The pilot episode of Game of Thrones was so bad that HBO essentially scrapped it and reshot almost everything. Two major roles were recast. The original cut was so confusing that one test viewer didn’t even realize Cersei and Jaime were siblings. That disaster became the most-watched show in HBO history, and the fact that it nearly didn’t exist at all is the kind of thing that makes got trivia feel like it matters more than it should.
I’ve run GoT trivia nights to packed rooms where people showed up in costume and still couldn’t name the Stark family words. I’ve watched confident fans freeze on questions about Season 1 because they’ve rewatched the later seasons three times but haven’t gone back to the beginning since 2011. The show lives in people’s memories in strange, selective ways. These 75 questions are built around that reality.
The Ones You Think You Know
1. What are the words of House Stark?
I open with this at every GoT night because it splits the room perfectly. Half the people shout it instantly. The other half suddenly realize they’re confusing house words with house sigils, or they’re thinking of the Lannisters.
Show Answer
“Winter Is Coming.” The most common wrong answer is “The North Remembers,” which is a phrase associated with the Starks but isn’t their official house words.
2. What is the name of the massive wall that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the lands beyond?
If someone gets this wrong, they weren’t watching the show. They were watching their phone while the show was on.
3. How many direwolf pups do the Stark children find in the first episode?
This is where the arguments start. People remember the scene but forget whether Jon’s wolf was part of the original litter or found separately.
Show Answer
Six. Five for the legitimate Stark children, plus Ghost for Jon Snow, who was found slightly apart from the others. People often say five because they forget Jon’s or they say seven because it feels right for a show obsessed with that number.
4. What is the seat of power in King’s Landing, where the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms sits?
Show Answer
The Iron Throne
5. Who kills King Robert Baratheon?
This is a trick question and people know it’s a trick question, which makes them overthink it. Robert dies on a boar hunt, but the circumstances are what make the answer interesting.
Show Answer
A boar gores him, though Cersei orchestrated his death by having Lancel Lannister give him extra-strong wine during the hunt. People want to say Cersei, which is spiritually correct but technically not the answer.
6. What is Daenerys Targaryen’s title that references her being unburned?
Show Answer
“The Unburnt.” It’s part of her long string of titles, though people often reach for “Mother of Dragons” first because it’s more memorable.
7. Name the three dragons that Daenerys hatches.
Everyone gets Drogon. Most get Rhaegal. The third one trips people up more than you’d expect for a creature that was on screen for eight seasons.
Show Answer
Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. Viserion is the one people forget, which is ironic given he becomes an ice dragon and destroys the Wall.
8. What family motto is “Hear Me Roar”?
This catches so many people. Everyone knows a Lannister phrase, but it’s not the one they think it is.
Show Answer
House Lannister. The common wrong answer is “A Lannister Always Pays His Debts,” which is an unofficial saying, not the actual house words.
9. What is the name of Jon Snow’s Valyrian steel sword?
Show Answer
Longclaw. It was originally the ancestral sword of House Mormont, given to Jon by Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.
10. Which character says “You know nothing, Jon Snow”?
The easiest question in any GoT trivia set, and somehow it still makes people smile when they answer it. Some lines just live in a different part of the brain.
The Red Wedding and Other Scars
11. At whose wedding does the Red Wedding massacre take place?
People remember the event but blur the details. They know Starks died. They know Walder Frey was involved. But whose actual wedding was it?
Show Answer
Edmure Tully’s wedding to Roslin Frey. People frequently say Robb Stark’s wedding, but Robb had already married Talisa, which is precisely what caused the whole mess.
12. Which guest right tradition does Walder Frey violate during the Red Wedding?
Show Answer
The sacred guest right, invoked when a host offers bread and salt to guests. Killing guests after offering them food and shelter was considered one of the worst sins in Westerosi culture.
13. Who stabs Robb Stark and delivers the final blow at the Red Wedding?
Show Answer
Roose Bolton, who whispers “The Lannisters send their regards” before killing him.
14. What is the name of the song played by the musicians just before the massacre begins?
Book readers nail this instantly. Show-only fans sometimes know it but can’t quite place it. The moment the first notes play, the dread is already there if you know what it means.
Show Answer
“The Rains of Castamere,” the Lannister anthem about the destruction of House Reyne.
15. Who is the first major character to be executed in the series?
This one resets the room. People jump to Ned Stark, but there’s an execution before his that sets the entire tone for what this show is willing to do.
Show Answer
The deserter from the Night’s Watch, Will (in the show) or Gared (in the books), executed by Ned Stark in the very first episode. But if we’re talking named, major characters, Ned Stark in Episode 9 of Season 1 is the answer most people are looking for, and it’s the one that changed television.
