March 10th is “Mario Day”, an annual celebration of the video game character Mario and all the games he appears in. To celebrate the event, we’ve written this fun but informative quiz on the history of video games in arcades, on personal computers, games consoles and mobile ‘phones.
So, why is March 10th “Mario Day”? Did something happen on this date long ago perhaps? Well, no. it’s actually much simpler than that. One way of writing March 10th is as Mar10, which looks just like the word “Mario”.
But Mario was far from the first video game character. In fact, he was quite late on the scene. Have a go at this quiz and see how much you know about the history of video games. You’ll have lots of fun on the way and, who knows, you might learn some things you would never have guessed. See if you can set a “high score” and get through the quiz without losing any lives. Good luck!
1.
|
The very first video game shown to the public was Bertie the Brain, made in Canada in 1950. It was an electronic version of which game? |
|
[ ] |
Backgammon |
[ ] |
Battleship |
[ ] |
Chess |
[ ] |
Noughts and crosses |
|
|
2.
|
As computers improved, arcade games took off in the 1970s. One of the first was a table tennis simulation, but what was it called? |
|
[ ] |
Bats |
[ ] |
Pong |
[ ] |
Ace |
[ ] |
Deuce |
|
|
3.
|
As we moved into the 1980s, video games became more advanced. One of the most successful featured a character who chased (and was chased by) ghosts around a maze. What was his name? |
|
[ ] |
Maze Man |
[ ] |
Spook Man |
[ ] |
Pac Man |
[ ] |
Gobble Man |
|
|
4.
|
Mario made his first appearance in a 1981 arcade game in which he had to rescue a princess from a giant ape. What was the game called? |
|
[ ] |
Donkey Kong |
[ ] |
Go Bananas |
[ ] |
Damsel in Distress |
[ ] |
Monkey Madness |
|
|
5.
|
With the growing popularity of home computers in the 1980s, video games moved from the arcade into our living rooms. Which of the following was not a brand of PC? |
|
[ ] |
Microsoft |
[ ] |
Commodore |
[ ] |
Spectrum |
[ ] |
Amstrad |
|
|
6.
|
Games consoles took over from PCs in the 1990s. One of the most successful characters on them was a blue hedgehog. What was his name? |
|
[ ] |
Zoom the Hedgehog |
[ ] |
Harry the Hedgehog |
[ ] |
Sonic the Hedgehog |
[ ] |
Boom the Hedgehog |
|
|
7.
|
One popular genre of video game is RTS. What does RTS stand for? |
|
[ ] |
Race-themed sport |
[ ] |
Real-time strategy |
[ ] |
Rescue the stranded |
[ ] |
Run, take and shoot |
|
|
8.
|
Sid Meier is a name known to many gamers. Which series of TBS games did he create? |
|
[ ] |
Panzer General |
[ ] |
Worms |
[ ] |
Allied General |
[ ] |
Civilization |
|
|
9.
|
A game developed in 2009 is set during a zombie apocalypse and players must defend their homes from zombie attacks. What is the game called? |
|
[ ] |
People vs. Zombies |
[ ] |
Pets vs. Zombies |
[ ] |
Parents vs. Zombies |
[ ] |
Plants vs. Zombies |
|
|
10.
|
Mortal Kombat is a series of fighting games, first released in 1991 and still going today. Which of these characters has never appeared in the game? |
|
[ ] |
Kobra |
[ ] |
Freddy Krueger |
[ ] |
Dante |
[ ] |
Johnny Cage |
|
|
1.
|
The very first video game shown to the public was Bertie the Brain, made in Canada in 1950. It was an electronic version of which game? |
|
[ ] |
Backgammon |
[ ] |
Battleship |
[ ] |
Chess |
[x] |
Noughts and crosses |
|
|
2.
|
As computers improved, arcade games took off in the 1970s. One of the first was a table tennis simulation, but what was it called? |
|
[ ] |
Bats |
[x] |
Pong |
[ ] |
Ace |
[ ] |
Deuce |
|
|
3.
|
As we moved into the 1980s, video games became more advanced. One of the most successful featured a character who chased (and was chased by) ghosts around a maze. What was his name? |
|
[ ] |
Maze Man |
[ ] |
Spook Man |
[x] |
Pac Man |
[ ] |
Gobble Man |
|
|
4.
|
Mario made his first appearance in a 1981 arcade game in which he had to rescue a princess from a giant ape. What was the game called? |
|
[x] |
Donkey Kong |
[ ] |
Go Bananas |
[ ] |
Damsel in Distress |
[ ] |
Monkey Madness |
|
|
5.
|
With the growing popularity of home computers in the 1980s, video games moved from the arcade into our living rooms. Which of the following was not a brand of PC? |
|
[x] |
Microsoft |
[ ] |
Commodore |
[ ] |
Spectrum |
[ ] |
Amstrad |
|
|
6.
|
Games consoles took over from PCs in the 1990s. One of the most successful characters on them was a blue hedgehog. What was his name? |
|
[ ] |
Zoom the Hedgehog |
[ ] |
Harry the Hedgehog |
[x] |
Sonic the Hedgehog |
[ ] |
Boom the Hedgehog |
|
|
7.
|
One popular genre of video game is RTS. What does RTS stand for? |
|
[ ] |
Race-themed sport |
[x] |
Real-time strategy |
[ ] |
Rescue the stranded |
[ ] |
Run, take and shoot |
|
|
8.
|
Sid Meier is a name known to many gamers. Which series of TBS games did he create? |
|
[ ] |
Panzer General |
[ ] |
Worms |
[ ] |
Allied General |
[x] |
Civilization |
|
|
9.
|
A game developed in 2009 is set during a zombie apocalypse and players must defend their homes from zombie attacks. What is the game called? |
|
[ ] |
People vs. Zombies |
[ ] |
Pets vs. Zombies |
[ ] |
Parents vs. Zombies |
[x] |
Plants vs. Zombies |
|
|
10.
|
Mortal Kombat is a series of fighting games, first released in 1991 and still going today. Which of these characters has never appeared in the game? |
|
[ ] |
Kobra |
[ ] |
Freddy Krueger |
[x] |
Dante |
[ ] |
Johnny Cage |
|
|