Can You Identify All These Board Games?

Lauren Lubas

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About This Quiz

Before the internet, there were few things we could do on rainy days or when we were stuck at home. If we were lucky enough to have a sibling (or a babysitter who was engaging), we could play board games when we were bored. Simply put, board games are amazing in theory: everyone gets together and has fun playing a game ... that is, until someone starts crying because they're losing or someone starts cheating because they are the older sibling and the younger sibling can't say anything. So, while board games can have the side effect of great family fun, they can also lead to rivalries and arguments that span decades – but who's counting? 

If your family had a game shelf (or a game room), you can probably recognize nearly every family board game that was popular when you were a kid. However, if your family was the serious gamer family (before gaming became electronic, of course), you can probably name every board game that was ever made. 

Let's see if you have what it takes to beat the rest. Take this quiz to find out if you can identify all of these board games (but we'll warn you, some of these games are pretty obscure).

Can you name this apologetic game?

Everyone knows that when someone says "sorry" in this game, they don't really mean it ... unless you've formed alliances, and it is simply the only move that can be made, in which case, the apology might actually be sincere. Sorry!

This game isn't just about knowing how to spell. What is it?

Scrabble is as much about knowing how to spell as hockey is about knowing how to skate. With triple and double word scores and letter marks, the simplest two-letter words can really add up in the end.

Do you know the name of this game with 64 squares?

Checkers is one of the first board games we learn to play as children. It teaches us counting, colors and how to stay where you belong (lest you be jumped). The worst part of this game is being unable to move backward unless you are a king.

What is the name of this murder mystery game?

Clue is such a popular game that they actually made a motion picture based on it. The intense game teaches children how to read (as well as lose trust in each other), but at least it isn't easy to cheat.

In this board game, you have to guess where your opponent is. Can you name it?

Battleship is pretty close in concept to Go Fish. If your opponent is sly enough, this game can cause some epic cheating. However, there is nothing more exciting than being able to place a red peg on the first move.

In which game is your game piece basically a pie tin that you have to fill?

If you really want to have a fun time, get an outdated version of Trivial Pursuit and attempt to take a walk in the past with their outlandish scientific claims and hilarious pop culture references. The original version debuted in 1981.

What is this game that is based on a science fiction show?

If you were a super fan of "Battlestar Galactica" the TV show, you most likely owned the board game. The thing that made this game different was that you had to play on a team, except you never knew whose team you were actually on.

Which game involves a pencil and paper and a crazy point system?

Scattergories is a game that's perfect for four people. You have to roll a letter die and come up with words that begin with that letter. However, if you have the same word as someone else, you don't receive any points for it.

Do you know the name of this game that involved a lot of ups and downs?

Chutes and Ladders will always be remembered as the most unfair game of our childhood. There was no getting away from the fact that if you landed on a slide, you had to move backward, and if your opponent landed on a ladder, they got ahead of you ... for no reason at all.

What is the name of this electrifying game that required patience?

Operation would have been a fine game if it didn't scare the bejeezus out of you every time you lost. Everything was all fine and dandy until that rubber band got involved. Only skilled surgeons knew how to do that one.

Can you name this game that was filled with mystery?

In this game, one person plays the villain, while the others play the game as though they're detectives. The trick to the game is that the villain hides their moves from the rest of the players who have to find them.

Can you identify this board game that was a mix between Sim City and Monopoly?

Acquire is a game that requires you to build the biggest cities that you can. If you've never heard of this game, you'd be surprised to know that it's been around for quite some time, and was incredibly popular in the 1960s.

What is the name of this intense game that was popular in the 1980s?

Don't Break the Ice is a game that taught young children that polar bears are red, and that they generally fall through ice while ice skating. The object of the game is to keep the game piece standing while you knock plastic blocks of ice off the board.

Which game made it necessary to have powers of deduction?

While Guess Who? is a fun game, most people have to wonder why there is a question mark after the command. You had to choose a character and the other person had to ask deductive questions to figure out who you really were.

Can you name this war game that required a strong strategy and dice?

Not only did Risk give us the ability to strategize how we would take over the world, but it also showed us that Madagascar didn't really even matter at all. This game was all about figuring out how to dominate a board with a roll of the dice.

Which game requires strategy and pieces that can only move certain ways?

Those who are new to chess generally underestimate the importance of the pawns as both defensive and offensive pieces. These little guys have been known to save the king time and again, depending on your opponent's strategy.

Can you name this game that involves a lot of chance (cards)?

There are a lot of different strategies for playing Monopoly. The next time you play, try filling your properties with houses and never buying hotels. Once all of the houses are gone, no one else can buy them, and that means they can't buy hotels.

Can you identify this war game?

