Chain Reaction Game Rules

IN BRIEF

Chain Reaction is played in teams. Each turn, the playing team takes a Challenge Card from the box. One at a time (and always in the same order) team members say a word or do an action that meets the Challenge. One point is scored for each correct word or action completed in 30 seconds. The team moves its playing piece round the board by the number scored, acquiring bonuses or penalties on the way.

THE BOARD

The board has three elements on it.
The OUTER track - round the rim of the board with a large yellow triangle on the start space. Although the start space is larger than all the others it still counts as only one space.
The CRESCENT track - a segmented purple crescent with a yellow triangle at the start and a yellow circle at the end.
The SPINNER DIAL, surrounded by numbers and split into green and blue wedges. Secure the spinner in the hole before starting.

SETTING UP

Divide into 2 roughly equal teams. Each team takes a cone and a disk of the same colour.
Put both cones on the yellow triangle on the OUTER track.
Put both the disks on the yellow triangle on theCRESCENT track.
To set a rough limit on the game's length, agree on a number of CRESCENT track segments to be played. Three segments is a short game, six is the full game. Pick which team will start by mutual consent.

STARTING

The first team to go decides which member will be the STARTER. The STARTER takes a Challenge Card from the front of the box and reads it to both teams. He may read it two or three times to clarify the Challenge.
When everyone understands the Challenge, an opposing player up-ends the timer. The STARTER provides the first word or action to start the round.
In some Challenges like, Say a word starting with the last letter of the previous player's word, the STARTER can choose any word.
The player to the STARTER's right says the next word and so on round the team.
Team members continue to take it in turn to say a word or do an action that meets the Challenge, going round and round the team as often as possible.
The team scores a point every time a team member correctly meets the Challenge.
At the start of each new round, the player to the previous STARTER's right becomes the new STARTER.

ABOUT CHALLENGES

Some Challenges require an individual effort from each player, others need 2 or even 3 players to complete. Read this example:
First player names a country Next player names a city in it.
This two player Challenge requires the first player to name a country and the next player to name a city in that country. This sequence is repeated round the team (using different countries and cities) for the whole turn.
Each player who answers correctly scores one point - even if the last player has only said the first half of a two part Challenge.

CHALLENGE RULES

Team Members MUST:-

  • ALWAYS speak in the SAME ORDER.
  • CORRECTLY meet the Challenge before the next player can continue, however many tries it takes.
  • NOT HELP anyone who is stuck IN ANY WAY.
  • NOT REPEAT any word used by another team member in the same round, unless instructed to in the Challenge.
  • If the above rules are broken - IN ANY WAY, the turn ends with the score counting up to the last correct player.