Don't Wake Daddy Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Don’t Wake Daddy

The objective of Don’t Wake Daddy is to be the first player to sneak to the fridge without waking up daddy.

Setup

Assemble the bed by attaching the headboard to the bed frame. Then snap Daddy into bed.
Place the bed in the middle of the gameboard.
Put the nightcap on Daddy’s head. Press down on him until he lays back in the bed.
Separate the mover cards from the picture cards.
Each player chooses a mover card and adds it to a player base. The extra mover cards are returned to the box. Each player places their mover on the corresponding colored bed at the start of the track.
Shuffle the picture cards. Deal the cards out evenly to the players. The cards should be placed faceup so all of the players can see the cards.
If there is an extra picture card, return it to the box. All of the players are safe landing on that space during the game.
The youngest player starts the game. Play moves left throughout the game.

Playing Don’t Wake Daddy

To begin your turn you sill spin the spinner. What the spinner lands on determines what you will do on your turn.

Spin a color on the spinner — This player has spun the color yellow on the spinner.

If you spin a color, you will move your mover to the next space on the track that matches the color you spun.

Moving you playing piece after spinning a color in Don't Wake Daddy — The blue player spun yellow on the spinner. They will move their playing piece to the next yellow space along the track.

Spinning a purple star — The current player has spun the purple star on the spinner.

If you spin the purple star, look for the player who is currently the furthest along on the track. You will move your mover one space in front of the leader. If you are currently the leader, you will spin again. If no one is on the track, you will move to the first space on the track.

Moving to the front with a purple star in Don't Wake Daddy — The red player spun a purple star on the spinner. They will move to the first space in front of the current leader.

Landing on a Space

After you move your playing piece, you will look at the space that you landed on. Depending on what space you landed on, you may have to take a special action.

If you land on a plain color space without a picture or number, you will not take a special action. Your turn ends and the player to your left takes their turn.

Landing on a color space — The green player landed on a red space. Their turn ends as they don’t have to take a special action.

Should you land on a space with a picture and number, you will look to see what player currently owns the corresponding card.

If you own the card, you are safe. This also applies if the corresponding card was discarded at the beginning of the game (there are only three players). You will keep your card, and your turn ends.

Landing on a picture space that you have the card for — The blue player landed on the space that has a crying baby on it. They had the corresponding card. Therefore they do not have to press the button on the alarm clock.

Waking Daddy

If another player owns the card, you will look at the number on the space. You will have to push the button on the alarm clock a number of times equal to the number on the space.

Land on picture space but don't have matching card — The red player landed on the television space. They do not have the corresponding card. Therefore they will have to press the button on the alarm clock six times.

Pressing the alarm button in Don't Wake Daddy — The red player didn’t have the matching card so they will have to press the button on the alarm clock six times.

If Daddy does not wake up, you are safe and your turn ends. Your mover stays on the space.

Should Daddy wake up (pops up in bed), you will collect the card matching your current space from the player that currently has it. You will also move your playing piece back to your own bed at the start of the track. Your turn then ends.

Daddy wakes up — After pressing the button, Daddy woke up.

Returning to bed after waking Daddy — The red player woke up Daddy so they move their playing piece back to their bed. They also take the card corresponding to the space they were on when they woke up Daddy.

Winning Don’t Wake Daddy

Players will keep taking turns spinning the spinner and moving their playing piece.

When you are near the end of the track, you may spin a color that is not on any of the spaces in front of you. In this situation you move onto the refrigerator. The first player to move onto the refrigerator wins the game.

Winning the game — The yellow player spun blue on the spinner. There are no blue spaces between them and the refrigerator.

Winning Don't Wake Daddy — The yellow player has reached the refrigerator. They have won the game.

Don’t Wake Daddy FAQ

If you have any questions about how to play Don’t Wake Daddy, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.

Components

3 part bed
Daddy’s nightcap
4 mover bases
8 mover cards
16 playing cards
Spinner
Gameboard
Instructions

Year: 1992 | Publisher: Hasbro, Milton Bradley | Designer: Roger Ford

Genres: Children’s, Spin and Move

Ages: 3+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 15-20 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High

Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.