''Headache'' is a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

for in which the object is to land a playing piece (known as "cones" or "men") on top of all opponents' pieces (to create "stacks"). Play moves in circles until one player has captured every other players' cones on the board and declared the winner. All players are welcome to occupy any space throughout the game, provided the die rolls allow, and there are eight spaces that serve as "safe" spots, where a cone resting on this space cannot be captured. Captured pieces are not sent back to start, but are permanently lost. Like similar games such as ''

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

'', ''Headache'' has its dice in a "pop-o-matic" bubble in the center of the board. The bubble is pressed to roll the dice. Unlike ''Trouble'', which has a single die in the bubble, ''Headache'' has two dice. One die is a regular die featuring the numbers one through six. The other is blank on five sides, and has a red dot on the sixth side. The red dot, if rolled allows for an extra turn. Headache was first introduced in 1968 by the Kohner Brothers and was later manufactured by

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...

. In the UK the game (called ''Game of Headache'') was released in 1968 through Peter Pan Playthings.

The board

Headache uses a round board in which movement is around the outside of the board, and the bubble with the dice is in the center. There is a starting point for each of the four colors. The board has a total of 48 spaces, including 8 safe spots (each marked with an X). Four of these eight safe spots are starting points. The spaces protrude from the surface of the board, thereby allowing the cones to rest on them neatly. The board has two tracks, the outer and the inner track. The outer track has three spaces between Xs, and the inner track has two. Both tracks merge at each X. This difference allows players to strategically move around the board. Any player who has their cone on a safe spot (X) cannot be captured, and an opponent is not permitted to land a cone on such a spot occupied by one. A player is allowed to keep his/her cone on an X as long as he or she wishes, provided there is another legal move. The exception is on the first four rounds of turns, in which each player must move a different cone, clearing the starting space.

Cones and stacks

Game of Headache (UK version) - game set up

The playing pieces in the game are known as "cones" (or "men" in the UK) because of their cone shape. This allows them to be stacked on top of one another in unlimited numbers. Each player starts off with four cones, and whenever one player lands on the space occupied by the cone of another, this player captures the opponent's cone. The capturing player places their cone on top of the cone of the player being captured, where it remains throughout the game. The result is known as a "stack." Stacks have the special privilege to move around the board in either direction, whereas single cones may only move clockwise.

References

{{Reflist Board games introduced in 1968 Children's board games Cross and circle games Milton Bradley Company games Roll-and-move board games Articles containing video clips Running-fight board games