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80s Trivia Questions
MTV, arcade cabinets, shoulder pads and the Walkman generation. Play the 80s trivia round, then read every question and answer below.
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The 1980s packed an unusual amount into ten years: cable music television, the home computer, the video rental shop, the blockbuster sequel and the toy line built to sell a cartoon. That makes it one of the richest decades for trivia, because almost every player has a different corner of it filed away. Someone who cannot name a single chart position will still know which car the time machine was built from, and someone who never watched a soap will remember the summer everyone argued about who shot J. R.
The round below moves from the things nearly everyone recalls through to the details that separate the decade's genuine obsessives, taking in politics, space flight and computing along the way.
Music: 80s trivia questions
Which Michael Jackson album, released in 1982, became the best-selling album of the decade?
Answer: Thriller EasyThriller produced seven hit singles from its nine tracks.
Which band recorded the 1983 hit Every Breath You Take?
Answer: The Police EasyIt was the trio's final single to top charts before their long split.
Madonna's second album, released in 1984, carried which title?
Answer: Like a Virgin EasyIt was her commercial breakthrough and made her a household name worldwide.
Bob Geldof was the driving force behind which 1985 charity concert?
Answer: Live Aid EasyIt raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia and was broadcast worldwide.
MTV launched in 1981 with a video by which act?
Answer: The Buggles MediumVideo Killed the Radio Star had already been a hit two years earlier.
John Lennon was killed in New York in which year?
Answer: 1980 MediumHe died in December, weeks after releasing the album Double Fantasy.
Prince released which 1984 album alongside a film of the same name?
Answer: Purple Rain MediumThe soundtrack won an Academy Award for original song score.
Which pop duo behind the 1985 hit Take On Me came from Norway?
Answer: a-ha Harda-ha were a trio from Oslo, and the song's video mixed pencil animation with live action.
Besides Wembley Stadium in London, Live Aid was staged in which American city?
Answer: Philadelphia HardThe US leg took place at John F. Kennedy Stadium.
Film: 80s trivia questions
In the 1985 film Back to the Future, what kind of car is the time machine built from?
Answer: A DeLorean DMC-12 EasyThe DeLorean's stainless steel body was chosen partly because it looked futuristic.
Steven Spielberg's 1982 film about a stranded alien befriended by a boy is known by which title?
Answer: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial EasyIt was the highest-grossing film of the decade until Jurassic Park overtook it years later.
Tom Cruise starred as a US Navy fighter pilot in which 1986 film?
Answer: Top Gun EasyNavy recruitment offices reported a jump in applications after its release.
Which film starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise won the Best Picture Oscar at the 1989 ceremony?
Answer: Rain Man MediumHoffman also took the Best Actor award for the same film.
Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner was adapted from a novel by which author?
Answer: Philip K. Dick HardThe source book was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, published in 1968.
Robert Redford's directing debut, which won Best Picture for 1980, carried which title?
Answer: Ordinary People HardRedford also took the Best Director award for it.
Who directed the 1980 film adaptation of The Shining?
Answer: Stanley Kubrick HardStephen King famously disliked Kubrick's departures from his novel.
The 1989 film Batman starring Michael Keaton was directed by whom?
Answer: Tim Burton HardFans objected loudly to Keaton's casting before the film opened to huge business.
Television, toys and fads: 80s trivia questions
Erno Rubik, inventor of the cube that swept the world in 1980, came from which country?
Answer: Hungary EasyRubik was a Budapest architecture lecturer who built the cube as a teaching aid.
Which soft doll, sold with adoption papers, caused shopping stampedes in 1983?
Answer: Cabbage Patch Kids EasyEach doll had a slightly different face and its own name on the paperwork.
Coca-Cola's much-mocked 1985 reformulation was popularly called what?
Answer: New Coke EasyThe original formula returned within three months as Coca-Cola Classic.
Which toy line featured robots that converted into vehicles and had the tagline about being more than meets the eye?
Answer: Transformers EasyHasbro built the line from existing Japanese toys made by Takara.
The sitcom Cheers was set in a bar in which American city?
Answer: Boston MediumThe exterior shots used a real Beacon Hill bar that still trades on the fame.
A 1980 cliffhanger asking who shot J.R. came from which television drama?
Answer: Dallas MediumThe resolution episode drew one of the largest US television audiences ever recorded.
The board game Trivial Pursuit was invented by two journalists from which country?
Answer: Canada HardChris Haney and Scott Abbott devised it in Montreal after a missing Scrabble tile.
Mr. T played which character in the television series The A-Team?
Answer: B. A. Baracus HardThe initials stood for Bad Attitude, and the character famously refused to fly.
Science, space and technology: 80s trivia questions
Which video game character first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong?
Answer: Mario EasyHe was originally called Jumpman and was a carpenter rather than a plumber.
Nintendo's home console launched in North America in 1985 was known by which name?
Answer: Nintendo Entertainment System EasyIt was marketed as an entertainment system to avoid the word console after the 1983 crash.
Apple introduced the first Macintosh computer in which year?
Answer: 1984 MediumIts launch advert ran during the Super Bowl and was directed by Ridley Scott.
Which Space Shuttle broke apart shortly after launch in January 1986?
Answer: Challenger MediumA failed O-ring seal in a solid rocket booster caused the accident.
Nintendo released its first Game Boy handheld in which year?
Answer: 1989 MediumIts monochrome screen and low power draw gave it far better battery life than rivals.
Tetris was created by a programmer working in which country?
Answer: The Soviet Union MediumAlexey Pajitnov wrote it in Moscow in 1984 while working at a computing centre.
