Quiz on Board Games

In Monopoly, what do you collect by passing the 'Go' square?

• $200 ✓ (Correct answer)
• A free property
• A get-out-of-jail card
• An extra turn

Source: Passing Go banks you $200 every lap — the engine that keeps players solvent for hours.

Which board game centers on guessing letters to reveal a hidden word and avoid a drawing?

• Scrabble
• Hangman ✓ (Correct answer)
• Boggle
• Pictionary

Source: Hangman is so old it predates pencils — Victorians played it as 'Birds Fly'.

In chess, which piece can move any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally?

• Rook
• Bishop
• Queen ✓ (Correct answer)
• Knight

Source: The queen wasn't always so mighty — she gained her sweeping powers only around 1475.

In Scrabble, what makes a square a 'triple word score'?

• It multiplies a word by three ✓ (Correct answer)
• It triples one letter
• It adds 30 points
• It skips a turn

Source: A single well-placed triple-word tile can swing a whole game in one move.

In Clue, players try to solve what kind of mystery?

• A robbery
• A murder ✓ (Correct answer)
• A kidnapping
• A treasure hunt

Source: Clue was invented during WWII air-raid blackouts to pass the long, dark evenings.

What are players trying to build and connect in The Settlers of Catan?

• Castles and walls
• Roads and settlements ✓ (Correct answer)
• Railways and stations
• Farms and fences

Source: Catan launched the modern board-game boom and has sold over 40 million copies.

In Trivial Pursuit, what do you collect by answering category questions correctly?

• Coins
• Cards
• Wedges ✓ (Correct answer)
• Stars

Source: The little wedges are nicknamed 'pie pieces' — fill all six to head for the center.

In checkers, how does a regular piece become a 'king'?

• Capturing three pieces
• Reaching the far row ✓ (Correct answer)
• Surviving ten turns
• Landing on center

Source: Crowning a piece on the back row lets it move backward — a huge tactical upgrade.

In Risk, what is the main objective of the game?

• Collect the most cards
• Control all territories ✓ (Correct answer)
• Build the longest road
• Reach the capital first

Source: Risk was designed by a French filmmaker and first sold as 'The Conquest of the World'.

In a standard game of dominoes, two ends can only be joined if they share what?

• The same color
• The same number ✓ (Correct answer)
• An odd total
• A blank tile

Source: Matching pip counts is the whole rule — and why a 'double-blank' can stall a chain.

Which game uses a planchette that players believe spells out messages?

• Tarot
• Ouija ✓ (Correct answer)
• Mah-jong
• Cluedo

Source: The Ouija board was patented in 1890 as a parlor toy, long before its spooky reputation.

In the original Game of Life, what do you spin to determine your moves?

• A pair of dice
• A numbered wheel ✓ (Correct answer)
• A coin
• A card deck

Source: The Game of Life's spinning wheel dates to 1860, making it one of America's oldest games.

In Stratego, which is the only piece that can defeat the Marshal?

• The Spy ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Bomb
• The Scout
• The General

Source: The lowly Spy beats the top-ranked Marshal — but only if it attacks first.

What is the goal of the cooperative game Pandemic?

• Spread the most disease
• Cure all four diseases ✓ (Correct answer)
• Conquer four cities
• Outscore other players

Source: In Pandemic everyone wins or loses together — there are no individual winners at all.

In backgammon, doubling the stakes is done using which object?

• A doubling cube ✓ (Correct answer)
• A red checker
• A wager card
• A betting peg

Source: The doubling cube was a 1920s addition that turned backgammon into a gambler's favorite.

Which ancient strategy board game uses black and white stones on a gridded board?

• Shogi
• Go ✓ (Correct answer)
• Xiangqi
• Senet

Source: Go has more possible board positions than there are atoms in the observable universe.

In Carcassonne, what do the small wooden figures placed on tiles claim?

• Treasure chests
• Features like roads ✓ (Correct answer)
• Bonus dice
• Player turns

Source: Those wooden 'meeples' became so iconic the word now describes player tokens everywhere.

Monopoly evolved from an earlier game designed to criticize what?

• Foreign trade wars
• Land-grabbing monopolies ✓ (Correct answer)
• Stock market gambling
• Wartime rationing

Source: Lizzie Magie's 1903 'Landlord's Game' was anti-monopoly propaganda — the irony is total.

The classic dexterity game Jenga takes its name from a word in which language?

• Japanese
• Swahili ✓ (Correct answer)
• Finnish
• Hawaiian

Source: 'Jenga' means 'to build' in Swahili — its inventor grew up in East Africa.

In tournament Scrabble, which two-letter word lets you legally dump a 'Q' without a 'U'?

• QI ✓ (Correct answer)
• QA
• QO
• QE

Source: QI, a term for life energy, is a competitive player's secret weapon for the dreaded Q tile.