Quizzical Historians, are you up to the challenge? Test your knowledge and try to answer the five classic questions—what, who, when, where, and why—about topics from throughout U.S. history, from Abe Lincoln to Zach Taylor.
In Quizzical History, teams compete to guess the most historical terms. The teams have a shared stack of cards with terms to guess, and each round the teams take turns choosing one of their players to give clues based on a certain question until all terms have been guessed.
In this rulebook, you can read about how to set up the game in the Game Set-Up section; how to play the game in the Gameplay section; how to win the game in the How to Win section; and ideas for other ways to play the game in the Variant Suggestions section.
The cards are organized in two ways: time period and level of difficulty. In the box, the cards are sorted into cups by time period. At the outer edge of each of the cup, there’s a number of raised dots that matches with the time period’s order, so 1 dot means the first time period and 8 dots means the last. The cups are divided into two layers with 4 cups in each layer for a total of 8.
On each card the categories are shown with raised markings. When holding the card with the QR code at the bottom, the level of difficulty is on the left of the QR code and the time period is on the right. For the level of difficulty, there’s a number of dots in a row matching the level of difficulty, so 1 dot means the easiest level and 3 dots means the hardest. For the time period, there’s a number of dots in two columns of up to four dots matching the time period order, just like for the cups.
Each card in this game has two ways of reading the prompt in addition to the written text: braille and a QR code for screenreaders.
To keep score tokens organized, teams have the option of putting their tokens on a ring. The ring can be opened by pressing the two halves apart where they hook together and closed by pressing the two halves together and sliding toward each other until they’re hooked.
An audio device is attached to the inside of the box to let players know where to find a QR code for the online rules. To remove this device, players can remove the two box inserts and pull the device off where it’s attached between the box and the lid.
Divide players into two teams.
Draw three cards per player, making sure that they are the appropriate time period and level of difficulty
Shuffle the cards into a shared stack
Prepare a timer that can be set for one minute
To choose which team will start the first round, roll a die. There is a die included in the game with indented circles for each number. For two teams, pick one team for odds and one for evens. Whichever team’s number is rolled will go first. If playing with three teams, see the Variant Suggestions section.
For each new round, the teams should switch off having the first turn. For example, with two teams, one team should have the first turn in the first, third, and fifth rounds and the other should have the first turn in the second and fourth rounds.
In each round, teams take turns sending up a clue-giver who will draw cards one by one from the shared stack and give hints so their team guesses the terms on the cards. For each turn, the clue-giver has one minute, which starts when they draw their first card.
If a team is having trouble guessing a term, clue-givers may choose once per turn to pass on a card. When passing, the clue-giver sets the card aside and draws a new card, and their team takes a six-armed pass token.
If a clue-giver gives a clue that is not in line with that round’s question, they must set that card aside and draw a new one.
Once a clue-giver’s minute is up, they take all of the cards their team guessed out of the stack and put any cards that were set aside back into the stack, then the next team will get one minute to guess terms from the remaining cards. The teams continue to take turns until all cards have been guessed, then the round ends.
At the end of each round teams count up their total cards and whichever team has more cards takes a round token. This round token, as well as any pass tokens taken, can be added to each team’s ring if using score rings. If the teams are tied, neither team takes a round token.
These description give a quick overview of what type of clues to give in each round. For more examples and more specific rules, check out the Deep Dive.
In this round, clues are based on the question “What?” Clues describe the term without saying any words in the term. For example, clues for the “Declaration of Independence” could be “letter to King George” or “We hold these truths to be self-evident.”
In this round, clues are based on the question “Who?” Clues name people or groups of people related to the term. For example, clues for “Alexander Hamilton” could be “Aaron Burr” or “the Federalists.”
In this round, clues are based on the question “When?” Clues name dates or time periods related to the term. For example, clues for the “War of 1812” could be “1812” or “early republic period.”
In this round, clues are based on the question “Where?” Clues name locations or types of places related to the term. For example, clues for the “Boston Tea Party” could be “Boston” or “harbors.”
In this round, clues are based on the question “Why?” Clues name causes or ideas related to the term. For example, clues for the “Civil War” could be “Dred Scott v. Sandford” or “slavery.”
