Are you a board game fanatic?

By: Carolyn Brooks Fleming
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
Are you a board game fanatic?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

Test your knowledge of classic games and discover new ones!
How many spaces are on each edge of a standard Monopoly board?
Ten.
Eight.
Eleven.
You might have quickly answered "ten," but there are eleven. Each corner space is part of two sides.
Twelve.

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What popular board game features a six-pointed star and ten game pieces per player?
Mastermind.
Chinese Checkers.
Chinese Checkers is played on a board with a six-pointed star. Each player starts with their ten playing pieces in one point of the star and must maneuver their pieces across to the opposite point. Playing pieces are either pegs or marbles.
Backgammon.
Mahjong.

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Which board game features mountains, buildings, cars, and promissory notes?
The Game of Life.
The Game of Life allows players to take a life journey, adding spouses, children, and careers along the way. Good decisions and luck are needed for a player to make the most money and win. In some versions, a player is even rewarded for recycling or helping the homeless.
Monopoly.
Clue.
Risk.

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In the original version of Trivial Pursuit, what color are the wedges that represent Sports & Leisure?
Green.
Orange.
In the original Trivial Pursuit game, Sports & Leisure wedges are orange. The other five colors are blue for Geography, pink for Entertainment, yellow for History, brown or purple for Arts & Literature, and green for Science & Nature. To win, a player must earn one wedge of each color.
Blue.
Pink.

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What game from India involves throwing dice and moving pawns around a fabric game board to reach home, while capturing the pawns of other players?
Antakshri.
Pachisi.
Western versions of the game are known as Parcheesi, Ludo, and Wahoo. "Pachisi" comes from Hindi and Urdu words, meaning "twenty-five."
Pittu Garam.
Lagori.

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What is the name of the moustached Monopoly character who wears a top hat?
Flintheart Glomgold.
Thurston Howell III.
Rich Uncle Pennybags.
Rich Uncle Pennybags is also known as Mr. Monopoly. He is featured in "Forbes" magazine's Fictional Fifteen, along with Jed Clampett and Bruce Wayne.
Richie Rich.

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In chess, each player starts with sixteen pieces, including how many pawns?
Eight.
Each player starts with one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.
Six.
Two.
Ten.

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Arguably, Twister is a board game with human playing pieces, so, how many spots are on a standard Twister game board?
Twenty.
Thirty.
Thirty-six.
Twenty-four.
Twister's standard layout features four rows of six dots each. Each row is a different color. Each spot is about seven inches in diameter.

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What is the name of the first board-game café in North America, located in Toronto?
Snakes and Lattes.
The multiple locations of Snakes and Lattes serve food and drink, plus they have board games to play or to purchase.
Checkers and Cheese.
Clue Café.
Parcheesi and Poutine.

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In the classic game of Clue, which character is represented by a blue token?
Mrs. Peacock.
Mrs. Peacock is represented by a blue token, to match the vivid blue of a male peacock's breast!
Mother Sapphire.
Lady Cyan.
Madame Cobalt.

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What was the first board game published in the United States?
The Mansion of Happiness.
Traveller's Tour Through the United States.
This game about travel was published in 1822, along with a companion game, Traveller's Tour Through Europe. In the U.S. game, the winner was the first to reach New Orleans.
Monopoly.
The Checkered Game of Life.

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To start a game of Backgammon, groups of two, five, and three checkers are placed on triangular shapes called what?
Needles.
Points.
The checkers are placed on designated points. A Backgammon board features a total of twenty-four points: six in each player's home board and six in each player's outer board.
Directionals.
Triples.

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What is an unusual feature of the board used in Connect Four?
There is no board.
It's vertical.
The game board is vertical, with seven columns and six rows. Players take turns dropping colored discs into the columns, trying to make a row of four discs of the same color either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. The board has holes strategically placed so players can see the discs in play.
The board is magnetic.
The main board separates into four smaller boards.

