Fun Songs from the 50s, 60s, 70s Multiple Choice Game

When it comes to games and gaming, using the multiple choice format might seem like an odd choice. We’ve all suffered through tedious multiple choice tests growing up, so why choose this format for a text-based game?

The answer is simple—because it’s now fun! Games like Boom Again are coming to the forefront and dominating the market because they add to the multiple choice format in was that are both freewheeling and challenging.

It’s definitely worth a closer look to see how all this works, so let’s take a deeper dive into Boom Again. It’s a nostalgia-based game for baby boomers that has captured the hearts and minds of millions with an engaging Q&A format, and the structure draws heavily on multiple choice tactics.

Multiple Choice Games and the Category Journey

Many great games feature a journey, and Boom Again is no exception. The journey in Boom Again, though, is far different from that of, say, adventure games, where players select paths and challenges that come with terrain-based features, dangers and choices that may or may not have ominous implications.

Instead, the Boom Again journey is defined at the beginning by the question categories, which are divvied up according to different life experiences that nearly all baby boomers have been through. This might sound broad-based, but in fact it’s anything but.

Consider the category names as evidence of this approach, which is much more focused than old-school games like Trivial Pursuit. “Things We Heard” takes boomers on a journey back in time to their younger world of music, lyrics, catch phrases, and so on.

Similarly, “Stuff We Learned on the Street” features questions about just that—specifically, we’re talking about fashion, cars, innovations, social changes, etc.

In this game, categories become the equivalent of time machines, and players become time travelers who have to make the right choices when it comes to the answers to the questions they encounter.

The Questions and The Games We Play

Now let’s talk about the questions themselves. They’re not strictly multiple choice—they’d be a whole lot less fun if they were, after all—but they do transport players into a world of somewhat-defined choices.

To illustrate how this works, let’s take an example of a question a player might pull from a card: “According to the Beatles, what did Rocky Raccoon find when he checked into his room?

That question is actually a well-disguised series of multiple choices. The first level of choices refer to the Beatles, who represent a musical world that transcends generations.

The second level of choices is about their songs. Specifically, was “Rocky Raccoon” actually a song? For some of us, that’s a serious memory test, provided we don’t cheat by scooting over to Google to look it up. (This is strictly forbidden, of course.) And if it wasn’t, which song contained that specific reference?

Finally, there’s the final answer itself. There’s only one specific answer, of course, but anyone familiar with Beatles’ lyrics knows they contained ongoing references to politics, love and romance, drugs, shootouts, and objects, religious and otherwise, which brings us to Gideon’s Bible.

You can track that kind of multiple choice hierarchy through almost every Boom Again question, and the ridiculously clever design is what makes the game so captivating and fun.

It’s just one reason Boom Again has become so popular, but there are others. To illustrate, let’s look at one aspect of this unique game that truly gets to the heart of multiple choice tactics.

A Multiple Choice Game Tactic to SHOUT About

Now let’s discuss SHOUT. It’s a separate category of questions, and it truly is special in the context of this game. It’s designed to play up the team aspect of Boom Again—to summarize, SHOUT is basically the verbal Boom Again equivalent of a food fight.

So how does it work? The questions in SHOUT require multiple answers to win, and they literally have to be shouted out or sung out by the players on each team to secure the victory.

To get a better idea of how this works, think of other question-based games. Picture “Charades” with shouting or singing. Or maybe “Jeopardy” without the answer buzzer. Or how about “Family Feud” without Richard Dawson or Steve Harvey as the designated referee?

The Visual Elements: Board Games, Bottle Caps and Buttons

The visual elements are another key element of Boom again. Specifically, they include a physical board game that displays the categories, and the cards that hold the questions.

But there’s more. For those who like toys—and what Baby Boomer didn’t have a rich and stimulating toy life growing up?—there are other physical accoutrements designed to spark memories and help with choices.

These include a cigar box full of nostalgia knick knacks that include things like political buttons—“Students for Kennedy” is one example—milk bottle caps, and those old plastic inserts that were necessary to play 45 RPM records.

These help players can tie the accessories directly to the questions, which helps define the choices that are at hand.

The Teamwork Factor

One of the biggest factors in the success of Boom Again is the way teamwork changes the nature of the game.

While Boom Again can be played by two people, it’s a lot more fun when more players are added, especially when teams come into play and families are involved.

To understand how this works, think back to that sample question. To get to the right answer as quickly as possible, players have to pose choices, then narrow them down as quickly as possible to  figure out who knows the most about the Beatles, who’s the best at song titles and lyrics, and so on.

It’s multiple choice taken to the highest level, especially during the SHOUT segment. The format tests communication, family and team dynamic, and the knowledge level of each player for each individual question.

Learn More About the Boom Again Experience

If you’re intrigued by how it all plays out, feel free to visit us at boomagain.com. There you can see and explore all the different elements of this unique game , and we have some great blog posts about how it all works, not to mention a rundown of our team and the special skills they bring to the table.

The price of Boom Again is $49.95, and if you have any questions about bulk purchases or the game itself, you can contact us at either or