

Eventually Mike added the special cards, rules for 3 or 5 players, and the alien theme. Students still had a lot of fun playing, so he published this version on The Game Crafter.

Zap or Trap is copyright 2023 by Mike Petty Games.