Downfall (game)

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Downfall is a two-player board game for ages 7 and up. It was first sold by Milton Bradley in 1970. The board is vertical and has five slotted dials on each side. Each player starts with ten numbered discs at the top, five on their side. The goal is to move all your discs to the bottom tray by turning the dials. Players take turns and cannot move the dial the opponent just moved, and they also can’t turn the same dial more than three times in a row. The winner is the first player to get all their discs into the bottom tray in order (1-2-3-4-5). If a disc drops out of order, you lose. Because each player can’t see the other board, you may accidentally help or hinder your opponent. The game rewards planning and forward thinking, and players may try to trap the other person into turning a dial that will help their own discs while avoiding moves that drop their discs out of order. In the UK, the game is sold as New Downfall by Hasbro, with the same rules but a red and yellow futuristic design. The box art was parodied on the cover of the music album Expert Knob Twiddlers.