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What is the name of the Asian game that is usually played on a board marked with nineteen lines horizontally and vertically, with 181 black stones and 180 white stones?
Trouble.
Pachisi.
Go.
In China, Japan, and Korea, respectively, Go is known as Weiqi, Igo, and Baduk - all of which mean "surrounding board game." Go starts with an empty game board and players take turns placing stones on the intersections of the lines, not in the squares. One player captures another player's stones by surrounding them.
Whist.

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Which board game, first released in 1965, encouraged girls to get a date with a cute guy, not a dud?
Dudes and Duds.
Prom Queen.
Mystery Date.
In Mystery Date, players collected outfits and accessories with playing cards, then when they landed on the right square they could open an actual door in the middle of the board to reveal a cool date or a dud. A clever mechanism randomized the result.
Dance Party.

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What is the name of the game in which each player has a personal game board and must help their tribe manage the trials and tribulations of prehistoric life?
Sapiens.
In the game Sapiens, players earn separate scores for food and shelter. Watch out for bears!
Neanderthal.
Bones and Blunders.
Risk.

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In chess, which piece may only move diagonally?
The rook.
The king.
The bishop.
While several pieces are allowed to move diagonally - the king, the queen, and the bishop - only the bishop is required to do so.
The queen.

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In the original game of Clue, what are the rooms where the murder could take place?
Ballroom, billiard room, cellar, conservatory, dining room, hall, kitchen, library, lounge, and study.
Ballroom, billiard room, conservatory, dining room, hall, kitchen, library, and study.
Ballroom, billiard room, cellar, conservatory, dining room, kitchen, library, and study.
Ballroom, billiard room, conservatory, dining room, hall, kitchen, library, lounge, and study.
The murder to be solved in classic Clue takes place in one of nine random rooms: ballroom, billiard room, conservatory, dining room, hall, kitchen, library, lounge, or study. The crime is committed with a random weapon: candlestick, dagger, lead pipe, revolver, rope, or wrench (or spanner, in British English).

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Where is the World Chess Hall of Fame located?
Moscow, Russia.
Mumbai, India.
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
The World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis features the world's largest chess piece: a Championship Staunton king that stands 14'7" tall. A chess board built to the same scale would measure 72' across.
New York City, New York, U.S.A.

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In 1968's Exciting Career Game for Boys, which is not a career option?
Astronaut.
Actor.
The six career options in the Exciting Career Game for Boys are Statesman, Scientist, Athlete, Doctor, Engineer, and Astronaut. In the girls' version of the game, options are Teacher, Airline Hostess, Actress, Nurse, Model, and Ballet Dancer. My, how times have changed!
Doctor.
Statesman.

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Which politically incorrect game from 1980 featured two tracks: working person's rut and able-bodied welfare recipient's promenade?
Public Assistance.
Clearly the game designer of Public Assistance had strong opinions about the U.S. welfare system.
1,000 Points of Light.
Trickle Down Economics.
Monopoly Nightmare.

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In Scrabble, which letter tiles have a value of one point?
A, E, I, O, D, L, N, R, S, and T.
A, E, I, O, U, L, N, P, R, S, and T.
A, E, I, O, U, D, N, R, S, and T.
A, E, I, O, U, L, N, R, S, and T.
A, E, I, O, U, L, N, R, S, and T can be rearranged into the more memorable phrase, "unite solar." Notice that all five vowels are included in this list - but never Y.

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In Risk, the board game map includes how many continents and territories?
Six continents and forty-two territories.
All continents other than Antarctica are represented on the Risk board. Territories are divided into general geographic or political regions, which vary somewhat in different editions.
Seven continents and forty-two territories.
Seven continents and forty territories.
Five continents and forty territories.

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In what board game do players collect points in farming, trading, religion, and government?
Stratego.
Life.
Pachisi.
Tigris & Euphrates.
In Tigris & Euphrates, players collect points in four colors: blue for farming, green for trading, red for religion, and black for government. Interestingly, to avoid specialization, each player is scored on his or her weakest skill category.

