Don’t Be Sorry, Make it Right

Sorry! is a Game of NEGATION

Making Amends has nothing to do with saying “I’m Sorry”.

Crucial Point.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/sorry#etymonline_v_23908

Plot

Sorry! is based around Timothy Lumsden who, 41 years old in the first three series (his age increased to 42 and then 48 in subsequent series – Corbett was actually 50-57 during the series’ run), is a librarian who still lives at home with his domineering mother Phyllis and henpecked father Sidney. Although quite shy around women, Timothy longs to find love and leave home, but Phyllis is always against the idea, and constantly manipulates her son into staying at home. One of the running gags of the series is Sidney frequently shouting “Language, Timothy!” when he feels Timothy has said something inappropriate (though most times nobody would typically find the words even close to offensive). Timothy usually responds “Sorry father”, but sometimes snaps “Shut up, father!” to which Sidney always replies “Fair enough”.

In contrast, Timothy’s friend Frank and sister Muriel urge Timothy to stand up to his mother once and for all. Muriel had successfully left home, and married Kevin, and as a result is viewed with distrust by her mother.

Classic rules

1. Each player chooses four pawns of one colour and places them in their Start. One player is selected to play first.
2. Each player in turn draws one card from the deck and follows its instructions. To begin the game, all of a player’s four pawns are restricted to Start; a player can only move them out onto the rest of the board if he or she draws a 1 or 2 card. A 1 or a 2 places a pawn on the space directly outside of start (a 2 does not entitle the pawn to move a second space).
3. A pawn can jump over any other pawn during its move. However, two pawns cannot occupy the same square; a pawn that lands on a square occupied by another player’s pawn “bumps” that pawn back to its own Start. Players can not bump their own pawns back to Start; if the only way to complete a move would result in a player bumping their own pawn, the player’s pawns remain in place and the player loses their turn.
4. If a pawn lands at the start of a slide (except those of its own colour), either by direct movement or as the result of a switch from an 11 card or a Sorry card, it immediately “slides” to the last square of the slide. All pawns on all spaces of the slide (including those belonging to the sliding player) are sent back to their respective Starts.4
5. The last five squares before each player’s Home are “Safety Zones”, and are specially coloured corresponding to the colours of the Homes they lead to. Access is limited to pawns of the same colour. Pawns inside the Safety Zones are immune to being bumped by opponents’ pawns or being switched with opponents’ pawns via 11 or Sorry! cards. However, if a pawn is forced via a 10 or 4 card to move backwards out of the Safety Zone, it is no longer considered “danger” and may be bumped by or switched with opponents’ pawns as usual until it re-enters the Safety Zone.

2013 Edition rule changes

In the 2013 Edition, several rules were changed. Each player only has three pawns. A pawn can be moved out from Start upon any positive number card. A Sorry! card gives the alternative option of moving forward 4 spaces. The 2 card no longer allows one to pull another card.

Furthermore, two additional items known as Fire and Ice were added, and depending on which card is drawn, can be placed on certain pawns on the board, modifying the playing rules for those pawns. In short, fire gives a pawn the ability to move ahead quickly before the player’s turn, and ice stops a pawn from being moved (or removed from play) at all.

There are some corner cases that are not well explained in the rules, such as “What happens to fire if one pawn removes the pawn with fire by landing on its square?”. Should the fire be set back to out of play, or should it transfer to the attacking pawn?

Classic cards and function

The modern deck contains 45 cards: there are five 1 cards as well as four each of the other cards (Sorry!, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12). The 6s or 9s are kept out to avoid confusion. The first edition of the game had 44 cards (four of each) and the extra 1 card was soon introduced as an option for quicker play.5 A 1996 board from Waddingtons had 5 of each card.

Cards are annotated with the following actions:

1	Move ice6, then either move a pawn from Start or move a pawn one space forward.
2	Move fire6, then either move a pawn from Start or move a pawn two spaces forward. Drawing a two entitles the player to draw again at the end of their turn. If the player cannot use a two to move, he or she can still draw again.
3	Move a pawn three spaces forward.
4	Move a pawn four spaces backward.
5	Move a pawn five spaces forward.
7	Move one pawn seven spaces forward, or split the seven spaces between two pawns (such as four spaces for one pawn and three for another). This makes it possible for two pawns to enter Home on the same turn, for example. The seven cannot be used to move a pawn out of Start, even if the player splits it into a six and one or a five and two. The entire seven spaces must be used or the turn is lost. You may not move backwards with a split.
8	Move a pawn eight spaces forward.
10	Move a pawn ten spaces forward or one space backward. If none of a player’s pawns can move forward 10 spaces, then one pawn must move back one space.
11	Move eleven spaces forward, or switch the places of one of the player’s own pawns and an opponent’s pawn. A player who cannot move 11 spaces is not forced to switch and instead can forfeit the turn. An 11 cannot be used to switch a pawn that is in a Safety Zone.
12	Move a pawn twelve spaces forward.
Sorry! card	Take any one pawn from Start and move it directly to a square occupied by any opponent’s pawn, sending that pawn back to its own Start. A Sorry! card cannot be used on an opponent’s pawn in a Safety Zone. If there are no pawns on the player’s Start, or no opponent’s pawns on any space you can move to, the turn is forfeited.4

View Table

Strategy

Players who have a pawn that has not moved too far away from its start area, and draw a card that allows them to move a pawn backward, can (and should) elect to move this pawn backward. Move a pawn in such a situation backward enough, and the pawn is suddenly almost home.

The 7 can be split; it is often possible to do so such that one of the pieces ends up on a slide, thus increasing the value of this card. It also provides an additional opportunity for pawns to get Home, so long as there’s another pawn on the board to use up the remaining spaces.

All other things being equal, moves that cause a pawn to end up in front of an opponent’s start square are poor choices, due to the high number of cards that allow that opponent to enter. Some feel that leaving a pawn on one’s own square just outside “Start” (also known as the “Dot”) is a poor position to be in since new pawns are blocked from entering play.

There are numerous strategies and tactics employed by skilled players. One such strategy is to leave the last pawn in the “Start” square and move the other pawns around the board while waiting for a “Sorry” card.

Due to the 11 (switching places), 4 (moving backwards, as noted above), and “Sorry” (allowing the player to send virtually any pawn back to its start) cards, the lead in the game can change dramatically in a short amount of time; players are very rarely so far behind as to be completely out of the game. This should be considered when playing a “Sorry” or an 11.

Slowing the game down is a risky yet effective move when given the opportunity. Essentially, when a player has the chance to switch with or hit the apparent leader, even though the move will not be to the player’s immediate advancement around the board, the move should be made to keep the leader out of “Safety” and more importantly, out of “Home”.