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British Fun and Games Trivia

British Fun and Games Trivia Quizzes

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Here's the place for British pub games and other activities in the UK, indoors or out! Cheers!
5 quizzes and 55 trivia questions.
1.
  Welcome to the Victorian Nursery!   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Find out more about the sort of toys that kept children occupied during their childhood in Victorian England, many of which are still played today.
Average, 10 Qns, Jennifer5, Jan 31 15
Average
Jennifer5 gold member
477 plays
2.
  British Party Games    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Everyone loves a good party! Can you recognise any of these well-known games? (Mainly in UK)
Average, 15 Qns, Rachel xx, Jun 30 18
Average
Rachel xx
Jun 30 18
3912 plays
3.
  Quirky and Eccentric British Pastimes   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz was inspired by a love of the curious, not to say eccentric, but very competitive, things the British do and have done for centuries.
Average, 10 Qns, bracklaman, Oct 25 14
Average
bracklaman
3091 plays
4.
  Classic Pub Games   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
An intriguing look at some old and classic British pub games and sports through the ages.
Tough, 10 Qns, simon_templar, Sep 25 14
Tough
simon_templar
2363 plays
5.
  Pub Games    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A selection of games played at pubs. See if you can answer the questions
Difficult, 10 Qns, awkins, Dec 17 13
Difficult
awkins
2160 plays

British Fun and Games Trivia Questions

1. On a rainy day in Victorian Britain, a popular board game for young children to play indoors was called Snakes and Ladders. It was not invented in Britain, however. From which country did it originate?

From Quiz
Welcome to the Victorian Nursery!

Answer: India

Snakes and Ladders has its origins in a board game which has been played in India since ancient times, where it was a game designed to teach children the principles of good and bad behaviour, hence going up the 'ladder' illustrated virtues and tumbling down the 'snake' represented vices. After gaining popularity in Britain, the game made its way to America in 1943 where it was produced by the Milton Bradley Company under the name Chutes and Ladders, with 'chutes' replacing the 'snakes'. The object of the game is to be the first to reach the top square of the board, taking the advantages and penalties along the way according to the roll of a single die.

2. In this game, everyone sits in a circle and passes round a wrapped package while music plays. When it stops and you are holding it - you are lucky! What is this game?

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Pass-the-parcel

Small presents that you might receive whilst shedding the layers might be: a yo-yo, sweets, jokes, etc. When most layers are gone, everyone gets excited about the big present in the middle! It could be a toy or a chocolate bar or anything!

3. Early versions of this game played with coins on an arched board made of wood or slate were known as "Shoffe-groat", "Slype-groat" or "Slide-thrift" as far back as the 15th century. How is this pub game better known today?

From Quiz Classic Pub Games

Answer: Shove Ha'penny

A game known to date back to the 15th century. Players take turns to "shove" coins along an arched wooden or slate board using the palm of their hand. The board is scored with horizontal lines and the intention is to lay three coins within the narrow bands without touching the lines when they come to rest. The coins are polished smooth on one side. This will be the 'tails' side as it is not done to deface the face of the reigning monarch on a British coin. Although essentially a British game, there is a strong outpost of player interest in Swaziland where an Englishman first introduced the game at The Malendela pub in Malkerns. Swaziland sent a team of players to the World Championship at "The Wheatsheaf" in Leckhampton near Cheltenham in 1995 and 1996.

4. When music plays, everyone dances, but when the music stops - everyone falls down onto the floor and the last one is out! What is this silly, funny game?

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Musical Bumps or chairs

Make sure you don't hurt yourself when playing this game! Children of all ages might like these games, and it is a really fun game to play - except when you are caught out, of course.

5. In cribbage, how many points would be pegged, if a player holds the 2,3,4 and 5 of diamonds, and the Ace of diamonds is turned up?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 12

1 x 15 for 2. A run of 5 makes 7, and 5 for a flush makes 12

6. Which table game uses a small "D", three mushrooms, seven white balls, one red ball and nine holes?

From Quiz Classic Pub Games

Answer: Bar Billiards

Historically it is believed that the game of Bar Billiards is derived from the much older bagatelle. In its current form it has been popular as a pub game since 1936. It is a played on a baize covered table as in pool or snooker. The nine holes are set away from the edges and corners and the "mushrooms" are pegs that must not be knocked over for fear of penalty. All balls are struck from a small "D" using a cue from one end of the table. Each hole has a points rating between 10 and 200 dependant upon the difficulty in sinking a ball down it. The game has a mechanical timer of around 20 minutes after which an internal bar drops to prevent potted balls returning to be played again. The game is more commonly seen in southern England (Sussex has the most leagues with 10) and Jersey where the world Championships have been staged since 1981. There are European variants with differently formatted tables in France, Italy and Switzerland.