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Oddly enough, Chinese Checkers originated in what country?
China.
Jamaica.
Yugoslavia.
Germany.
Chinese Checkers originated in Germany! It is known as Sternhalma.

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What classic board game features the Pop-O-Matic die container?
Life.
Go.
Trouble.
Trouble, also known as Headache, Frustration, or Kimble, uses the special dome-shaped Pop-O-Matic die container. Players press down on the dome, which flexes and unflexes a sheet beneath, popping the die into the air within the dome. This prevents players from cheating and prevents the die from being lost - plus, it's just fun to pop.
Candy Land.

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Which rectangular board game with thirty squares was found in Tutankhamen's tomb?
Patolli.
Senet.
Senet, of Egyptian origin, is possibly the oldest of all board games. The exact rules are lost to time. The full name of the game translates to "game of passing."
King Tut.
Mehen.

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In 2013, the token in Monopoly shaped like an iron was replaced with what new token, chosen by the public?
Guitar.
Cat.
A cat was chosen to replace the iron. The feline beat out other proposed designs, including a guitar, a helecopter, a robot, and a diamond ring.
Rocking Horse.
Diamond Ring.

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In Scrabble, which consonants are equally popular, appearing on the most letter tiles?
N, R, S, and T.
N, R, and T.
The consonants N, R, and T share the distinction of appearing on six letter tiles in Scrabble. Each of these has a one-point face value. Only the vowels, excluding U, appear on more than six tiles in a standard game.
D, R, S, and T.
D, N, R, S, and T.

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The Checkered Game of Life, released in 1860, included a teetotum instead of dice for what reason?
Dice were related to gambling - considered a vice.
Dice were not included in The Checkered Game of Life because dice were connected with gambling. A teetotum, or six-sided top, was used instead. The Checkered Game of Life featured a checkerboard with many of life's triumphs and hazards - it was the precursor to the more modern Game of Life.
Dice hadn't been invented yet.
Dice were related to the occult.
Dice are a choking hazard for children and pets.

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"Forbes" magazine chose which children's board game as the most popular American toy for the decade 1940-1949?
Trouble.
Candy Land.
In Candy Land, players either draw cards or use a spinner to select a color, then move their player piece to the next space on the game board that matches that color. The winner is the first to reach Candy Castle. Because the game uses colors, players don't need to know how to read or count. Perfect for toddlers!
Clue.
Monopoly.

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In the game Cranium, which red card category includes factoid cards, selectaquest cards, and polygraph cards?
Creative Cat.
Data Head.
In Cranium, these red cards are in the Data Head category. Factoid cards require a team to answer a specific question, selectaquest cards involve multiple choice, and polygraph cards require a team to answer true or false.
Data Worm.
Brainy Head.

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What is the object of the game, Hi Ho! Cherry-O?
To be the first player to collect all the cherries and discard all the raspberries.
To be the first player to steal all the cherries from the other players' trees.
To be the first player to decorate your tree with fifteen cherries.
To be the first player to pick all ten cherries from your tree and place them in your bucket.
In Hi Ho! Cherry-O, each player starts with ten cherries on their tree and an empty bucket. The spinner determines how many cherries may be removed from (or added back onto) the tree during each turn. The winner is the first to place all ten cherries in their bucket.

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The friendly Milton Bradley game, Chutes and Ladders, is derived from which scarier Indian version?
Cliffs and caves.
Dragons and Demons.
Snakes and Ladders.
In India, Snakes and Ladders simulated a life journey, with the ladders representing virtues and the snakes representing vices.
Spiders and Snakes.

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Which board game inspired a movie, starring Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, and Christopher Lloyd, that had multiple endings?
Game of Life.
Monopoly.
Candy Land.
Clue.
In 1985, audiences for the movie "Clue" saw one of three possible endings, depending on which theater they attended. The DVD includes all three endings, plus an option to choose a random ending with each viewing.

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