This board game requires a special deck of cards. In order to win, you have to collect victory cards. However, that isn't as easy as it sounds. The game is over when three stacks of cards are empty.

Which board game shares its name with a Beatles song?

Like most games, Ticket to Ride is points based. However, the way you gain points is a little different. You have to build trains on the game board, connecting cities and completing destination cards.

What is the name of the game that has a lot of hexagons on the board?

Settlers of Catan is a fun game that gives you a different board every time you play. Each hexagon gives you a different kind of environment where your characters can live. It makes the game interesting and fun to play.

Which board game involves drawing and teamwork?

Everyone knows that Pictionary is all about guessing based on sketches, but it also involves a game board. The weird thing about this game is that some players might not be able to play at all, because a team gets to go until they don't guess the image correctly.

This game has a board that stands up. What is it called?

Those of us who are experts at Connect Four know that there is a simple strategy to winning: make sure you keep your moves open-ended to ensure you have two possible ways to win.

Can you name this common game that everyone has, but no one seems to know how to play?

Plenty of people have seen this game, but the funny thing is the rules are very simple. You have to get all of your checkers (game pieces) off the board, but it requires you to roll a specific number.

What is the name of this game that involves understanding disease?

In Pandemic, you play a member of the CDC who is ready to stop the spread of four diseases that have magically all come up at the same time. You and your team win when the cure is found.

Do you recognize this game, based on World War II?

Axis and Allies is based on the two sides of World War II. This game has intricate rules and is ridiculously detailed. Luckily, the game board shows you how to set up everything before you start playing, but you may have to spend some time reading the rules.

Do you remember this game that you may have played while growing up?

In the Game of Life, you are able to choose your salary, your house and your career. The best strategy is to choose the highest paying career and the lowest-cost home. If you never thought of that, you probably lost the Game of Life a lot.

What is the name of this super sweet game?

Candy Land taught children counting and colors. It also taught us that not all dessert-related characters are good guys ... take Lord Licorice, for example. Whoever made this game surely hated that candy.

Do you know the name of this board game based on wonderful things?

7 Wonders is a game where you have to develop a civilization. The game includes three ages, which are each represented by a deck of cards. Once all three decks have been played, your city has been built.

Which game could you play without worrying about your pieces falling off the board?

The only reason any child wanted to play Trouble was the method that was used to roll the dice. The dice were in an encasement that you pushed down. The suction would roll the dice for you. It was a genius contraption.

Which game forced you to call your crush?

No one really knows why Dream Phone was ever a thing. Perhaps it helped kids gain confidence in calling their crushes, or perhaps it just gave them a phone to use while their parents were using the real thing.

Can you name this game about commerce?

What does an eight-year-old girl want more than cash, a credit card and the ability to go through the mall without having to worry about asking her parents for money? Mall Madness had it all, and the game even talked.

What is the name of this children's game with starving characters?

Hungry Hungry Hippos may have caused a few injuries in its prime. You had to slap a trigger to get your hippo to eat, and this sometimes got intense, especially if you were playing with someone much faster than you.

Which game is a knockoff of Dungeons & Dragons?

HeroQuest is Milton Bradley's attempt at a Dungeons & Dragons game. Just as with D&D, there is a game master, and players are allowed to pick their characters' species.

Which game includes sticks and marbles?

KerPlunk is a mix between Jenga and Thin Ice. The object is to remove sticks without letting the marbles fall to the bottom. Whoever lets the marbles fall is, obviously, the loser of the game.

Which game was usually only played once before it was put away forever?

Most people only had the patience to put this game together once. There were so many pieces and moving parts, that this had to be one of the most commonly incomplete games on everyone's shelves in the 1990s.

Can you name this gross game that required tweezers?

Bed Bugs was a game that no one could really relate to. While it taught children about colors and counting, it also taught them that if they ever had bugs in their bed, they could simply remove them with tweezers.

Can you name this '70s game that was all about fossil fuels?

King Oil was only distributed for one year – 1974. In the game, you attempt to create an oil monopoly on the 3-D game bard. When you look at the construction of the game board, you realize that this is a really well-made game.

What is the name of this game that requires you to get physical?

While Twister teaches children how to identify their body parts and different colors, it is a little more hilarious when adults play. This game brings on a lot of jokes that are filled with innuendo.

Which game requires you to look at words differently?

While playing Boggle, you can spell words backwards, forwards and in different shapes. The only thing that can stop you from getting points is your opponent finding the same words as you.

Can you name the game that requires you to shoot BBs?

Crossfire is all about shooting a disk to the other side of the board, but the problem is that your opponent is shooting at the same time. This game is all about how fast you can reload your gun to start shooting again.

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