In this round, clues are based on the question “What?” This is the broadest question, and players can describe the term on their card in whatever way they like as long as they don’t use any words on their card. For example, clues for the “Declaration of Independence” could be “letter to King George” or “We hold these truths to be self-evident.”
Clues should avoid using alternate versions of words in the term, for example, the verb “declare” or the adjective “independent” should not be used for the Declaration of Independence during this round, but a synonym like “statement” or “freedom” would be okay.
In this round, clues are based on the question “Who?” For this question, players can describe the term based on people. This can be either a specific person or a group of people. For example, clues for “Alexander Hamilton” could be “Aaron Burr” or “the Federalists.”
Clues should avoid saying a specific role if the term is a person, for example, “first Secretary of the Treasury” should not be used for Alexander Hamilton during this round, but “secretaries of the treasury” would be okay. Clues should specifically name any groups. For example, “people who were in a war” should not be used for Alexander Hamilton, but “military officers” would be okay.
In this round, clues are based on the question “When?” For this question, players can describe the term based on time. This can be a specific date or a time period. For example, clues for the “War of 1812” could be “1812” or “early republic period.”
Clues may use words like “before,” “after,” or other prepositions, but only related to specific events or periods. For example, “after forced recruitment by British” should not be used for the War of 1812 in this round, but “after the Chesapeake-Leopard affair” would be okay. Clues may name people, places, or things, but only if related to a specific event or period. For example, “James Madison” should not be used for the War of 1812 during this round, but “James Madison’s presidency” would be okay.
In this round, clues are based on the question “Where?” For this question, players can describe the term based on location. This can be a specific place or a type of place. For example, clues for the “Boston Tea Party” could be “Boston” or “harbors.”
Clues may use words like “in,” “around,” or other prepositions, but only related to specific places or types of locations. For example, “in the water” should not be used for the Boston Tea Party this round, but “in Massachusetts” would be okay. Clues may name people, times, or things, but only if related to a place or type of location. For example, “Paul Revere” should not be used for the Boston Tea Party during this round, but “Paul Revere hometown” would be okay.
In this round, clues are based on the question “Why?” For this question, players can describe the term based on cause. This can be causes of the term or effects that the term caused. For example, clues for the “Civil War” could be “Dred Scott v. Sandford” or “slavery.”
Clues may use words like “to,” “because,” or other prepositions, but only related to specific causes or ideas. For example, “because of James Buchanan” should not be used for the Civil War, but “because of James Buchanan’s passivity” would be okay. Clues should specifically name any ideas. For example, “wanting to leave” should not be used for the Civil War during this round, but “secession” would be okay.
To determine the winner, count up each team’s round tokens. The team with the most round tokens wins!
In the case of a tie, count up each team’s pass tokens. The team with fewer pass tokens wins. If the tie is still unbroken, each team takes one 30 second turn going back to the rules of the “what” round and the team with the most cards after this lightning round wins.
For other ways to win, continue to the next section
Quizzical History is all about adapting to different players’ needs. If the base rules aren’t working for you, try one of these variants or see if you can come up with your own! For each of the variants, they’re meant to be examples of how the game can change, so feel free to modify them to best fit your players.
For a shorter game with a lower difficulty, play fewer rounds than the full five, even going down to just the “What?” round. This variant can be helpful for younger players.
For a longer game with a higher difficulty, use only clues that don’t include a specific term like a proper name or numbers. For example, in this variant “George Washington,” “France,” and “1776” would not be allowed.
For a cooperative game, set a two minute time limit for each round. The clue-giver will pass on to the next player in line after each card guessed correctly. After playing through the game once, play again and try to beat the scores from the first time.
To give clue-givers some help, have two clue-givers go up at a time and give clues together. Clue-givers may give clues together or switch off giving clues.
To encourage all team members to guess, have team members take turns being the one to guess. If a team switches guessers before the guesser has guessed correctly, the team takes a pass token. For this variant, the winner is determined by the team with the fewest pass tokens, and in the case of a tie, the tie is broken by the number of round tokens.
To pick team order for three teams, pick one team for 1 and 2, one for 3 and 4, and one for 5 and 6. Whichever team has one of their numbers rolled first will go first, the continue rolling until one of a different team’s numbers has been rolled, and this team will go second.