Not Bored Games Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hopscotch

In the old days, the squares for hopscotch were drawn in the dirt using a stick, and it is from this that we get the 'scotch' part of the word. One old meaning of the word 'scotch' means to scratch out, and in this case refers to the lines made in the dirt to make the squares for the game.

In France, the game is called 'Marelles' while 'Rayuela' is its Spanish name. Hopscotch has its roots in the early Roman Empire in Britain, when the hopscotch lines were over 30m (100ft) long and used for military training exercises.

Answer: Pin the Tail on the Donkey

While this game is mostly associated with birthday parties, it's also fun to play on a cold rain day! Pin the Tail on the Donkey is thought to have originated in the USA in that late 1800s, and there are several variations.

The basic game involves a blindfolded person who is spun around until he or she is disoriented. The aim is to be the player who pins their tail closest to the donkey's hind-end, and part of the fun is to see the disoriented person groping around trying to find the target.

Answer: Archery

It is thought that archery was probably developed in prehistoric times, around 70,000 years ago, in Africa. It was used for hunting and war, but with the development of other weapons it became less popular. As a recreational activity, archery groups were developed in Britain in the late 1600s and it is now an Olympic sport.

As a game in a domestic setting, children might play Cowboys and Indians, a game similar to Cops and Robbers.

Answer: Jacks

Archaeological evidence suggests that Jacks, or knucklebones as it is sometimes known, was popular in ancient times. The original bones used were sheep's or goat's knuckle, wrist or ankle bones, though similar games were played using whatever materials that were available locally.

Classically, five or more jacks (bones) are thrown into the air with one hand, and then the hand is quickly turned over, with the object of catching them on the back of that hand. The modern game entails picking up as many bones as possible are picked up before a ball tossed in the air (and which must be caught), comes down again.

Answer: Squares

Starting with an empty grid of dots, two players take turns in adding a short horizontal or vertical connecting line between two adjacent dots. Whoever draws the fourth line to make a square puts his or her initial in the box, and the one 'owning' the greatest number of squares at the end wins.

There is some strategy involves, especially as the game draws to a conclusion. Each player has to be careful not give his or her opponent a long 'run' of square completions, and risk losing the game!

Answer: Hangman

In the game of Hangman, one player tries, within a certain number of guesses, to work out a word, phrase, or sentence set by the other player, by suggesting letters. The guesses allowed cease when the hangman has done his job and 'hung' the opponent.

As the name of a game, Hangman came into the vernacular in the early 1950s. However, one variation of the game with hangman imagery was produced in a Philadelphia newspaper around 1900, but an earlier version with no such illustration and going by the name of Birds, Beasts, and Fishes was described in a book of children's games in 1894.

Answer: Chinese Checkers

While the game of Chinese checkers was given its name in the United States, it started in an earlier form called Sternhalma in Germany in 1892. It was also played in the USA under the name of Halma, which in turn had its roots in a British game called Hoppity in the 1850s.

The earlier versions usually had 15 marbles, but when it was produced under the name of Chinese Checkers, there were only 10 marbles, set up in the same pattern as 10-pin bowling balls. The game has no Chinese connections - and it is not related to the game of Checkers!

Answer: Elastics

Elastics took advantage of the ready availability of mass-produced elastic and was thought to have become popular in the late 1950s in Europe and Australia. It was known Chinese Jump Rope in the USA. There were different variants of jumping patterns and rhymes recorded across Europe, Australia and the USA, and it is thought possible that the game was also played in some parts of Asia.

Some variations permitted (indeed required, as I can attest from when I played it in the 60s!) the touching or standing on of the elastic during the game; other variations prohibited touching the elastic. A player continued up the ladder of difficulty until making a mistake, at which time one of the players around whose legs the elastic has been stretched would have a turn.

Answer: Snooker

Each of the 15 red balls in snooker is worth 1 point; the coloured balls range in value from two to seven points, and depending on the variation of the game being played, generally have to 'potted' in a specific order. The white ball is the 'cue' ball and if potted, ends the player's turn. It is thought to have originated in 1875 in India by an officer of the British Army.

Answer: Rounders

Dating back to the Tudor era, Rounders is thought to have originated in Britain. It is likely that the game was an ancestor of what became baseball a few centuries later. The game is played in the same diamond configuration, has a back-stop to collect foul balls and fielders spread out to stop runs.

The game, though a lot less popular than it used to be, is generally played with a small flat bat, similar to a miniature version of a cricket bat. The side scoring the ost points wins the game.