A board game that is based on the ancient Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. Distributed by Parker Brothers, Sorry! is marketed for two to four players, ages six through adult. The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can negate the progress of another, while issuing an apologetic "Sorry!"

The objective is to be the first player to get all four of his or her colour pawns from his or her Start location to his or her Home space. The pawns are normally moved in a clockwise direction, but can be moved backward if directed. Movement of pawns are directed by the drawing of a card.

The board game is laid out in a square with fifteen spaces per side, with each player assigned his or her own coloured Start location and Home locations offset towards the center, one per side. Four five-square paths, one per color, lead from the common outer path towards a player's Home and are designated his or her "Safety Zone." On each side are two "Slides," grouping four or five spaces each.

Older versions of Sorry! contain a coloured "diamond space" directly one space back from each start square, with the rules stating that a pawn of the diamond's colour may not move forwards over this square. Instead, a player of that colour must diverge from the outer square towards his or her "Home." Although the diamond and corresponding rule were removed from subsequent printings of the game, the rules of player movement remained the same.

Each player chooses four pawns of one colour and one player is selected to play first.

Each player in turn draws one card from the stack and follows its instructions. To begin the game, all of a player's four pawns are restricted to Start; only a 1 or 2 card can release them to the rest of the board. Playing a 1 or a 2 places a pawn on the space directly outside of start; playing a 2 does not entitle the pawn to a second space.

The Relaxation Start; When a young player is playing especially when learning the game of Sorry! a relaxation is offered in allowing one of their pawns to be placed on their Track-Start-Space this means they don't get bored before they even start, in that they feel a part of things rather than the tedium of waiting for a 1 or a 2, which can be a bit wearisome even for experienced players.

A player can jump over any other pawn, landing on the square indicated by the card. However, two pawns cannot occupy the same square. A pawn that lands on a square occupied by another "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 himself, the pawns remain in place and the player loses his or her turn.

If a pawn lands at the start of a slide (except those of its own colour) by direct movement or as the result of a switch with the 11 card or a Sorry card, it immediately moves to the last square of the slide. All pawns anywhere on the slide are sent back to their respective Starts.

The last five squares before home are the "safety zone." Access is limited to those pawns of the same color. Pawns inside the zone are immune to being replaced by an opponent's pawn with an 11 or a Sorry! card. However, a pawn is vulnerable to being forcibly moved backward out of the safety zone. Forced backward moves can cause a pawn to exit the zone.

The modern game has now 55 cards. A 1996 board from Waddingtons has 5 of each card.