Movie lovers unite! This fast-paced guessing game will keep everyone on their toes in a race to name movie tiles based on a series of clues. Continue reading for the entire Blockbuster game rules and instructions.
With the increase of digital movie streaming, the ever-popular video rental stores have dwindled across the United States; keep the nostalgia alive with this go-to party game for movie lovers!
This Blockbuster Game rules guide will cover the following:
- What is the Blockbuster Game?
- A brief history of the Blockbuster Game
- What you’ll need to play the Blockbuster Game
- The Blockbuster Game Rules
- How to play the Blockbuster Game (Video Tutorial)
- FAQs
Read on to learn how to play the Blockbuster Game.
What Is The Blockbuster Game?
Blockbuster is a fast-paced party game for movie lovers. Players work to provide clues and guess movie titles before time runs out. The first player (or team) to collect movie titles from eight genres wins!
Number of Players: 4+
Ages: 12+
Difficulty: Easy
Length of Play: 30-60 minutes
Category: Party games
Similar to: Guesstures, Speak Out, Charades
Main Objective: Players race to collect movie titles from at least eight genres to win the game.
Why We Love It: Blockbuster is a nostalgic family game that is easy to earn and great for parties.
Related: How to play Reverse Charades | How to play Famous Movie Lines
A Brief History of The Blockbuster Game
Blockbuster, produced and sold by Big Potato Games, is based on a nostalgic store and game show. Founded by three friends in England, Big Potato Games originated in 2013. Shortly after, their business expanded into the United States, where sales continued to grow.
The Blockbuster video stores were incredibly popular across the United States in the late 90s and early 2000s. Later, a television game show, Blockbuster, was aired in parts of the U.S. and the U.K.
Soon after the Blockbuster board game increased in popularity, the 2-player game edition called Blockbuster and Chill became available. Another expansion, Blockbuster Returns, includes four new movie genres, so gameplay will never get old!
What You’ll Need to Play The Blockbuster Game
Everything you need to play is included in this boxed set.
The complete game box contains:
- 1 electronic timer
- 260 game cards
- 1 gameboard
- 1 Blockbuster sign
- Instructions
Area of Play
To start, set up the parking lot game board in the middle of your playing surface.
Split players into 2 teams and sit on either side of the game board facing each other.
Shuffle all game cards and place them beside the game board.
The Blockbuster Game Rules
This game is played in rounds, starting with a head-to-head Movie Buzzer Battle between one player from each team. The winner of the Movie Buzzer Battle gets an advantage in the next phase of the game.
All players take part in the next activity. Teams compete in three stages of challenges to guess movie titles correctly before the time runs out.
Round One
First, two players, one from each team, face-on in the Movie Buzzer Battle.
Another player selects a Movie Battle card and reads aloud the challenge.
Start the timer, and both opposing players race to think of movies that match the challenge topic.
After naming a title, press the buzzer. Both players continue naming as many titles as possible until someone can’t think of anything. The person with the most titles wins the match!
If you are stumped, your teammates can quietly act out clues to help you, but when the timer rings, the battle is over.
The winner draws six Movie cards from the deck when the battle ends. Select three cards to keep and pass the other three cards to your opponent.
All players get involved in the next round.
Place your three selected cards face-down on each parking lot space. The three spaces are labeled “One Word, Quote It, and Act It.”
Each team has its own side of the game board. Hold down the timer to start the 30-second buzzer. The player who selected the cards leads their team through the following three phases:
Related: Best game Buzzers
One Word
You can state only one word as a clue for the movie. Then, your teammates try to guess the movie title as quickly as possible. When they guess correctly, keep the card and move on to the next challenge.
Quote It
Pick up the next card from the gameboard parking space and give your teammates a quote to help them guess the name of the movie listed on the card. If they guess correctly before time runs out, move on to the third stage.
Act It
Use hand gestures or movements to silently act out clues for your teammates. If they correctly guess the movie title on this third card and there is still time available, you can move to your opponent’s side of the board and begin guessing their cards.
When time runs out, the other team selects the cards left on the board and follows the same series of clues through One Word, Quote It, and Act It. This gameplay continues until the buzzer signals the end of the round.
Every time your team correctly guesses a movie card, keep it in your collection.
Round Two
Select one new player from each team to compete in the second Movie Buzzer Battle.
Two players face off in another battle, and the winner selects six movie cards to place on the gameboard. Then, teams start the timer and play through the three parking lot phases again, collecting cards as they go.
This gameplay continues until one team collects at least one movie in each of the eight genres:
- Family
- Animation
- Horror
- Sci-Fi and Fantasy
- Action
- Drama
- Comedy
- All Time Classics
The first team to collect all 8 genres wins!
Card Examples
Each card genre is shown in a different color, making it easy to track which category you collect.
Check out these movie titles you can find for each of the categories:
- Family: Small Soldiers
- Animation: Ratatouille
- Horror: Scream
- Sci-Fi and Fantasy: Star Trek
- Action: The Matrix
- Drama: Fight Club
- Comedy: Blazing Saddles
- All Time Classics: The Godfather
How to Keep Score in The Blockbuster Game
No specific scoring is involved in this game, making it even easier to play.
Players collect cards by correctly guessing movie titles; once a team or player collects all eight genres, they automatically win the game!
How to Play The Blockbuster Game – Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blockbuster a fun game?
If you enjoy movies and games like charades, you’ll especially enjoy the Blockbuster game. This guessing game is fun for big kids and adults and works well for large groups and parties. The countdown timer also adds a competitive and suspenseful element!
What is the Blockbuster game?
The Blockbuster game is a competitive board game all about movies! The game includes over 200 movie title cards for eight different movie genres. Players compete to earn at least one movie card in each genre to win!
How long does the Blockbuster game take?
Depending upon the number of players or rounds, the Blockbuster game can take up to 60 minutes or so to play. However, the game proceeds quickly if you use the timer to move through the rounds.
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