The ZX Spectrum home computer was made by which British company?
Answer: Sinclair Research HardClive Sinclair's cheap machine helped create a generation of British bedroom coders.
Which Space Shuttle orbiter flew the programme's first mission in April 1981?
Answer: Columbia HardEnterprise never flew in space; it was used only for atmospheric glide tests.
IBM released its first personal computer, the model 5150, in which year?
Answer: 1981 HardIts open architecture invited the clone industry that followed.
Voyager 2 made its closest approach to which planet in 1989?
Answer: Neptune HardIt remains the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune up close.
Halley's Comet made its most recent pass close to the Sun in which year?
Answer: 1986 HardSeveral probes, including Europe's Giotto, flew out to study it.
News and events: 80s trivia questions
The Berlin Wall was opened in which year?
Answer: 1989 EasyCrossings opened on the night of 9 November 1989 after a confused press briefing.
Which city hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics?
Answer: Los Angeles MediumThe Soviet Union and most of its allies boycotted those Games.
The Chernobyl nuclear accident happened in which year?
Answer: 1986 MediumReactor number four failed during a safety test in April 1986.
The 1982 Falklands War was fought between the United Kingdom and which country?
Answer: Argentina MediumThe conflict lasted roughly ten weeks over islands in the South Atlantic.
Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman appointed to which body in 1981?
Answer: The US Supreme Court MediumShe was nominated by Ronald Reagan and confirmed unanimously.
Which Soviet leader took power in 1985 and introduced glasnost and perestroika?
Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev HardThe two policies translate roughly as openness and restructuring.
The 1987 global stock market crash is remembered by which nickname?
Answer: Black Monday HardThe Dow Jones fell more than twenty percent in a single session on 19 October.
Answer key
- Thriller
- A DeLorean DMC-12
- Hungary
- Mario
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- The Police
- 1989
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- Like a Virgin
- Cabbage Patch Kids
- New Coke
- Top Gun
- Transformers
- Live Aid
- The Buggles
- 1984
- Los Angeles
- 1986
- 1980
- Rain Man
- Boston
- Purple Rain
- Challenger
- Dallas
- Argentina
- 1989
- The Soviet Union
- The US Supreme Court
- a-ha
- Philip K. Dick
- Sinclair Research
- Philadelphia
- Mikhail Gorbachev
- Ordinary People
- Black Monday
- Stanley Kubrick
- Columbia
- Canada
- 1981
- B. A. Baracus
- Neptune
- Tim Burton
- 1986
How to play
- Pick a mode: multiple choice, true or false, a 60-second sprint, or the daily quiz.
- Answer with a tap, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard. The right answer appears straight away with a line explaining it.
- Finish the round to see your score, copy the result grid, and step up a difficulty.
- Hosting a night? The full 80s list and a separate answer key are printed below, and the print layout drops the game and keeps the paper.
Tiebreaker questions
Closest guess wins. Read one out when two tables finish level.
In what year did the first Compact Disc players and discs go on sale in Japan?
Answer: 1982 Sony's CDP-101 launched in October 1982; Europe and the US followed in 1983.
In what year did the arcade game Pac-Man first appear in Japan?
Answer: 1980 Namco released it in Japan in 1980 under the name Puck Man.
How many films make up the Back to the Future trilogy?
Answer: 3 films Released in 1985, 1989 and 1990; the series was completed with Part III.
Common mistakes in 80s trivia
- MTV launched in 1980.
MTV went on air on 1 August 1981. The first video shown was by The Buggles.
- The Berlin Wall came down in 1990.
The border crossings opened on the night of 9 November 1989. German reunification followed in October 1990, which is where the confusion comes from.
- Nintendo invented Tetris.
Alexey Pajitnov wrote Tetris in Moscow in 1984. Nintendo licensed it for the Game Boy in 1989, which made it famous.
- Thriller was Michael Jackson's first solo album.
Jackson released solo albums from 1972 onwards, and Off the Wall in 1979 was already a major hit. Thriller in 1982 was his sixth solo studio album.
- The Challenger disaster happened during re-entry.
Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch in January 1986. The re-entry loss was Columbia in 2003.
- The Macintosh was the first personal computer with a mouse.
Xerox systems and Apple's own Lisa in 1983 used a mouse before it. The 1984 Macintosh was the first affordable mass-market computer to make one standard.
Running this round at a quiz night
The 80s is the most popular decade round, so play it early while energy is high and balance the themes: two music, two film, one toy or television and one news question. Release years cause the arguments, because many films and singles arrived in the UK months after the US and vice versa, so word questions around the year of first release and say so. Toys are contested too; a toy invented in the 70s but famous in the 80s can be a question about its fame, not its invention. For a tiebreaker, use a fixed launch year such as the Compact Disc or the Pac-Man arcade game; the guesses spread nicely and the answer never moves.
Frequently asked questions
Are these 80s questions aimed at people who lived through the decade?
Not only. The easy and medium rounds cover things that stayed famous long afterwards, so younger players usually do better than they expect. The hard round is where first-hand memory genuinely helps.
Do the questions cover more than music and films?
Yes. Alongside the pop culture there are questions on computing, the space shuttle, the Berlin Wall, the Falklands and the 1987 market crash. The idea is a picture of the decade rather than a chart rundown.
Can I use this round for a pub quiz?
Yes, freely. Read them aloud, print the page, or split the set into three rounds by difficulty. The one-line notes are written so a host can add a fact after revealing each answer.
Not in a quiz mood?
The question games are a different kind of round: no right answers, just prompts you read out and argue about. Would You RatherNever Have I EverTruth or DareThis or That