Overview

Hey Pa! There’s a Goat on the Roof is a family board game from 1966 (Parker Brothers) where players move Goat pieces around a farm board, collecting cans by landing on colored spaces and following card instructions. The object is to collect more cans than any other player.

Components

• 1 playing board with farm structures
• 1 spinner
• 6 Goat playing pieces
• 1 Farmer piece
• 1 deck of cards
• 1 bell
• 1 box of cans

Setup

1. Each player selects a Goat as their playing piece and places it in the Goat Pen along with all the cans.
2. The Farmer is placed on the Tree Stump or Chopping Block adjacent to the barn.
3. Cards and bell are placed alongside the board.

Turn Structure

1. Each player spins the spinner; highest number goes first, then spins again.
2. On your turn, spin and move your Goat the number of spaces indicated along any path leading from the Goat Pen.
3. If your Goat lands by exact count on a colored space, draw a card and follow its instructions.
4. If your Goat lands by exact count on a Star Space, place the Goat on top of the nearest object (haystack, stone wall, etc.) and collect one can from the Pen.
5. Play passes clockwise.

Actions

Movement

• Goats move along the paths on the board.
• Once out of the Goat Pen, players may move forward or backward but cannot change direction mid-move and must move the full count.
• A space may hold more than one piece.

Card Actions

• “Ring the Bell” card: Immediately ring the bell and move the Farmer. If the Farmer is on the Tree Stump, move him into the Barn. If the Farmer is inside the Barn, move him out to the Tree Stump.
• Location cards (Corn Field, Pond, Flower Garden): Your Goat must go to the designated area. No further penalty; proceed as normal on next turn.

Cans

• Cans are collected from the Pen and never exchanged between players.
• A player never owns more cans than they have collected.
• If a player draws a penalty card requiring more cans than they have, they put back only what they have.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when any player’s Goat jumps onto the roof of the Barn. For this to happen, the Farmer must spin a number large enough to land on the Tree Stump AND the Barn in one turn. The Tree Stump counts as one space but no Goat may rest on it.

When a Goat lands on the roof, its owner receives 3 additional cans and the game ends. The player with the most cans wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• The Tree Stump must always be free for the Farmer to come out and prevent a Goat from jumping to the roof.
• No Goat may rest on the Tree Stump.
• The Farmer piece moves between the Tree Stump and the Barn when “Ring the Bell” cards are drawn.

Player Reference

Action	Result
Land on colored space	Draw a card
Land on Star Space	Collect 1 can
Ring the Bell card	Move the Farmer
Location card	Move Goat to designated area
Goat reaches roof	Owner gets 3 bonus cans, game ends

Win Condition: Most cans when game ends