16. What poison is used to kill Joffrey at his own wedding?
Show Answer
The Strangler, hidden in a jewel on Sansa’s necklace. Olenna Tyrell was the one who slipped it into his wine.
17. Joffrey’s wedding is commonly known by what colorful nickname?
Show Answer
The Purple Wedding, named for the color Joffrey turned while choking.
18. Who actually kills Tywin Lannister, and where does it happen?
People remember the what but sometimes blank on the where, and the where is what makes it unforgettable.
Show Answer
Tyrion kills him with a crossbow while Tywin is sitting on the privy. Charles Dance on the toilet remains one of the most undignified deaths in prestige television history.
Names, Faces, and the People You Forgot
19. What is Hodor’s real name?
Show Answer
Wylis (in the show) or Walder (in the books). The reveal of why he can only say “Hodor” remains one of the show’s most emotionally devastating moments.
20. What does “Hodor” turn out to mean?
Show Answer
“Hold the door.” A time loop caused young Wylis to have a seizure while experiencing his own future death, collapsing the phrase into one word.
21. What is the name of Arya Stark’s sword?
Show Answer
Needle. Jon Snow gave it to her before they parted ways in Season 1.
22. Before becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark is pushed from a tower by Jaime Lannister. Why?
Show Answer
Bran caught Jaime and Cersei having sex. Jaime pushed him to keep the incestuous relationship secret. “The things I do for love” might be the show’s first truly shocking line.
23. What is the name of Jorah Mormont’s ancestral home, the island from which House Mormont rules?
24. Who is the youngest person to command the defense of a castle in the show, famously shaming grown men into fighting?
This one always gets a reaction. People light up when they remember her.
Show Answer
Lyanna Mormont. Bella Ramsey was ten years old during filming and absolutely stole every scene.
25. What is Samwell Tarly’s father’s name, and what does he force Sam to do?
Show Answer
Randyll Tarly. He forced Sam to join the Night’s Watch (essentially exile) under threat of death, because he considered Sam too weak and cowardly to be his heir.
26. What is the name of the sellsword who becomes Tyrion’s unlikely companion and bodyguard?
Show Answer
Bronn, played by Jerome Flynn. He ends the series as Lord of Highgarden and Master of Coin, which is one of the more absurd character arcs in the show.
27. What is Theon Greyjoy’s sister’s name in the show? And what is it in the books?
This is a two-parter that only book readers can fully answer, and it catches them off guard because they sometimes can’t remember which name belongs to which version.
Show Answer
Yara in the show, Asha in the books. The name was changed for the show to avoid confusion with the wildling character Osha.
28. What is Varys’s nickname?
29. Petyr Baelish goes by what nickname, and where does it come from?
Show Answer
Littlefinger. It comes from the fact that he grew up on the smallest of the Fingers, a group of narrow peninsulas in the Vale of Arryn.
30. Who is known as “The Hound”?
Show Answer
Sandor Clegane
Geography of a World That Doesn’t Exist (But You’ve Got Opinions About)
31. What are the two continents where most of the action in Game of Thrones takes place?
Show Answer
Westeros and Essos
32. What is the name of the narrow body of water separating Westeros from Essos?
Show Answer
The Narrow Sea
33. Braavos is home to a powerful financial institution. What is it called?
Show Answer
The Iron Bank of Braavos. “The Iron Bank will have its due” is one of those lines that sounds like a threat because it is one.
34. What is the ancestral seat of House Targaryen in Westeros, where Daenerys was born?
Show Answer
Dragonstone. It sits on an island in Blackwater Bay and was carved from volcanic rock into the shape of dragons.
35. Dorne is ruled by which family?
Show Answer
House Martell, from their seat at Sunspear.
36. What is the enormous, multi-level prison beneath the Red Keep called?
Show Answer
The Black Cells. There are actually four levels of dungeons beneath the Red Keep, with the Black Cells being the worst.
37. The Dothraki have a sacred city where no blood may be shed. What is it called?
This one separates the people who paid attention to Daenerys’s early storyline from the people who were waiting for dragons.
38. What is the name of the vast desert in Essos that Daenerys must cross after Drogo’s death?
The Stuff That Makes You Feel Smart
39. What language does “Valar Morghulis” come from, and what does it mean?
Show Answer
High Valyrian. It means “All men must die.” The traditional response is “Valar Dohaeris,” meaning “All men must serve.”
