Toys & Games Trivia

12 nostalgia questions about toys & games, each with four choices and the correct answer explained underneath. Read them here, or play the same set in the trivia room for instant scoring and a printable quiz sheet.

Background

Toy cupboards of the 1950s, 60s and 70s held building bricks, board games, fashion dolls, model kits and the first electronic gadgets. Play was usually social — around a table, in a yard or on the living-room floor — and many favourites are still made today.

These twelve questions look at the toys and games that defined generations of play, with their real origins and makers. Each question has four choices and a factual explanation, and the same set runs as an interactive round in the trivia room when you want scoring and a printout.

This is the Toys & Games set used by the trivia room, presented here in full.

Play this set

In the trivia room, set the era to Mixed and the topic to Everyday Objects.
You can also combine an era and a topic to narrow a round down.
Rounds are 10 questions at a time, always with four choices.
You see the right answer and an explanation immediately after each pick.
After a round, press Print this round for a quiz sheet — questions on page one, answer key on page two.

Play in the trivia room Printing help

Questions and answers

1. Which plastic brick toy, first sold in the late 1950s, became a global building classic?
- ALEGO — correct answer
- BLincoln Logs
- CTinkertoys
- DErector Set
Answer: A — LEGO. LEGO bricks, patented in 1958 by the Danish company, became the world's favorite building toy.
Did you know… The studs and tubes underneath the brick were designed to grip firmly, year after year.
2. Which 1964 Hasbro toy is widely credited as the first action figure for boys?
- AG.I. Joe — correct answer
- BBarbie
- CKen
- DStretch Armstrong
Answer: A — G.I. Joe. Hasbro's G.I. Joe (1964) is credited as the first action figure, inspired in part by Barbie's success.
Did you know… The first four figures were a soldier, a sailor, a pilot and a marine.
3. Which game, sold by Milton Bradley since 1949, lets players race to Candy Castle?
- ACandy Land — correct answer
- BChutes and Ladders
- CSorry!
- DTrouble
Answer: A — Candy Land. Candy Land (1949) remains one of the best-selling children's board games in America.
Did you know… It was invented by a teacher for children who had to stay in bed.
4. Which classic word game, sold by Parker Brothers from the 1950s, builds words from lettered tiles?
- ABoggle
- BScrabble — correct answer
- CUpwords
- DBananagrams
Answer: B — Scrabble. Scrabble, invented in 1938 and sold by Parker Brothers from 1953, is the classic crossword board game.
Did you know… Its inventor first tried out the idea under a different name.
5. The Slinky, a beloved spring toy, was invented by accident in which decade?
- A1940s — correct answer
- B1920s
- C1960s
- D1980s
Answer: A — 1940s. Naval engineer Richard James invented the Slinky in 1943 after a spring tumbled off his desk.
Did you know… Its first Christmas stock sold out in under two hours.
6. Which Milton Bradley electronic game, released in 1978, tested memory with sequences of colored lights?
- ASimon — correct answer
- BMerlin
- CElectronic Battleship
- D20 Questions
Answer: A — Simon. Simon, by Milton Bradley (1978), became one of the best-selling electronic toys of the early 1980s.
Did you know… Each of its four coloured pads plays a different note.
7. Which doll, introduced in 1959, was created by Ruth Handler of Mattel?
- ABarbie — correct answer
- BCabbage Patch Kid
- CBaby Alive
- DRaggedy Ann
Answer: A — Barbie. Barbie debuted at the 1959 New York Toy Fair, named after Ruth Handler's daughter.
Did you know… The doll was named after the inventor's daughter.
8. Twister, the game that ties players in knots, was popularized after appearing on which TV show in 1966?
- AThe Tonight Show — correct answer
- BThe Ed Sullivan Show
- CI Love Lucy
- DAmerican Bandstand
Answer: A — The Tonight Show. Johnny Carson played Twister with Eva Gabor on The Tonight Show, sparking a sales boom.
Did you know… Shops were reluctant to stock it until it was played on television.
9. Which party game, played since Victorian times, asks one player to act out a word silently for teammates to guess?
- APictionary
- BCharades — correct answer
- CPassword
- DHangman
Answer: B — Charades. Charades is the classic act-it-out guessing game, a staple of family parties for generations.
Did you know… The rule that players must stay silent is what makes it work in a crowded room.
10. The Rubik's Cube craze peaked worldwide in which decade?
- A1980s — correct answer
- B1970s
- C1960s
- D1990s
Answer: A — 1980s. The Rubik's Cube, invented in 1974, became a global fad after Ideal Toy Corp licensed it in 1980.
Did you know… It was first sold under a different name before the inventor's was attached.
11. Which novelty toy of the mid-1970s was simply a smooth stone sold in a box with a manual?
- APet Rock — correct answer
- BTamagotchi
- CFurby
- DBeanie Babies
Answer: A — Pet Rock. Gary Dahl's Pet Rock (1975) became a million-selling novelty fad.
Did you know… Each one arrived in its own box with a tongue-in-cheek instruction booklet.
12. Which 1960s Hasbro toy, a talking doll whose pull-string phrases were its gimmick, arrived in 1960?
- AChatty Cathy — correct answer
- BBaby Doll
- CTroll Doll
- DSit 'n Spin
Answer: A — Chatty Cathy. Chatty Cathy (1960), Hasbro's pull-string talking doll, was one of the 1960s' biggest toys.
Did you know… Her phrases came from a small record-like disc inside the body.

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