Q 01/05

On a standard die, the numbers on opposite faces always add up to what?

A) Seven

B) Eight

C) Nine

D) Ten

Answer · why

A) Seven

Seven: that rule forces the 1, 2 and 3 faces to meet at one corner, leaving just two mirror-image layouts for a die.

Q 02/05

The oldest known dice, from around 2800 to 2500 BC, were found at the Burnt City in which modern country?

A) Egypt

B) Iran

C) Iraq

D) Greece

Answer · why

B) Iran

Iran: the Burnt City, Shahr-e Sukhteh in Sistan-Baluchestan, yielded the dice alongside a backgammon-like board; Romans later gambled with dice despit...

Q 03/05

Playing cards most likely first appeared in which country, around the 9th century?

A) India

B) Persia

C) China

D) Egypt

Answer · why

C) China

China: cards probably grew out of printing on paper there, and they reached Europe through the Islamic world by the 1370s.

Q 04/05

The joker was first added to the American deck as the top trump for which card game?

A) Pinochle

B) Whist

C) Cribbage

D) Euchre

Answer · why

D) Euchre

Euchre: a British firm was soon printing jokers for American packs, a few years before British packs carried one.

Q 05/05

The Ridotto, generally considered the first casino, opened in 1638 in which city?

A) Venice

B) Paris

C) Monte Carlo

D) Vienna

Answer · why

A) Venice

Venice opened the Ridotto in a wing of Palazzo Dandolo near San Moisè; patrons wore masks and three-cornered hats, and the city closed it in 1774.