Hype Tag "How To Play" Part 1 - Overview, Set-Up, & The Basics

About Hype Tag, from BoardGameGeek:

Return to the nostalgic (and sometimes painful) schoolyards of youth to battle it out at recess in a cutthroat game of tag. Hype Tag is an innovative, addictively re-playable strategy card game for 2-4 hipsters ages 13 and up. To win, be the first player to get up to 10 on your hype meter, flip it over, and then go back down to 1. You gotta GET HYPED by making impressive tags and creating mischief on the playground... but then you need to have enough self-control to SIMMER DOWN and go back to class! Hype Tag features the unique interaction of two different decks of cards. The HYPE deck has the strategic depth of a trading card game while the TAG deck has the simple fun of a classic card game. It's like if Magic and Uno had a baby. A unique aspect of Hype Tag is the hype mechanic. Each HYPE card has a number in the upper corner and you must at that number (or higher) on your hype meter to play the card. Many cards also have a bonus, granting an even more powerful effect the higher you get. But... when you flip your meter over and start moving back down, your dwindling hype prevents you from getting bonuses and eventually makes some hype cards unplayable. So you have to be crafty and a little bit cutthroat to win. The game ends when the first player gets back down to 1. Be sure to manage your hand carefully because you have to play a tag card to tag an an opponent at the end of each turn. If you can't, you have to call a time out which rewards the other players. In 3 and 4 player games, Hype Tag has a unique non-standard turn order which gives players a choice about who to tag. And this choice carries strategic implications. The game also include "Sass" cards that block and copy the actions of others, trait bonuses that reward certain styles of play, and Older Kids - special character cards you receive when you reach 10 on your hype meter - that grant powerful abilities aiding your descent back down to 1. It is great casual fun that also stands up to very intense tournament style play.