Boston Tea Party Games

Boston Tea Party Jeopardy

• Boston Tea Party buffs can test their knowledge of the historic event by playing a "Jeopardy!"-like trivia game. After hearing the clue, players respond in the form of a question. Clues should cover information such as the reason for the protest (unfair taxes), the date the event occurred (December 16, 1773), who organized the event (the Sons of Liberty), the organizers' choice of disguise as they tossed tea into the harbor (Mohawk Native Americans), how many crates patriots dumped into the sea (342) and so forth.

  Categories should pertain to the event itself, but to add some variety to the game, players may extend questions to key items and players involved, such as "Boston Harbor," "John Hancock," "Patrick Henry," "Paul Revere," 'Revolutionary War," "Samuel Adams," "Taxes" and "Tea." Have the host set point values for each question, with players raising their hand or ringing a bell when they know the answer. Players receive the set amount of points for each correct answer, and they lose points for each incorrect answer (which may send them into the negative zone). The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Cargo

• Players either toss tea into the bay, load tea back onto a ship or squish their competition between crates when playing Wingnut's "Cargo" board game, recommended for ages 10 and up. The center of the board serves as the "Dock," with players' ships on each of its four sides. The types of workers include "Burly Worker," "Dockhand," Elephant" and "Mule," each of which has different moving/pushing abilities. Workers only may push other workers if a box sits between them.

  Players receive points under the following circumstances: pushing one of their own crates onto either of their ship's two loading spaces (3 points); pushing an opponent's crate off the edge of the dock into the sea (1 point); and squishing an opponent's "dockhand," resulting in a doctor visit for the dockhand (1 point). Players lose 1 point for pushing one of their own crates off the edge of the dock or squishing their own dockhand.

  The game ends when one player has no crates left on the board; the player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the most crates wins.

Boston Tea Party Escape

• Players put themselves in the shoes of the Tea Party organizers when playing "Boston Tea Party Escape," accessible at the GazzyBoy site. Players work their way into three British ships and proceed to dump whole crates of British tea into the Boston Harbor. Once players accomplish that feat, they escape.

  Players navigate their way around the harbor, clicking on ship icons located on the bottom, left and right of the screen to move from location to location. The strip on the bottom of the screen shows items players collect during their journey--including a hint guide, a stack of books, a key, a captain's hat and uniform (needed to gain access to the ships) and multiple hooks.