7. What is the highest 3 dart score possible?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 180

3 x Treble 20

8. The Crab Fair is held each year in Cumbria in the Lake District of the UK. It features a pastime which could be described as competitive face-pulling. What is it traditionally called?

From Quiz Quirky and Eccentric British Pastimes

Answer: Gurning

Egremont holds the Crab Fair each year. Among its many other attractions is Cumbrian Wrestling which has a very distinctive style. Gurning was thought to have been handed down by the Vikings when they were marauding in this part of the British Isles.

9. When finishing on a double, what is the minimum number of darts needed to finish a game of 501?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 9

This means hitting the treble 20 at least 6 times. A typical finish would be 180, 180, then treble 20, treble 19 and double 12

10. Playing the game of conkers was a popular autumn pastime, when the leaves and seeds of the trees were falling and the familiar prickly cases containing the seed, or 'conker' fell to the ground. Which tree does this large, hard seed come from?

From Quiz Welcome to the Victorian Nursery!

Answer: horse chestnut

The first recorded use of conkers being in the game was in 1848 in the Isle of Wight, although there was a similar game using hazelnuts dating back earlier, before the horse chestnut seed became the weapon of choice. To play, a hole is made through the centre of the conker and it is then thoroughly dried to harden it. Some players prefer to use a conker which has been harvested and dried during the previous year, as a mature conker will be stronger. A stout string or shoelace is threaded through the hole in the conker, knotted securely, and then the two opponents take it in turns to hit each other's conker. The first person to smash their rival 's conker is declared the winner. Although conkers themselves are highly toxic and consumption of the raw seed can be fatal, extracts from the processed seeds are sometimes used in complementary medicine.

11. When playing Shove Ha'penny, how many coins do you have to get in each bed?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 3

Not seen very often now, but still an addictive game

12. In this game, someone is blindfolded and something is put in someone's hand. It's a tail with something sharp on the end! You are put in front of a wall. What do you have to do?

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Pin the tail on the donkey

You can have anything on the pin! A tail, a tie to put on a picture of someone, or anything! You've got to be careful playing this game because you could hurt someone!

13. How many different coloured balls are used in Bar Billiards?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 2

Generally there are 1 Red ball and 7 White balls used. The Red counting double

14. How many Skittles are used in a game?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 9

I read, years ago, that when the Pilgrims got to the New World, they added a Skittle, to create 10 Pin Bowling, because Skittles had been outlawed in England. Don't know if it's true, but what a great story

15. If Victorian children were playing a game called 'Happy Families', what equipment would they be using?

From Quiz Welcome to the Victorian Nursery!

Answer: cards

'Happy Families' was a card game invented by John Jaques II and sold through his family's company Jaques of London, a sports and games company who were also the distributors of games including Tiddlywinks and Ludo, among others. Still played today, the game involves a deck of cards with four pictured cards of the same 'family' to a set comprising a mother, a father, a son and a daughter. The object of game is to collect sets of the same family, the player with the most sets completed winning the game. Family surnames are based on occupations, e.g. Mr Bun the Baker and Mr Pots the Painter, and the names can vary according the edition being played.

16. A game where everyone dies because someone is killing them! A person is responsible and it's for a detective to find out! Everyone sits in a circle and it's not obvious who is doing it. What is this game?

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Wink Murder or "Killer"

It is more interestingly played in large groups and sometimes also played in schools too.

17. How many tiles in a set of double 6 dominoes?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 28

7 blanks, 6 ones ... thru double 6

18. The game of marbles goes back to ancient times, but in which European country was it first produced commercially?

From Quiz Welcome to the Victorian Nursery!

