Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: What technology did “Dragon’s Lair” use to become an arcade hit?

Laserdisc
Floppy discs
Eight-way joystick
Light-detecting guns

The correct answer is Laserdisc

So why is this answer correct? : An optical disc similar to DVD but roughly the size of a medium pizza, Laserdisc was first marketed in 1978, only a few years before “Dragon’s Lair” took arcades by storm. The game used the new technology to set themselves apart from other arcade cabinets: whereas the “Gorfs” and “Qixs” of the world used pixels and vectors, Dragon’s Lair displayed fully animated vignettes drawn by Disney vetern Don Blume.

Trivia: What counterintuitive strategy is key to maximizing a Galaga score?

Never firing a shot
Staying completely still
Allowing your ship to be captured
Flying directly into enemy ships

The correct answer is Allowing your ship to be captured

So why is this answer correct? : The “double ship” gambit of Galaga is tricky to be sure, but no one ever saved the galaxy by playing it safe. Chess players will be familiar with the idea of sacrificing a pawn for the ultimate win. The maneuver involves allowing a “Boss Galaga” enemy to come in close, activate their tractor beam, and steal the player’s ship. While the immediate result is losing a life, the seized ship can subsequently be rescued and joins the current ship as a conjoined dual fighter. This allows twice the firepower, critical for clearing bonus stages.

Trivia: What weapon does the chef use to stun enemies in BurgerTime?

Pepper
Relish
Ketchup
Spatula

The correct answer is Pepper

So why is this answer correct? : When life gives you pepper, make pepper spray. Ideally, Chef Peter Pepper would trod over the various patties and toppings, causing them to drop and crush enemies like Mr. Egg and Mr. Hot Dog. However, there comes a time in every 8-bit chef’s life when they’re staring down a giant pickle with legs and there is nowhere to run: that’s when you get them with finely ground firepower.

Trivia: What game was almost named with a series of random punctuation marks?

Frogger
Paperboy
Q*bert
Punch-Out!!

The correct answer is Q*bert

So why is this answer correct? : Early in the design process, it was decided Q*bert’s voice was going to be random noises, shown visually as a bizarre mixture of punctuation marks. While that would make a memorable name, it did have the small marketing problem of being unpronounceable. An in-house brainstorming session came up with “Hubert,” which, combined with the cubes he jumps on, morphed into “Cubert”, then “Q*bert.”

Trivia: What animal do players ride in the arcade classic Joust?

Zebra
Ostrich
Swordfish
Tiger

The correct answer is Ostrich

So why is this answer correct? : Save a horse, ride an ostrich. Designer John Newcombe names the 1980 sci-fi flop “Flash Gordon,” a movie where birds are used as steeds, as an inspiration for his game of airborne lancing. While eagles would appear to be the flyer of choice for most heroes, the gameplay in Joust also requires running, so Newcombe turned to the noble ostrich (well, futuristic super-ostriches that can fly) for players to mount.

Trivia: What happens to the remaining space invaders after enemies are destroyed?

The missiles become more powerful
They change direction
They change color
They move faster

The correct answer is They move faster

So why is this answer correct? : Necessity and intergalactic conquest are the mothers of invention. The titular Space Invaders were supposed to move uniformly, but the limited technology at the time meant only one ship could move every 1/60 of a second. As foes were destroyed, the game’s processor would inadvertently move the remaining ones faster. Originally a bug, designer Toshihrio Nishikado thought the quicker speed added more thrills to the game, and an arcade legend was born.

Trivia: Which is NOT the name of a ghost in the original Pac-Man?

Blinky
Inky
Winky
Clyde

The correct answer is Winky

So why is this answer correct? : Pac-Man ain’t afraid of no ghosts…as long as he has a power pellet handy. Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and the non-conformist Clyde look similar but have distinct programming to ensnare the perpetual muncher. Blinky chases directly after Pac-Man, while Pinky and Inky keep a distance in order to box him in. Clyde, maverick that he is, moves completely at random.

Trivia: What feature is unique to Donkey Kong Jr.?

Mario is a bad guy
Low scores are the goal
Fruit is poisonous
The cabinet only took nickels

The correct answer is Mario is a bad guy

So why is this answer correct? : It’s-a-me, the bad guy! Donkey Kong Jr. marks the lovable Italian plumber’s only role as a mustache-twirling villain, locking up the misunderstood Donkey Kong Sr. for some good-natured barrel-flinging during the first game. Players control the namesake gorilla scion, hoping to free papa and topple the Mario-ocracy.

Trivia: What is used as an unconventional weapon in the game Dig Dug?

Air pump
Jackhammer
Mop
Garden hose

The correct answer is Air pump

So why is this answer correct? : While arcade baddies are dispatched in myriad ways — blasted with lasers, squashed underfoot, gobbled up by a yellow disc — the Pookas and Fygars in Dig Dug suffer perhaps the most ignoble fate: popped like an overinflated balloon. How they earned the wrath of Dig Dug, or why he uses an air pump to mete out his own special brand of justice is never explained, but heaven help the red, goggled monster that gets between him and his veggies.

Trivia: What is NOT an enemy in the original Mario Bros. game?

Shellcreepers
Sidesteppers
Peachpitters
Fighterflies

The correct answer is Peachpitters

So why is this answer correct? : Mario and Luigi have long been made to suffer an onslaught of creatures, starting in their 1983 titular smash Mario Bros. While the crabs (Sidesteppers) and flies (Fighterflies) are mostly confined to the New York City sewer setting of this early arcade game (which preceded the debut of Super Mario Bros. and the Nintendo gaming console), the Shellcreeper would methodically follow the plumbing pair on further adventures in the form of the not-distant-at-all relative, the Koopa Troopa.