Annie (1981) Board Game: Rules for How to Play

Objective

The objective of the Annie Board Game is to acquire the most lucky stars by the time that Annie reaches the “A Happy Ending” space.

Setup

Place the game board in the middle of the table. Stack the stars face up on top of the name Annie in the middle of the board.
Insert the Annie token into the base and place it on the Start space.
Choose a player to start the game. Play passes left/clockwise throughout the game.

Playing the Game

You will begin your turn by rolling a die/dice. What die/dice you roll depends on what space the Annie token is currently on. If Annie is on a space that only has a red die pictured next to it, you will only roll the red die. If Annie is on a space with only a white die, you will only roll the white die. Should no dice be pictured on the space, you will roll both dice.

Determine which die to roll — Annie is currently on a space that shows a red die. You will only roll a red die on your turn.

After you have moved Annie, you will take an action based on the space the token lands on. Your turn ends after you take the action.

Red Die

Should you only roll the red die, you will move Annie forward spaces equal to the number you rolled.

White Die

If you only roll the white die, you will move Annie backward spaces equal to the number you rolled.

Red and White Die

When you roll both dice, you will compare the number you roll on both dice. You will subtract the higher number from the lower number.

If the red number was higher than the white number, you will move Annie forward spaces equal to the difference between the two dice.

Rolling higher on the red die than the white die — The current player rolled a five on the red die and a two on the white die. As they rolled higher on the red die, they will move the pawn forward three spaces.

If the white number was higher than the red number, you will move Annie backward spaces equal to the difference between the two dice.

Rolling higher on the white die — The player rolled a six on the white die and a one on the red die. Since they rolled higher on the white die, they will move the pawn back five spaces.

Should you roll the same number on both dice, you will add the two dice together. You can either move forward or backward spaces equal to the total of the two dice.

Rolling a five on both dice — The current player rolled a five on both of the dice. The player can chose to either move forward or backward ten spaces.

Spaces on the Annie Board

Start/Orphanage

The token starts on the Orphanage space. You will roll both dice. To move off the first space you need to roll a higher number on the red die or roll the same number on both dice.

If you do not roll a combination that moves the token forward, your turn ends. The next player then tries to move Annie off the Start space. This continues until someone rolls a combination that moves the token off the Orphanage spot.

Sandy + Star

When you land on one of these spaces, each player takes one lucky star from the board and adds it to their pile.

Red Arrow

Should you move the token onto a red arrow space, you will immediately roll the red die again. Move the token forward the corresponding number of spaces and take the action from that space. Your turn then ends.

White Arrow

When Annie lands on a white arrow space, you will immediately roll the white die. You will move the token back the number of spaces that you rolled on the die. Take the action corresponding to the space that you moved the pawn onto. Your turn then ends.

Star for the Other Orphans

All of the players except for the player that moved the token, gets to take one lucky star from the board and add it to their pile.

Give Another Orphan a Star

Choose another player. Give them one of the lucky stars that you have collected. If you don’t have a star, you don’t have to give them anything.

Roll for Stars

When you land on this space, you will roll both dice.

If the red die is higher than the white die, you will take a number of lucky stars from the board equal to the difference.

Roll for Stars example — The player rolled a five on the red die and two on the white die. Since the player rolled higher on the red die, they will take three lucky stars from the board.

Should the white die be higher than the red, you will return some of your stars to the board equal to the difference between the two numbers. If you don’t have that many stars, you will return as many stars as you have to the board.

Should you roll doubles, you will roll the dice again.

Give Miss Hannigan One Star

Should the Annie token land on this space, you will take one of your lucky stars and return it to the board.

Roll Against an Orphan

Choose another player. You will roll the red die and they will roll the white die. If the players roll the same number, you will roll the dice again.

Whichever player rolls higher gets to take lucky stars from the other player. The winning player gets to take a number of stars equal to the difference between the two die rolls. If the loser does not have enough stars, the winner takes whatever stars the loser has.

Roll Against An Orphan example — One player rolled a five on the white die and the other player rolled a four on the red die. The player who rolled the red die has to give one lucky star to the other player since their roll was one number lower.

Go to see Daddy Warbucks, Go to the White House, Go to see Punjab, Go to the Iodent Hour

Move the Annie token to the corresponding spot on the board. You will then take three lucky stars from the board.

Daddy Warbucks, The White House, Punjab, The Ioden Hour

Take three lucky stars from the board and add them to your pile.

The Mudges

Return three of your lucky stars to the board. If you don’t have three stars, return whatever stars you have to the board.

End of Game

The game ends as soon as Annie lands on the A Happy Ending space. The rules do not state whether you have to land on the space by exact count.

Reaching A Happy Ending in Annie Board Game — The Annie pawn has reached the Happy Ending space. The game has ended.

Each player counts up how many lucky stars they have in their pile. Whichever player has the most lucky stars, wins the game.

Winning the Annie Board Game — The players collected these lucky stars during the game. Since the top player collected the most stars, they win the game.

Annie Board Game FAQ

If you have any questions about how to play the game, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.

Components

Gameboard
Annie token with plastic base
Red die
White die
64 Lucky Star tokens
Instructions (cardboard insert)

Year: 1981 | Publisher: Parker Brothers

Genres: Children’s, Roll and Move

Ages: 6-10 | Number of Players: 2+ | Length of Game: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High

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Written By:

Eric Mortensen

Eric Mortensen is an owner and head writer on Geeky Hobbies since 2014. He is an avid board game player and collector with over 3,000 board and card games in his collection. Since 2014 he has written more than 1,100 board game how to play guides.