40. What is the name of the order of warrior-priests who put Cersei on trial?
Show Answer
The Faith Militant, reestablished under the High Sparrow. Cersei armed them to deal with the Tyrells and then couldn’t control them, which is the most Cersei thing imaginable.
41. What substance does Cersei use to destroy the Great Sept of Baelor?
Show Answer
Wildfire, the same volatile green substance that the Mad King wanted to use to burn King’s Landing.
42. What is the name of the Valyrian steel dagger used in the assassination attempt on Bran Stark, which later plays a crucial role in the final season?
This dagger has more character development than some of the humans on this show.
Show Answer
It’s known as the Catspaw Dagger (though it has no official name in the books). Arya uses it to kill the Night King in Season 8.
43. What is the Night’s Watch oath’s most famous line, which begins their vow?
Show Answer
“Night gathers, and now my watch begins.” The full oath ends with “for this night and all the nights to come,” and I’ve had entire tables recite it in unison at trivia nights.
44. How many kingdoms are there actually in the “Seven Kingdoms”?
This is a question that makes people count on their fingers and then argue with each other. It’s beautiful.
Show Answer
Nine regions, technically. The “Seven Kingdoms” refers to the seven independent kingdoms that existed before Aegon’s Conquest, but by the time of the show, the political map had shifted. The Crownlands and the Riverlands were added as separate regions.
45. What is the ancestral Valyrian steel sword of House Stark?
Show Answer
Ice. Tywin Lannister has it melted down and reforged into two swords: Oathkeeper (given to Brienne) and Widow’s Wail (given to Joffrey).
46. Who forges the two swords from Ice?
Show Answer
Tobho Mott, a master armorer in King’s Landing. In the show, Tywin watches the process in one of the most symbolically loaded cold opens of the series.
47. What is the name of the massive battle in Season 2 where Tyrion defends King’s Landing?
Show Answer
The Battle of the Blackwater
48. What does Tyrion ignite to destroy Stannis’s fleet during that battle?
Show Answer
Wildfire, deployed via a single unmanned ship that sailed into the fleet before being ignited by a flaming arrow.
Deep Cuts and Arguments Waiting to Happen
49. Who wrote the book series that Game of Thrones is based on, and what is the series called?
Show Answer
George R.R. Martin wrote “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The first book is “A Game of Thrones.”
50. As of 2024, how many of the planned seven books in the series has Martin published?
I’ve watched this question turn a trivia night into a group therapy session about waiting.
Show Answer
Five. “The Winds of Winter” has been anticipated since 2011. At this point, the wait for that book is itself a cultural phenomenon.
51. What role did George R.R. Martin play in the show’s production during the early seasons?
Show Answer
He wrote one episode per season for the first four seasons. He also served as a co-executive producer. His involvement decreased significantly after Season 4.
52. The show was created by two showrunners. Name them.
Show Answer
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
53. What real-world country served as the primary filming location for King’s Landing in the later seasons?
Show Answer
Croatia, specifically Dubrovnik. The earlier seasons used Malta for some King’s Landing scenes.
54. Where were the scenes beyond the Wall primarily filmed?
Show Answer
Iceland. The landscapes north of the Wall are almost entirely Icelandic, which is why they feel so genuinely otherworldly.
55. What country provided the location for Winterfell’s exterior?
Show Answer
Northern Ireland. Castle Ward in County Down was used for Winterfell, and the Paint Hall studios in Belfast were the show’s primary studio base.
56. Which actor was originally cast as Daenerys Targaryen before Emilia Clarke took the role?
Show Answer
Tamzin Merchant filmed the original unaired pilot but was replaced when the episode was almost entirely reshot.
57. Which actor was originally cast as Catelyn Stark?
Show Answer
Jennifer Ehle, who was replaced by Michelle Fairley for the series.
58. What famous British band’s drummer has a cameo in the show?
This one gets groans. People either know it instantly or they spiral through every British musician they can think of.
Show Answer
Coldplay’s drummer, Will Champion, appeared as a musician at the Red Wedding. The members of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós and Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody also had musical cameos, but Champion’s is the most notorious because of the scene it’s in.
59. Ed Sheeran had a cameo in which season, and what was his character doing?
Show Answer
Season 7, Episode 1. He was a Lannister soldier singing by a campfire when Arya encounters a group of soldiers. The internet’s reaction was… not kind.
60. What is the record-setting number of Emmy Awards the show won over its run?
Show Answer
59 Primetime Emmy Awards, making it the most awarded primetime television series in Emmy history at the time.
The Ones That Separate the Watchers from the Obsessed
61. What is Daenerys’s full, complete title as she introduces herself?
Nobody gets the whole thing. Nobody. I’ve offered prizes for anyone who can recite it from memory and I’ve never had to pay out.
