Only Baby Boomers Will Remember All the Rules to These Classic Board Games

By: John Miller
Image: shutterstock

About This Quiz

Before the days of Netlflix and the internet, families in cabins huddled together near campfires to survive, singing songs and clapping their hands for entertainment. Along the way, they started playing board games to pass the time, hoping they’d survive the long winter to see another spring. It was then that Monopoly was invented, and shortly afterward, divorce. In this argument-provoking quiz, what do you really know about the rules of classic board games?

Baby boomers, especially, were weaned on board games. Games like Yahtzee, Sorry! and Mouse Trap weren’t just an idle pastime – they were worth playing for hours and hours on long evenings and weekends. The thing is, a lot of families and friends didn’t really read the rules until the competition got fierce. 

If you were cornered and on the verge of losing, you might try to fudge a little on the rules … until you got caught. Do you know the real rules of the following games or are you still stuck on the ones you made up as you went along?

We’ll cover some of the big classics in the board game universe, everything from Battleship to Chutes & Ladders and Life. Roll the dice and draw your cards in this board game rules quiz now!

How do you determine who goes first in a game of Life?

In Life, each player spins the wheel. Whoever gets the highest number goes first.

What happens each time you pass Go in Monopoly?

In Monopoly, players make their way around the square board by rolling the dice. Each time they pass the Go square, they collect $200 … which they'll need to pay rent to other players.

What's the maximum number of players for a game of Scrabble?

They can only make so many of those little wooden letters, you know. Scrabble maxes out at four players.

In order to move your pawn at the start of a game of Sorry!, you must draw a _____.

You can't even begin your mission in Sorry! until you draw a 1 or 2. Then, you can move your pawn into the main playing area.

After you spin the spinner in Twister, what do you do?

In Twister, the huge mat is filled with colored circles. Spin the spinner and then touch -- and hold -- that color, until you fall down.

At the beginning of each game of Monopoly, one player is assigned as the _____.

Someone has to handle all the dough. And in Monopoly (as in life), that one person is the banker, who is chosen at the beginning of each thirty-six-hour-long game.

In Sorry!, what happens if a red pawn lands on a square occupied by the green pawn?

It's why the game is called Sorry! In this scenario, the red pawn lands on the same space as the green pawn … meaning the green pawn has to start all over again.

How do you decide who takes the first turn in Scrabble?

Players each take one letter from the pile. Whoever nabs the letter closest to the start of the alphabet then goes first.

In Monopoly, what happens when you place a house on a property?

In Monopoly, construction makes property much more valuable. The price of rent doubles with just one house.

How do you win a game of Risk?

Risk is a game of war. In order to win, one player must capture all 42 territories on the board.

How much money does each player receive at the beginning of a game of Life?

When Life begins, each player receives $10,000 cash. And just like in real life, that $10,000 is not going to get you very far, leading to social withdrawal, depression, possible substance abuse, divorce, and ultimately, death.

In Monopoly, if a player lands on an unowned piece of property, what can she do?

If a player lands on unowned property in Monopoly, she can buy that property at the listed price. Or, if she's broke, she can accept that there's no way she's ever going to win this game.

Who gets to go first in Candyland?

As if the baby of the family doesn't already have enough unexplained privileges -- in Candyland, the youngest player goes first.

What happens if two or more pawns wind up on the same space in Chutes & Ladders?

In Chutes & Ladders, squares are big enough for everyone. Multiple players can occupy the same square without consequences.

How do you determine the winner of the game of Life?

It's such an American concept. In Life, money determines the winner -- each player tallies up his or her cash, and the greedy one with all the dough wins the game.

Which of the following letters has the highest value in Scrabble?

Because it's so rare, the letter Z is worth 10 points. Along with Q, it is the letter with the highest value in Scrabble.

What happens if you touch an elbow or knee to the mat during a game of Twister?

In Twister, the strongest (or luckiest) players win. You can't touch the mat with an elbow or knee, otherwise you're immediately out of the game.

What happens if you roll the dice and land on Jail in Monopoly?

Because, you know, it's fun to just visit prison once in a while. If the dice send you to Jail, you're "Just Visiting" and you'll leave on your next roll.

In a game of Chutes & Ladders, what do pawns do when they reach the bottom of a ladder?

Land on a chute, down you go. Approach a ladder? You immediately climb to the next square.

In the first round of Battleship, each player gets how many shots?

When Battleship begins, each player fires a salvo of five shots. Then, you use those hits or misses to deduce where your opponent's ships might be.

In Candyland, what happens if your pawn lands on the licorice square?

The licorice square in Candyland is bad news. It means you lose your next turn.

How much money can you lend to other players in Monopoly?

Hey now, none of that -- in Monopoly, the banker controls all of the money. There's no lending of money between players

In Life, what do you do if you land on a baby square?

In life, the fates are in charge of family planning. If you land on a baby square, you add baby pegs to your car. You won't think they're cute when you see the college tuition bills.

If you incorporate a red square into your Scrabble word, you get to ______ your word score.

The red square ends friendships. It triples the value of a word score and occasionally sparks domestic disputes.

How do you win a game of Chutes & Ladders?

The Chutes & Ladders board is filled with numbered squares. If you land directly on the square labeled #100, you win.

What happens if you roll doubles in Monopoly?

Doubles is a good thing in Monopoly. It means that you'll get to roll again.

In Candyland, how do you win the game?

It's a race to the finish in Candyland. Players scramble to reach the ultimate goal -- Rainbow Castle -- before their opponents.

During a game of Scrabble, players always have how many tiles?

After you play your tiles in Scrabble, you draw more letters. The idea is to maintain tiles throughout the game.

What happens if you roll three consecutive doubles in Monopoly?

Feel free to roll two doubles in a row in Monopoly, speeding your way around the board. Roll three consecutive doubles, though, and you wind up in the slammer.

How does one win a game of Connect Four?

In Connect Four, players drop discs into a plastic grid. When one of them places four discs in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row, the game is over.

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