Guide to Sorry

As with other competitive board games, Sorry’s twisted mechanics will make your pals detest you anytime you prevent them from winning. The game may appear easy at first appearance, but mastering it requires learning a variety of intricate methods. Here is a guide on Sorry to help you get the hang of the game’s rules.

History of the Board Game “Sorry!”

1950 edition of the game “Sorry!”

Let’s trace Sorry back to its roots and find out who first thought up this brilliant game. On May 21, 1929, a guy called William Henry Story patented the game’s distinctive board and engaging rules in the United Kingdom. British board game company Waddingtons would eventually release the game in 1934.

On August 4, 1930, William Henry Story submitted a patent application for the board game in the United States. In 1932, he presented a patent application for the game in Canada. In 1934, Parker Brothers, a well-known American toy and game maker, obtained the patent from Story and released the game.

Overview of Sorry’s Gameplay

Sorry board game and cards on a table

The maximum number of players for the Sorry: Classic Edition board game is four, as there are only four possible color combinations for the players’ individual pieces. One player wins the game by being the first to move all four pawns onto the Home tile. You and the other enemy pawns can prevent players from advancing toward the goal by bumping them off the side tiles and sending them back to the beginning of the game.

Choosing Your Pawns

All players must select a pawn color before the game begins. Blue, red, yellow, and green are the Classic Edition’s primary colors. The pawns must then be moved to the matching color Start tile. The Home tile, located to the right of the Start tile, is where the winning four pawns must be.

The Cards and Their Effects

Sorry board game showing the deck of cards at the center and the colored pawns

One player would shuffle the game’s deck of cards and arrange them face up in the middle of the board after deciding on pawn colors. When shuffling, make sure all of the cards are face down. Each turn’s movement of the pieces on the board is determined by the draw of a card. Remember that if a card instructs you to “go forward,” it implies doing so in a clockwise direction. The deck consists of the following cards, each of which has its own unique effect:

  • Card 1: Advance a pawn from the Start tile, or move one space.
  • Card 2: Advance a pawn from the Start tile or move two spaces, and then draw a new card.
  • Card 3: Advance a pawn by three spaces.
  • Card 4: Drop a pawn four spaces back in the board.
  • Card 5: Advance a pawn by five spaces.
  • Card 7: You can either advance a pawn seven spaces, or you can split the number of moves between two pawns.
  • Card 8: Advance a pawn by eight spaces.
  • Card 10: Advance a pawn by 10 spaces or retreat it one space backward.
  • Card 11: Advance a pawn by 11 squares or exchange places with an opposing pawn. If you can’t advance 11 spaces on the board and no opponent pawns are on the white tiles, then your turn will be skipped
  • Card 12: Advance a pawn by 12 spaces.
  • Sorry! Card: Make an opposing pawn return to the Start tile. This card can be played right away or saved for later.

Choosing the First Player to Draw a Card

Players will vote on who gets the initial pick from the deck. If the participants cannot settle on a starting player, they may each roll a single die, and the person with the highest roll will go first.

At the start of the first player’s turn, they must select a card from the deck since the number of spaces that space occupies on the board will decide how far one of their pawns can go. If you arrive in an area with an enemy’s pawn, you can send it back to its Start tile by bumping it. In contrast, if your move would place one of your pawns on a tile already occupied by another of your pawns, you must pass on that turn.

The Slide Tiles

Top view of Sorry’s board showing the slide tiles and safety zones

The slide tiles, which share their hues with the pawns, the Start tile, and the Home tile, may be found on the white tiles that line the board’s edges. To complete a slide, a pawn must go from the beginning of the slide tiles (shown by a left-pointing arrow) to the conclusion of the slide tiles (marked by a circle mark). If the slide is the same color as your pawn, you cannot utilize it. If this occurs, you must bump any pawns halfway down the slide back to their respective Start tiles. Whether the target pawn is yours or your opponent’s, it will be bumped anyhow.

The Safety Zone

In order to reach the tiles in the Safety Zone connected to the Home tile, you will need to go counterclockwise after you reach that tile. Players outside of the Safety Zone cannot use the second effect of Card 11 or the “Sorry!” card that may be used as an opponent to the pawn currently occupying that area. Furthermore, if a player’s pawn is of a different color than the Safety Zone, that player’s pawn cannot enter the zone.

Reaching the Home Tile

It’s not simple to get to the Home tile since you need to draw the correct amount of moves to get there, or you’ll have to pass on your turn. If the Sorry deck runs empty, you can shuffle the discard pile and add its contents to the middle of the deck.

Changes in the Sorry! 2013 Edition

Sorry! 2013 edition

Several modifications were made to the regulations for the 2013 edition. Fire and Ice, two new pieces, may be put on specific pawns on the board to alter their properties based on the drawn card. In a nutshell, fire lets a piece advance rapidly before the player’s turn, whereas ice prevents it from moving at all or being taken out of play.

Plus, there are only three pawns available for each player. Upon playing any card with a positive number, a pawn may be advanced past the initial Start position. The “Sorry!” card provides an alternative choice of advancing your pawn ahead of 4 spaces. You also can’t draw an additional card anymore if you draw a number 2 card.

Sorry is quite similar to the classic children’s board game Snakes and Ladders, with the added frustration that there is a greater danger of losing your progress on the board. Many groups of friends wouldn’t be willing to play “Sorry!” but if you’re eager to be a good sport, it’s one of the most entertaining board games available.