Show Answer
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains. The exact phrasing varies by scene, and that’s part of what makes this question so cruel.
62. What is Jon Snow’s true parentage?
Show Answer
He is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, making his true name Aegon Targaryen. He is the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.
63. Who reveals Jon’s true parentage to him?
Show Answer
Samwell Tarly tells Jon in Season 8, after Sam learns the truth from Bran (the Three-Eyed Raven). People often say Bran, but he tells Sam, who tells Jon.
64. What trial by combat does Oberyn Martell fight in, and who is his opponent?
Show Answer
He fights as Tyrion’s champion against Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane. Oberyn is winning decisively until he demands a confession and gets too close. What happens next is one of the most viscerally disturbing deaths in television history.
65. What is the name of the order of assassins that Arya trains with in Braavos?
Show Answer
The Faceless Men, who operate out of the House of Black and White and worship the Many-Faced God.
66. What phrase must Arya repeat during her training with the Faceless Men?
Show Answer
“A girl has no name.”
67. Melisandre, the Red Priestess, serves which god?
Show Answer
R’hllor, the Lord of Light. The religion is based on a dualistic cosmology of light versus darkness, and Melisandre believes Stannis (and later Jon) is the prophesied hero Azor Ahai.
68. What shocking act does Stannis Baratheon commit on Melisandre’s advice that turns much of the audience permanently against him?
Show Answer
He burns his daughter Shireen alive as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light. It’s one of the few scenes that made book readers and show watchers equally furious, because in the books it hadn’t happened yet.
69. What is Greyscale, and which major character contracts it?
Show Answer
Greyscale is a disease that turns skin stiff and stone-like. Jorah Mormont contracts it in Season 5. Samwell Tarly later cures him at the Citadel through an excruciating procedure that the show depicts in uncomfortable detail.
70. What is the name of the HBO prequel series set roughly 200 years before Game of Thrones?
Show Answer
House of the Dragon, which premiered in 2022 and focuses on the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
71. What event does House of the Dragon depict?
Show Answer
The Dance of the Dragons, a Targaryen civil war between the factions supporting Rhaenyra Targaryen and Aegon II Targaryen for the Iron Throne.
72. In the show’s final season, which character sits on the Iron Throne at the end?
I’ve asked this question and had people answer with genuine anger in their voices. Not at the question. At the answer.
Show Answer
Nobody sits on the Iron Throne because Drogon melts it. Bran Stark becomes king, chosen by a council of lords, but the throne itself is destroyed. People say “Bran,” which is correct for who rules, but the throne no longer exists.
73. What is the final line of dialogue spoken in the entire series?
Almost nobody remembers this. The ending lives in people’s memories as a feeling, not as specific words.
Show Answer
“I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel…” spoken by Tyrion, who never finishes the joke. The series ends mid-joke, which is either perfect or infuriating depending on how you feel about the final season.
74. What is the very first scene of the very first episode?
This is the one that reveals who actually remembers Season 1 versus who just thinks they do. The show doesn’t open where you think it opens.
Show Answer
Three rangers of the Night’s Watch venture beyond the Wall and encounter the White Walkers. It’s not Winterfell. It’s not King’s Landing. The show opens with horror, and that’s a statement of intent that most people have completely forgotten.
The Last One Standing
75. In the original unaired pilot, a scene exists where a character is beheaded, and the prop department used a prosthetic head that was a modified likeness of a real former U.S. president. Which president, and what happened when people found out?
I save this one for last because it’s the kind of got trivia that makes the whole room go quiet, then loud. It’s not about the lore. It’s not about the characters. It’s about the bizarre, messy reality of making a show this big, where even the props have stories that are stranger than fiction.
Show Answer
George W. Bush. In Season 1 (not the unaired pilot, actually, but the broadcast version), a prosthetic head resembling Bush appeared on a spike in a scene in King’s Landing. Benioff and Weiss said it wasn’t a political statement; prop departments reuse heads, and Bush’s was simply available. HBO apologized, the scene was edited for future releases, and the DVD commentary where the showrunners casually pointed it out was removed. It remains one of the strangest behind-the-scenes facts in television history, and it’s the perfect note to end on because it reminds you that even a show about dragons and ice zombies can’t escape the real world leaking in.
After 6 years of writing music trivia from Nashville, TN, I've developed a theory: the best music questions are the ones where someone at every table is absolutely certain they know it, and about half of them are wrong.
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