Board Games of the 80s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Civilization

Predating the video game by more than a decade, "Civilization" was a board game designed by Francis Tresham and takes anywhere between three to twelve hours to fully play depending on player count, strategy, and experience. The game takes place around the geography of the Mediterranean Sea and its objective is to become the player with greatest built civilization. To do so, players trade commodities with other players, building cities, and accessing different abilities such as coins, agriculture, and medicine.

It is generally believed that "Civilization" is the first mainstream game to use the "technology tree", a hierarchical representation that is branched out like a tree and used as a mechanic to upgrade or improve your overall ability during game-play.

Answer: Axis & Allies

The original "Axis & Allies" game was designed by Larry Harris in 1981. Initially released by Nova Game Designs, it was later released by Milton Bradley, Hasbro, and Avalon Hill. Game-play revolves around taking control of one of the major geographical players of World War II (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union) and attempting to conquer the territories of the other nations. Players playing the "Axis Powers" team up against those playing the "Allies" and the game ends once one of the two sides complete their designated objectives. Mechanisms used in the game to achieve victory include combat and industrial production.

Answer: Empire Builder

"Empire Builder" was designed by Bill Fawcett and Darwin Bromley, released in 1982, and has spawned various expansions including "British Rails", "Euro Rails", "Russian Rails", and "Australian Rails". Players compete individually to be the first person to collect $250 million dollars and be connected to most of the major cities on the board. Depending on the version being played, these conditions may change slightly. To achieve this goal, players must deliver goods between cities on the board by drawing their routes using a crayon and then moving their pawn.

The board itself is laminated and crayons can be erased by using a cloth or towel.

Answer: Scotland Yard

"Scotland Yard" is an example of an early co-operative game in which one player plays the role of a criminal and the other players must work together to catch them. The criminal (Mr. X) uses a hidden movement mechanism and only reveals their location periodically, while the detectives are always seen on the board. Players are able to move around using a variety of strategies including taxis, buses, and the London Underground.

The detectives win if they land on Mr. X's location. Mr. X wins if they avoid capture and the detectives no longer have any valid moves. "Scotland Yard" won the "Spiel des Jahres" award for board game of the year in 1983.

Answer: Balderdash

"Balderdash" was a Canadian invented game designed by Laura Robinson and Paul Toyne. In the game are a series of cards with various categories such as movie titles, dates, acronyms, or silly laws. Players write what they "think" the real answer is on a sheet of paper. One player plays the role of the reader each round. All players (with the exception of the reader) vote on what answer they think is the correct one. Players gain points based on whether others voted for their answer or not. The winner is the first player to reach the end of the score track.

Answer: Orient Express

"Orient Express" is a fictional crime game based off of the Agatha Christie novel "Murder On The Orient Express". The game is set on the "Orient Express" train going from Paris to Istanbul. Ten different cases can be selected to play from and the objective of the game is to be the person who has the correct "solution" upon arriving at Istanbul. To do so, players move around the train by rolling dice and obtain clues from innocent crew members or different rooms on the train.

Answer: Thunder Road

Using an infinite road, players select one of four racing vehicles (e.g. dune buggy, gyrocopter) and try to be the last person alive on the board. To do so, players can attack others by ramming into other vehicles or firing weapons at their opponents.

The "Thunder Road" board itself is designed in two pieces. Once a player exits off of the lead "board piece", the back piece is placed in the front (thus creating an infinite board). Any pieces on the back piece at that time are eliminated from the game (with the exception of the Thunder Chopper that must be destroyed).

Answer: The Fury of Dracula

"The Fury of Dracula" takes on similar mechanisms to another 1980s game called "Scotland Yard". One player gets to secretly control the character of "Dracula" while the other players are hunters trying to locate and defeat him. Like "Scotland Yard", "The Fury of Dracula" utilizes a point to point movement system, but unlike "Scotland Yard" incorporates a combat system. "Dracula" must attempt to evade the hunters while he lays minions around the board to create a vampire empire.

The hunters are victorious if they are able to locate and destroy Dracula. Dracula wins if he can hide six Vampires before the hunters destroy him.

Answer: Mall Madness

"Mall Madness" was originally released in 1988, but incorporated a successful "electronic" version in 1989. Primarily targeted towards teenage girls, the game was set in a local mall that consisted of eighteen stores and four visiting areas. "Mall Madness" was a roll and move game where players were given a shopping list at the beginning of the game and were required to spend money around the mall to complete their lists.

The first person to achieve their list and reach the arcade/parking lot was declared the winner.

Answer: Taboo

"Taboo" is a party style game in which players take turns describing a word to their partner, but cannot use any of the "forbidden" words listed on the card. For example, the word that comes up might be "car", but forbidden clues may include "engine", "tires", or "windshield".

A timer is set and opposing players can hit the "buzzer" if they determine that a forbidden word was used. Players get a point for each card they successfully claim while the opposing players can get points if a team passes on a word or they catch the other team using forbidden clues.

The team with the most points at the end is declared the winner.