Board Game Trivia IQ: How Well Do You Really Know the Rules?

The questions

All 10 questions in this quiz. Correct answers stay hidden until you finish.

1. 1

   In Monopoly, what happens when you land on an unowned property and decline to buy it?

   • It stays unowned until the next player lands on it
   • The bank auctions it to the highest bidder
2. 2

   The word "checkmate" in chess originates from which language?

   • Persian (shah mat, meaning "the king is helpless")
   • French (échec et mat, meaning "chess and death")
3. 3

   A standard deck has 52 cards. What natural cycle is this number commonly associated with?

   • Days in a week
   • Weeks in a year
4. 4

   Which of the following about the game of Go is true?

   • There are more possible board positions than atoms in the observable universe
   • It was invented by a single Chinese emperor
5. 5

   How many tiles are in a standard mahjong set?

   • 108 tiles
   • 144 tiles

Score bands

Your final score places you in one of these bands.

Board Game Newbie0–30 pts

You mostly use game boards as coasters. That is okay — every champion started by asking "wait, how do you play this?" Steal a few tricks for your next game night!

Weekend Player31–60 pts

You know the basics and occasionally pull off an upset at game night. Play a few more rounds and those hidden rules will become your secret weapons.

Game Night Champion61–80 pts

You are the person friends ask to settle rule disputes — and for good reason. You can pull out that obscure clause right when it matters most.

Board Game Encyclopedia81–100 pts

Your knowledge of board games goes beyond what most people thought possible. From chess to cards, from rules to history, you are a walking game almanac. You probably collect rulebooks for fun, do you not?

How this quiz works

Each question has one correct answer. When you finish, you get your score and can review every question with the correct answer and, where we have one, a short explanation.