Can you move backward in Sorry!?

Yes, but only with two cards. The 4 moves a pawn back four spaces, and the 10 lets you move back one space instead of forward ten. A pawn can't enter its Safety Zone going backward, though backing up from near your Start often sets it up to enter on the next forward card.

How do you get out of Start in Sorry!?

In the current Hasbro edition, any forward-moving number card can move a pawn out of Start, and a Sorry! card can bring one out onto an opponent's pawn. In the classic four-pawn rules, only a 1 or 2 moves a pawn out, onto the space just outside Start, plus the Sorry! card.

Do you draw again on a 2 in Sorry!?

Not in the current edition. Since 2013 the 2 moves the Fire token and then moves a pawn 2 spaces, with no extra draw. The classic rules, still used in older and retro sets, let you draw again after playing a 2. Agree on which rule you're using before starting.

Can you split a 7 in Sorry!?

Yes. You can move one pawn 7 spaces or split the 7 between two of your pawns, such as 5 and 2. If part of the 7 takes a pawn Home, you must use the rest on another pawn. Only the 7 can be split this way.

Do you have to switch places on an 11 in Sorry!?

No. An 11 lets you move forward 11 or switch one of your pawns with an opponent's pawn on the open track. If you can't move 11 forward, switching is optional, so you can pass instead of making a swap that helps an opponent.

How many pawns do you get in Sorry!?

The current Hasbro edition, sold since 2013 with the Fire and Ice tokens, gives each player three pawns, 12 in the box. Older editions and the Retro Series 1958 reissue use four pawns per color, 16 in all. The winner is whoever gets all of their pawns Home first.

Do you need an exact count to get Home in Sorry!?

Yes. A pawn enters Home only by exact count, so a pawn two spaces away needs a card that moves it exactly two. If the card is too high for that pawn, move a different pawn or lose the turn if nothing else can move.

What happens when you land on a slide in Sorry!?

If you land exactly on the triangle at the start of a Slide that includes your color, you slide to the end and bump every pawn in your way back to its Start, including your own. On a Slide without your color you stay on the triangle. Classic sets reverse this and slide you only on other colors.

Sorry! Board Game Rules: Cards and Moves

1Object of the game

Get all of your pawns from Start, around the board, up your colored Safety Zone and into Home before anyone else. In the current Hasbro edition that means three pawns. Older sets and the retro reissue use four.

2Setup

Each player picks a color and puts that color's pawns in the matching Start circle. The current edition uses three pawns each; if your set came with four per color, you are playing the older rules (see house rules).
Shuffle the 45 cards and place them face down in the center of the board. Put the Fire and Ice tokens in the center too.
The youngest player goes first, and play passes to the left.

3The play

Draw the top card and do what it says. You must move if any legal move exists; if none does, your turn is over.
Any forward-moving number card can bring a pawn out of Start. A Sorry! card can also bring one out by replacing an opponent's pawn.
Pawns move clockwise unless the card says to go backward.
If you end on a space with an opponent's pawn, it goes back to its own Start. You can never end on a space holding your own pawn, so a move that would do that is not allowed.
If you land exactly on the triangle at the start of a Slide that includes your color, slide to its end and bump every pawn in the way, yours included. On a Slide without your color, stay on the triangle.
Discard the card face up. Play passes left.

4End of a hand

There are no rounds or hands. Turns go around the table until someone brings their last pawn Home. A pawn that reaches Home stays there and cannot be moved again.

5Scoring

The standard game has no points. You win by getting every pawn Home first. The deck is what drives the game, so here is what each card does in the current Hasbro edition. The deck has five 1s and four each of the other cards, with no 6 or 9.

For	Points
1	Move the Ice token to any opponent's pawn on the board, then move one of your pawns forward 1
2	You may move the Fire token to one of your pawns, then move a pawn forward 2
3	Move one pawn forward 3
4	Move one pawn backward 4
5	Move one pawn forward 5
7	Move one pawn forward 7, or split the 7 between two pawns (for example 4 and 3)
8	Move one pawn forward 8
10	Move one pawn forward 10, or move one pawn backward 1
11	Move one pawn forward 11, or switch one of your pawns with an opponent's pawn on the open track
12	Move one pawn forward 12
Sorry!	Move a pawn from your Start onto an opponent's pawn and send that pawn to its Start, or move one of your pawns forward 4

Ice: the pawn holding the Ice token can't be moved, bumped, switched, hit with a Sorry! card, or landed on. When you draw a 1 you must move the Ice token to an opponent's pawn on the board, but not one in Start, a Safety Zone, or Home; if no such pawn exists, the token goes back to the center. Fire: the pawn holding the Fire token may move ahead to the next fire space before you draw, and when it enters Home it can bring one other pawn Home with it. The 11 switch only works between pawns on the open track, never in Start, Home, or a Safety Zone. If you can't move forward 11, you don't have to switch.

6Winning

The first player to get all of their pawns into Home wins, and the game ends at once. Pawns enter Home only by exact count. A pawn in the Safety Zone that is too close for the card you drew simply can't use that card.