Answer: Germany

It is believed that the game of marbles can trace its roots to several different ancient civilisations, although it was not until the 19th century that they were first produced on a commercial basis in Germany, following the invention in 1846 of a tool to use in their manufacture. The game quickly caught on in America, where mass production began. In Victorian England, the children of more wealthy families would often have marbles made out of the real thing, hence the name. Poorer children would normally have marbles made from clay, or play with the glass 'marble' from a Codd-neck bottle, a type of carbonated drink bottle of the day which had a glass ball inside to keep the drink fizzy. Nowadays most marbles are made of glass, some with very intricate designs. There is even a British and World Marbles Championship held annually in Sussex.

19. Which game's rules are: an object is passed round kids sitting in a circle and music plays. If you are holding the object when the music stops you are out?

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Hot potato

The child who was holding (or last touched) the object is out. From this game, 'hot potato' is meant to mean something unwanted, and something to pass onto others.

20. This most traditional of Somerset sports requires the participant to stand in a pitching basket and, holding his/her object by its tops, hurl it as close as possible to a target. What is this called?

From Quiz Quirky and Eccentric British Pastimes

Answer: Mangold Hurling

There is a 'Mangold Hurling Association' which exists to promote awareness of this traditional Somerset sport. The winner is the one who hurls his mangold close as possible to a target mangold known as 'the Norman'. Oh, in case you don't know what a 'mangold' is I can enlighten you by quoting from the website of the association mentioned above: "The mangold-wurzel (or mangel-wurzel) is a member of the family Chenopodiaceae, genus Beta (beets). The beets include the sugar beet (Beta vulgaris altissima), beetroot (Beta vulgaris craca), and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris flavascens). The mangold-wurzel (Beta vulgaris vulgaris) is a subspecies of the common beet (Beta vulgaris), as are chard (or leaf beet or spinach beet) (Beta vulgaris cicla), and sea beet (Beta vulgaris maritima). For those with limited space, it is possible to cultivate the mangold-wurzel in a pot. It must however be removed from the pot before hurling. This is really important. "

21. Cricket is a tradional pub game. How many balls in an over?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 6 & six

Not counting byes, no balls etc..

22. Believed to have originated in the 14th century but still popular with young children today, Victorian children might have played with a toy by which name?

From Quiz Welcome to the Victorian Nursery!

Answer: Jack in the box

'Jack in the Green' is a character associated with May Day celebrations and Morris dancing in England since the 16th or 17th centuries. Jack in the pulpit is the nickname of a woodland plant called Arum Maculatum, also known as the cuckoo-pint. Jack in the house was one I made up, although there is a children's nursery rhyme called 'This is the House that Jack Built'. The Jack in the box children's toy consists of a closed box with a handle to wind up on the outside. The box would play a tune, normally 'Pop Goes the Weasel', and at the end the lid would spring open, whereupon a toy clown concealed inside would suddenly and vigorously pop out. Guaranteed to startle a child and frighten them nearly as much as a Grimms' Fairy Tale, in my view!

23. This game is to do with obeying. But you only obey what the person (who is "It") says "____ ___". If you do it when they DO NOT, you are out! What

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Simon says

"Simon says: touch your head" this is when it's ok to touch your head. "Touch your feet" alone is when you are caught out! The last person to be caught out is the winner! It is a variant of "May I?" which is when you must say "May I?" before doing anything you are told to do.

24. An ancestor of cricket is Stool Ball. How many balls in an over?

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 8

I've never seen it, but it sure looks like fun after a day in the pub

25. A really funny game. Someone pretends to be an animal, and the players must pat it, as it makes sounds. They must say "Poor ____, Poor ____, Poor _____" without laughing. What is the word that is blanked out?

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: pussy&cat&puss&kitty

The person who is playing the pussy has to meow three times and walks around like a cat. The object of the game is that they make everyone laugh, and the first person to laugh is the new pussy!

26. In this game you need to find a seat! Quick - because when the music stops, and you don't find one, you're out!

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: Musical chairs

The chairs get taken away in every round. E.g., if there were 10 children playing, there would be 9 chairs. If there were chairs for every person it wouldn't be a game at all.

27. Scavenger hunt is when _______. (Select the correct description.)

From Quiz British Party Games

Answer: All players have to find certain objects

The first person/team to collect all objects wins! "Hunt the thimble" (or any other object) is another type of this game. (All players but one leave the room, and the remaining player hides a thimble and all players have to find it!)

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