British Fun and Games Trivia

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.

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!

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.

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.

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 12

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

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.

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 180

3 x Treble 20

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.

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

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.

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 3

Not seen very often now, but still an addictive game

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!

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 2

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

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

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.

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.

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 28

7 blanks, 6 ones ... thru double 6

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.

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.

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. "

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 6 & six

Not counting byes, no balls etc..

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!

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.

From Quiz Pub Games

Answer: 8

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

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!

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.

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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