Board Games Renamed Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sorry

Although Sorry! appeared in 1929, it is based on an ancient game from India called Pachisi. The objective of Sorry! is to make it around the board to the end, moving by following instructions on cards. Some cards require that you send an opponent back to the start -- thus, "Sorry!"

Answer: Monopoly

No game screams "America" more than Monopoly. It originated with Lizzie Magie, a writer, who wanted to a way to show how monopolies negatively affect the public good. She patented the game as "The Landlord's Game" in 1904 and 1923. In 1932, a Philadelphian named Charles Darrow played the game and liked it so much, he created his own version, which he called Monopoly and sold to Parker Brothers.

When Parker Brothers learned that Monopoly was based on Magie's game, they compensated her $500.

Answer: Clue

Clue (U.S.) or Cluedo (U.K.) appeared in the 1940s. The setting of this game is a mansion, and the players are guests or staff. A murder has taken place, and players must figure out who committed the murder, what murder weapon was used, and in what room the murder took place.

Answer: The Game of Life

One of America's oldest board games, "The Game of Life" was created by Milton Bradley in 1860. Although there have been variations over the years, the general theme is that you move through your life on the board, making decisions such as whether to go to college or not and what profession to choose. The board game is also available online via Wii, PCs, Playstation, and iPhone.

Answer: Battleship

We don't know exactly where the game Battleship came from, as there are traces of it being played in various countries, but in 1967, game company Milton Bradley released the first version with a plastic peg board. Players try to sink all of their opponent's naval ships.

In 1990, these ships were a carrier, a battleship, a cruiser, a submarine, and a destroyer. In 2002, they removed the cruiser, made the destroyer a little bigger, and added a patrol boat.

Answer: Operation

Operation is kind of a strange game when you think about. Flat on a board is a cartoonish picture of a man nicknamed Cavity Sam. He has touchpoints around his body, such as heart, stomach, ankle, and wrist. Players take turn drawing cards to see which kind of operation Sam needs.

Then, using a set of tweezers, they try to remove tiny items within the cavities without touching the sides. It's good practice for hand-eye coordination.

Answer: Mouse Trap

An early three-dimensional game, Mouse Trap was released by Ideal in 1963. The game has changed a bit over the years, but essentially it involves building a trap with lots of steps, connectors, and catches, and trying to trap your opponents' plastic mice.

In 2014, San Francisco-based artist Mark Perez created a huge version of Mouse Trap with a board of 6500 square feet for exhibits. That version is called Life Size Mouse Trap.

Answer: Connect 4

Connect 4 requires two players, who sit facing each other with a board standing up between them. On the board are six rows of seven holes each. In commonly produced boards, one player uses blue or yellow discs, the other red; they take turns to see who can get four in a row first. A digital version of Connect Four is available on the Nintendo Switch as "Four-in-a-row".

Answer: Risk

Risk is a strategy game that can get tense! The board is a map of the world, and the goal is to dominate every country, annihilating one's opponents. It involves some chance but also diplomacy, strategy, and alliances. It was released by Hasbro in 1957.

Answer: Candy Land

I know parents who get so tired of playing Candy Land over and over that they hide the game away! This is simple game for small children -- they move across the board by moving from one color to the next, using drawn cards or a spinner rather than dice. It was designed in San Diego in the 1940s and was released by Milton Bradley in 1949.

Answer: Cranium

Cranium was released by Hasbro in 1998. A team-based game, it's similar to charades in that one person on the team tries to get the other players to guess something. Draw a blue card and you'll need to draw out your clue. Draw a green card and be ready to hum your clues.

Answer: Uno

Uno was created by a Ohioan barber named Merle Robbins in 1971. At first he made and sold it from his barbershop, then sold it to a game company. It's like Crazy Eights in that everyone tries to get rid of all their cards, but there are variations to Uno that don't exist in Crazy Eights. Skip cards, for example, force a player to skip his or her turn. Reverse cards change the direction of play, and so on.

When players have just one card remaining, they have to say "Uno" out loud. If they're caught not doing that, they have to pick up two more cards.

Answer: Taboo

Taboo is a team-based guessing game. When it's your team's turn, you pick up a card and try to get your team to say, for example, "basketball," only you can't use the word "basketball", "ball", "sport", or "Jordan." If your team guesses the answer correctly, you pick up another card with a new word and repeat until the timed round is over.

Answer: Mr Mouth

Mr. Mouth is a fun little game. Mr. Mouth is a frog, and, when the game is turned on, his head spins slowly around in a circle, with his mouth opening and closing at short intervals. Players sit around him and try to flick tiny plastic flies into his mouth using mini catapults.

Answer: Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit hit the shelves in 1982. Designed to be played by individuals or team, it involves answering questions correctly in multiple categories, including geography, entertainment, history, arts and literature, science and nature, and sports and leisure.

The questions are found on small cards. After you've played the game a few times, you probably want to purchase the expanded version so you can have fresh questions.