7A worked hand

You're Yellow, playing the current rules without Fire and Ice. Pawn A is in your Safety Zone, 3 spaces from Home. Pawn B is on the outer track, exactly 4 spaces behind a Red pawn. Pawn C is still in Start. You draw a 7 and split it. A moves 3 and lands in Home by exact count. Because you used part of a 7 to reach Home, the other 4 must go to another pawn, so B moves 4 and lands on the Red pawn, which goes back to Red's Start. That's 3 + 4 = 7, the full card. On your next turn you draw a Sorry! card. C leaves Start and takes the place of a Green pawn two spaces from Green's Safety Zone, and that Green pawn returns to Green's Start. The turn after that you draw an 8 and move B. It lands exactly on the triangle of a Slide that includes yellow, so B slides to the end and bumps the Blue pawn sitting there back to Blue's Start.

8House rules

The rules above are the version most US players use. These are the variations you are most likely to run into; settle them before the first deal.

Classic four-pawn rules: Sets from before 2013 and the Retro Series 1958 reissue use four pawns per color. In those rules only a 1 or a 2 can move a pawn out of Start, a 2 lets you draw again, the Sorry! card can only be used from Start, and you slide on slides of other colors but not your own.
Classic variation (no Fire and Ice): The current Hasbro sheet includes a variation that leaves the Fire and Ice tokens in the box. When you draw a 1 or a 2, you just move forward 1 or 2 and ignore the token instructions.
Strategic variation (hand of five): Deal five cards face down to each player. On your turn, pick one card from your hand, move with it, discard it, and draw a replacement. Older sets describe a similar dealt-hand game with points scored for pawns brought Home.
Team play: With four players you can play two teams of two, with partners sitting opposite each other (red and yellow against blue and green). Settle before you start how partners may help each other.

9Mistakes people make

In the current edition you only slide on a Slide that includes your own color. The classic rules are the reverse, so check which set you own.
No pawn may enter a Safety Zone with a backward move, although a pawn inside one can be forced backward out of it.
If you use part of a 7 to get a pawn Home, you must use the rest on another pawn. If no pawn can take the leftover spaces, you can't split that way.
Two of your own pawns can never share a space except in Start and Home. If your only possible move would land on your own pawn, you lose the turn.

10Playing better

Save the Sorry! card's best use for a pawn that is about to reach its Safety Zone. Sending back a pawn that just left Start costs that player almost nothing.
A pawn just outside Start can go backward with a 4 or a 10. Backward moves may pass your Safety Zone entrance, so that pawn ends up near home instead of a full lap away.
Use the 11 switch when an opponent's pawn is far ahead of yours. Swapping a pawn near your Start for one near the far corner can skip most of a lap.
Spread your pawns out. With several pawns on the board you are more likely to have a legal move for any card, and a split 7 gives you two targets.
Park pawns in your Safety Zone rather than on the open track when you can. Only your own pawns can enter your Safety Zone, so nobody can land on them there.

Sorry!: questions people ask

Can you move backward in Sorry!?: Yes, but only with two cards. The 4 moves a pawn back four spaces, and the 10 lets you move back one space instead of forward ten. A pawn can't enter its Safety Zone going backward, though backing up from near your Start often sets it up to enter on the next forward card.
How do you get out of Start in Sorry!?: In the current Hasbro edition, any forward-moving number card can move a pawn out of Start, and a Sorry! card can bring one out onto an opponent's pawn. In the classic four-pawn rules, only a 1 or 2 moves a pawn out, onto the space just outside Start, plus the Sorry! card.
Do you draw again on a 2 in Sorry!?: Not in the current edition. Since 2013 the 2 moves the Fire token and then moves a pawn 2 spaces, with no extra draw. The classic rules, still used in older and retro sets, let you draw again after playing a 2. Agree on which rule you're using before starting.
Can you split a 7 in Sorry!?: Yes. You can move one pawn 7 spaces or split the 7 between two of your pawns, such as 5 and 2. If part of the 7 takes a pawn Home, you must use the rest on another pawn. Only the 7 can be split this way.
Do you have to switch places on an 11 in Sorry!?: No. An 11 lets you move forward 11 or switch one of your pawns with an opponent's pawn on the open track. If you can't move 11 forward, switching is optional, so you can pass instead of making a swap that helps an opponent.
How many pawns do you get in Sorry!?: The current Hasbro edition, sold since 2013 with the Fire and Ice tokens, gives each player three pawns, 12 in the box. Older editions and the Retro Series 1958 reissue use four pawns per color, 16 in all. The winner is whoever gets all of their pawns Home first.
Do you need an exact count to get Home in Sorry!?: Yes. A pawn enters Home only by exact count, so a pawn two spaces away needs a card that moves it exactly two. If the card is too high for that pawn, move a different pawn or lose the turn if nothing else can move.
What happens when you land on a slide in Sorry!?: If you land exactly on the triangle at the start of a Slide that includes your color, you slide to the end and bump every pawn in your way back to its Start, including your own. On a Slide without your color you stay on the triangle. Classic sets reverse this and slide you only on other colors.

SORRY! is a trademark of Hasbro. This page describes the rules for players and has no connection with the trademark owner.

Sources

Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

Sorry! Game Instructions (A5065), Hasbro. Read September 29, 2026.
Sorry! with Fire & Ice Power-Ups Rules & Instructions, Hasbro. Read September 29, 2026.
Sorry! (game), Wikipedia. Read September 29, 2026.
Sorry! Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play, Geeky Hobbies. Read September 29, 2026.

Also on the table: Trouble, Backgammon, UNO, Phase 10.