Ace the Cards Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Bridge over the River Kwai

Built over three years during the Second World War mainly using the forced labour of at least 250,000 South-east Asian civilians, the Burma railway was built to support the Japanese war effort. More than 90,000 civilians died during the construction as did 12,000 Allied prisoners of war. The bridge in question was over the Khwae Yai River in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The 1957 war film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was based on the 1952 novel "The Bridge over the River Kwai" by French writer Pierre Boulle. The book is a fictional account centred on the interaction between British prisoners of war assigned to construct the bridge and their guards.

The card game Bridge involves two competing pairs of players using strategy, communication via a bidding code and teamwork to play trick-based rounds.

Answer: Red hot poker

Kniphofia is a genus of perennial flowering plants with all 70 odd species endemic to Africa. Red hot poker is one of the common names, others include torch lily, poker plant and tritoma. With grass-like leaves, all species produce upright spikes of brightly coloured flowers ranging from red through orange to yellow.

Poker is a family of card games where bets are placed on the perceived strength of the player's hand. The games involve chance, skill and some psychology.

Answer: Ballroom Blitz

Sweet, known as The Sweet initially, are a British glam rock band that achieved their fame during the 1970s. There are currently five band members and 16 past band members as well as four spin-off Sweet bands. "The Ballroom Blitz" (or "Ballroom Blitz") was one of their 1973 hits and was written by the Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman songwriting duo.

The card game Blitz (also called Thirty-one) is a collection game using a standard pack of cards minus the jokers, with between two and four players aiming to be first to collect three cards of the same suit adding up to but not exceeding 31.

Answer: Old maid

At one time a spinster was a woman or girl who spun wool. For a couple of centuries from the 1600s, its meaning in legal circles came to be an unmarried woman. In the 18th century its common usage turned derogatory, referring to an unmarried woman past the usual age of marriage, or an old maid.

The card game 'old maid' is about discarding pairs of cards and trying to avoid being left with the 'old maid' at the end of the game. Played with two or more players, a queen from a standard pack is discarded before the cards are dealt out, with players taking turns to draw from another player's hand.

Answer: Dogs Playing Poker

American artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge is best known for his "Dogs Playing Poker" series of paintings. After painting one in 1894, he was commissioned to do 16 oil paintings as part of a cigar advertising campaign. A final painting considered part of this series was done in 1910. All feature anthropomorphised dogs and most involve poker games.

The card game poker has already been mentioned. There are many poker variants which fall into three main categories and are mostly American in origin.

Answer: Solitaire

The most popular type of engagement ring is said to be the solitaire prong setting which houses a single diamond. A solitaire is a gemstone that is set by itself and has come to mean the ring.

It is also the American name for a card game known as patience in Europe. The most popular American version is Klondike, sometimes called Canfield after the casino where it was played.

Answer: Hearts

Heart of Midlothian Football Club was the first professional football club in Edinburgh. It is commonly known as Hearts. Formed in 1874, its name comes from Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Heart of Mid-Lothian". This was originally published as "Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series", which does not trip off the tongue so well. The club crest was inspired by a heart-shaped mosaic which marked the entrance to Edinburgh's Old Tolbooth, now demolished.

The card game Hearts is a trick-taking game, usually for four players, where the players try to avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades which all carry penalty points.

Answer: Uno

The Uno was a supermini made by Italian car-maker Fiat between 1983 and 1995 in Europe, and until 2014 in Brazil. It was produced in seven countries at different times with around 8.8 million built.

The card game Uno was developed in 1971 and has been owned by Mattel since 1992. It requires a custom deck and the idea is to get rid of the seven cards dealt to each player. Failing to shout "Uno" when a player get down to one card results in penalty cards being awarded. It is a game for between two and ten people.

Answer: Crazy Eights

The CSX 8888 incident, also known as the Crazy Eights incident, involved a freight train belonging to CSX Transportation which ran uncontrolled for two hours at up to 52 mph (84 kph) in Ohio, USA on 15 May 2001 before being brought safely to a stop. It was pulling 47 cars including two with hazardous chemicals.

The card game Crazy Eights is a shedding-type game where the object is to be the first player to discard all your cards. It is for between two and seven players. A standard pack is used, two where there are more than five players.

Answer: Cribbage

Played on a standard pool table, cribbage (also called cribbage pool, fifteen points and pair pool) requires the potting of pairs of balls adding up to 15. There are seven pairs with the no. 15 ball counting as the eighth once all the pairs have been sunk.

The card game cribbage uses a peg board for scoring and a pack of cards. With six cards dealt, each player tries to score points by making combinations of cards adding up to 15. It originated in England in the early 17th century and is a variation of the 16th century game noddy.