Following info was found on the web about the 1984 version of this game, I think the 1979 version will most likely be the same:
The most curious and captivating pursuit game ever devised!
Ripley's Believe It or Not! game is full of offbeat, outrageous trivia that you and your opponents must decide is either honest-to-goodness fact or full-of-baloney nonsense.
Quiz each other from a 240 card library full of weird and wonderful Ripley's data. Some of the questions are Multiple Choice in which you must pick one of four possible answers as the true one; others are Statements in which a bizarre fact is declared and you must decide to believe it or not to believe it. Bluff cards abound, too. They challenge you to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the truth and make up your own far-fetched statement to dupe and opponent. Avoid getting stumped. A wrong answer will advance your opponent's pawn on the gameboard, moving it closer to the final goal of the finish space.
If you can out-stump and out-bluff your opponents, you'll take the lead in this very different pursuit game to become a big Ripley's winner... believe it or not!
