Favorite Games Trivia Quiz

Answer: Backgammon

Backgammon is thought to be almost 5,000 years old and was first played in the lands of Persia. Today it is played worldwide and continues to be highly popular in the Middle East and parts of Europe. The game involves skill, luck, probability, and wagering savvy.

The object is to move your 15 counters into a home base and then roll the dice to bear each counter off before your opponent does. World Championships have been held since 1967 with the annual event being hosted in Monte Carlo.

Answer: Cribbage

Cribbage was created in the 17th century by Sir John Suckling, an English poet. The game was adapted from an existing game called Noddy. The objective is to outscore your opponent to 121 points. Each player earns points by playing a 5 or 6 card hand containing pairs, triples, quadruples, runs, flushes, or various combinations that add up to 15. Cribbage is the official game of the U.S. Navy's submarine division.

Answer: Mancala

Mancala is a true international game with variations indigenous to all continents of the world. The most common forms of the game are found in many African countries where players often use holes scooped into the ground as the playing board. In East Africa the game is called "Bao la Kiswahili" and in South East Asia it is called "Congkak." The game is relatively easy to play. Generally, players move pieces (seeds, marbles, stones, or shells) in a clockwise direction trying to deposit pieces in their home base and capture opponent pieces by dropping a last "stone" into an open empty hole.

The word mancala is from the Arabic word "nagala" meaning "to move." Although the western world calls this game mancala, the name is a a general classification for the type of game rather than a universal moniker.

Answer: Draughts

Draughts is the English name for the American game Checkers. In most countries the game is played on an 8x8 square board akin to the 64-squares of a chess game. Players take it in turns to move diagonally in an attempt to take the opponent's pieces which must be jumped over. Once a player gets a piece to the "Crownhead" or "Kings Row," the piece is "kinged" and now has the ability to move forwards or backwards around the board.

The winner of the game is the player who eliminates the other player's pieces first.

The most common form of the game is English Draughts which has had a World Championship held since 1840. The game itself is believed to be over 5,000 years old.

Answer: Dominoes

Dominoes are thought to have been developed as a game of chance in 12th or 13th century China. Mention of a game similar to dominoes is first found in a Song dynasty text written between 1232 and 1298. It is thought that Italian sailors or missionaries brought the game to Europe.

The modern version is played with 28 tiles numbered with pips from zero to six. There are a number of variations of the game but the usual goal is to try and get rid of all of one's tiles by laying them on the table before your opponents.

Some people believe the term "domnino" is an allusion to a black and white carnival costume worn during a Venetian festival. Dominoes are also used to set outrageous world records such as domino toppling which now exceeds a remarkable four million pieces.

Answer: Bagatelle

Bagatelle is an old English pub game that is likely related to a number of French table games. During Louis XIV's reign (1643-1715) billiard games were quite popular. Players played variant games that included shooting balls up a table to knock down skittles. However, it was tiresome waiting for the skittles to be reset so pins began to be attached to the table and holes were placed in the table in order to pot the balls. In 1777, a party was thrown to honor King Louis XVI at the Chateau de Bagatelle. One of the highlights of the occasion was a new game played on a table where players attempted to shoot ivory balls into holes. The game bagatelle swept through Europe. In England the game became popular in homes and drinking establishments and eventually evolved into bar billiards. Beethoven wrote a piece of music entitled "Bagatelle Opus 33, which is probably a reference to the game.

Answer: Go

Go is considered one of the oldest continuously played games in the world. An early written reference places the game in China in the 4th century BCE but estimates suggest the game is much older. It has played an important cultural role in Chinese aristocracy. The game itself while simple to learn is very difficult and complex taking a whole lifetime to master. Players use a large board (usually 19x19 squares) and take it in turns in laying down stones on empty intersections. The goal is to completely encircle the opponent's pieces. Games can be played for short agreed time frames or can last up to 6 hours. A full set of GO stones includes 180 white stones and 181 black. The 19x19 grid has 361 points which makes it possible for all stones to be lain in a typical game.

Answer: Chinese Checkers

Chinese Checkers is an interesting game because it is not Chinese and other than some hopping moves it does not really resemble traditional checkers either. The game was developed in Germany in 1892 and called "Stern-Halma." Stern is German for the word star which is what the shape of the board resembled.

The Pressman brothers liked the game and in 1928 re-named their version from "Hop Ching Checkers" to "Chinese Checkers." The objective is simply to move one's marbles from one triangle to the opposite triangle and be the first to complete the move to home. Legal moves are a move into an open hole or any combination of hops over one's own color or opponent's colored pieces. All pieces remain on the board throughout the game.

Another cool alternative name for the game is "Tiao-qi" which literally translates to "Jump Chess."

Answer: Mahjong

Arguably one of the most addictive and fascinating games in all of Asia. Mahjong is a game that is played by all generations, ages, and social classes. It is thought to have been invented during the Qing dynasty and is several hundred years old. In most places it is played as a betting game with large sums of money exchanged during a typical game.

The 144 tiles are made up of numbered suits from 1 to 9 on the bamboo, dots, and character tiles. There are 4 identical copies of each of these which make up a total of 108 tiles.

The remaining tiles are the 12 dragon tiles (red, green, and white) and the 16 wind tiles (north, south, east, and west). Most sets also use the 8 bonus tiles. The game requires players to take it in turns selecting tiles in order to make rummy-like melds of like suits or like tiles.

The first official Mahjong World Championship was held in 2007 in Chengdu, China.

Answer: Reversi

Reversi is better known in the United States as Othello. The game originated in England in 1883 and has a contentious past with two gentlemen claiming to be the inventors. Lewis Waterman and John W. Mollett both claimed to have come up with the idea but researchers suggest the game is in fact much older.

The playing discs are usually colored white on one side and black on the other. The game starts with two of each color in the center 4 squares of the board. Players then take it in turns to lay a piece in a square. If a player can sandwich an opponent piece between their two colors then they are able to flip the piece to become their color.

The game continues until all pieces have been lain. The winner is the person who has the highest number of pieces.

Interestingly, "Othello" was marketed as one of Nintendo's very first arcade games.