Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz
1 / 15Who invented the tile-based word game that eventually became known as Scrabble?
About Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz
Give your memory a workout with Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz: 15 multiple-choice questions aimed at mixed difficulty, free to play right in your browser. Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue — these beloved games have fascinating origin stories that are just as fun as the games themselves. Test your knowledge of the inventors, companies, and surprising facts behind America's favorite board games. Expect to spend about 7 minutes; every question comes with an explanation, so you learn something even when you miss.
A few sample questions
1. Who invented the tile-based word game that eventually became known as Scrabble?
Answer: Alfred Mosher Butts
Alfred Mosher Butts, a New York architect, invented the game in 1938, carefully analyzing letter frequencies in newspaper articles to decide how many tiles of each letter to include.
2. In what year did Parker Brothers first publish Monopoly for sale to the public?
Answer: 1935
Parker Brothers purchased the rights to Monopoly from Charles Darrow and published it commercially in 1935, right in the middle of the Great Depression, when the game's fantasy of wealth became an enormous hit.
3. Who invented the murder-mystery board game known as Clue in the United States and Cluedo in Britain?
Answer: Anthony Pratt
Anthony Pratt, a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham, England, patented the game in 1944 with his wife Elva, who designed the mansion board — the game was published commercially in 1949.
4. What did inventor Alfred Butts originally call the game that eventually became Scrabble?
Answer: Criss-Cross Words
Butts named his 1938 tile-word game Criss-Cross Words — the name Scrabble was coined in 1948 by entrepreneur James Brunot, who bought the rights and turned it into a nationwide success.
5. Which company first published the children's board game Candy Land in 1949?
Answer: Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley published Candy Land in 1949 after schoolteacher Eleanor Abbott invented it while recovering from polio — she wanted a cheerful game that children with limited mobility could easily enjoy.
Things you'll learn along the way
- In Clue, the winner is the first player to correctly accuse the right suspect, in the right room, with the right weapon — all three must be correct, or another player gets a chance to win.
- A standard Scrabble board is a 15-by-15 grid of 225 squares, 61 of which are premium squares colored to double or triple the value of a single letter or an entire word.
- Haney and Abbott came up with Trivial Pursuit in December 1979 while playing Scrabble in Montreal — the game was released to the public in 1981 and became one of the best-selling games in history.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my progress if I close the page?
Your overall progress — XP, streaks, and badges — is saved in your browser automatically. A quiz that's underway restarts if you leave mid-game, but at about 7 minutes, Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz fits comfortably in one sitting.
How many questions are in Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz?
Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz has 15 multiple-choice questions. Each one has four answer options and an explanation that appears after you answer, so you learn something even when you miss.
Is Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz free to play?
Yes. The entire SeniorBrainGames catalog — including Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz — is free, with no sign-up required, no time limits, and no ads on top of the game. It also works offline once the page has loaded once.
How long does Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz take?
Most players finish Roll the Dice: Classic Board Game History Quiz in about 7 minutes. You can pause between questions, replay it as often as you like, and there is no penalty for taking your time — answers are explained after you submit them.
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