80s Trivia Questions and Answers: 70 Retro Prompts (2022)
Who doesn't love the 1980s? It was a time of high fashion. A time of great music. Movies getting created. And the worst hairstyles in history. Quiz your friends and family with these 80s trivia questions. Put on your favorite Madonna album and pretend you're in Bayside High. Because we're going back to the 80s!
Don't forget to grab the free printable PDF of these 80s trivia questions and answers below.
How to Play
To play this trivia game, gather your friends together for a fun night. Pick 50 of the questions listed below. And use a point system. One person asks the group the trivia question. This person is called the "game master" or "game head." Each person guesses the answer to the trivia question. And if correct, they earn a point.
The player with the most points at the end of all 50 questions wins the game. If two players tie, a sudden death round can be played with additional trivia questions listed below. Pick 10 questions to ask for a tiebreaker.
80s Trivia Questions and Answers
The best 80s trivia questions and answers in the world. Test your pop culture knowledge and have fun playing this trivia game!
Trivia Question: Zach Morris is a fictional character on what TV show?
Answer: Saved by the Bell.
Trivia Question: Madonna's first Billboard Hot 100 song was what?
Answer: Holiday.
Trivia Question: In what year did John Lennon pass away?
Answer: 1980.
Trivia Question: What year was the first computer released?
Answer: 1984.
Trivia Question: What year was "Dirty Dancing" released?
Answer: 1987.
Trivia Question: In what year was the movie "16 candles" released?
Answer: 1984.
Trivia Question: Which actor played the jock in the movie "The Breakfast Club?"
Answer: Emilio Estevez.
Trivia Question: What company made cell phones in the 1980s?
Answer: Motorola, Technophone, or Nokia.
Trivia Question: What was Michael Jackson's biggest hit song?
Answer: Thriller.
Trivia Question: What film used Blondie's "Call Me" song as the theme song?
Answer: American Gigolo.
Trivia Question: What TV channel played music video after music video?
Answer: MTV (Music Television).
Trivia Question: What year was the film "Big" released?
Answer: 1988.
Trivia Question: Who played the main character in the movie "Big?"
Answer: Tom Hanks.
Trivia Question: In the film "Big," the actor danced on what with his work boss?
Answer: A piano in a toy store.
Trivia Question: Which song spent 27-weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the early 1980s?
Answer: Thriller.
Trivia Question: What was the highest-selling record of the 1980s?
Answer: Michael Jackson - Bad
Trivia Question: What famous boat/wreckage was found in 1985?
Answer: The Titanic.
Trivia Question: What 1980s synth-pop duo wore red pyramid hats on their head?
Answer: Devo.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular television series of the 1980s?
Answer: Cheers.
Trivia Question: In what city did "Ferris Buellers Day Off" take place?
Answer: Chicago.
Trivia Question: What television series starred actor Kirk Cameron?
Answer: Growing Pains.
Trivia Question: What year was the Rubik's Cube invented?
Answer: Originally named "Magic Cube," it turned into "Rubik's Cube" in 1980.
Trivia Question: How many cabbage patch kids were sold at the end of the 1980s?
Answer: 3.2 million dolls.
Trivia Question: What year was the first walkman created?
Answer: 1979. Becoming popular in 1980 (trick question!).
Trivia Question: What hit television series featured a bar in Boston?
Answer: Cheers.
Trivia Question: What spooky song of Michael Jackson's hit Billboard Hot 100?
Answer: Thriller.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular board game of the 1980s?
Answer: Monopoly.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular arcade game of the 1980s?
Answer: Pac-Man.
Trivia Question: Pac-Man, the arcade game released a second female version called what?
Answer: Mrs. Pac-Man.
Trivia Question: What was the song that Tom Cruise danced to in the film Risky Business?
Answer: Bob Seger - Stranger in Town
Trivia Question: A Nightmare on Elm Street featured which creepy and spooky fictional character?
Answer: Freddy Kruger.
Trivia Question: What movie rental store took off in the 1980s?
Answer: Blockbuster.
Trivia Question: What hit film featured an older gentleman and a younger gentleman who were able to travel through time?
Answer: Back to the Future.
Trivia Question: In the film "Back to the Future," what was the date do they travel to?
Answer: October 21, 2015.
Trivia Question: What film featured an alien and hit charts as the highest-grossing film of the decade?
Answer: E.T.
Trivia Question: What 1980s film featured heroes who abolished ghosts?
Answer: Ghostbusters.
Trivia Question: What was the name of all the characters in the movie "Ghostbusters?"
Answer: Slimer, Egon, Peter Venkman, Winson, Gozer, and Ray.
Trivia Question: In the 1980s a film was released about shrinking people. It was called what?
Answer: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
Trivia Question: "Don't mess with the bull young man. You'll get the horns." This was a line from what movie?
Answer: The Breakfast Club.
Trivia Question: Harrison Ford was a popular actor that was featured in what movies?
Answer: Indiana Jones.
Trivia Question: In what movie was there a character that made realistic sounds with this mouth?
Answer: Police Academy.
Trivia Question: This film featured golfing and comedy as its main act. It was called what?
Answer: Caddyshack.
Trivia Question: Carla was a character on what TV show?
Answer: Cheers.
Trivia Question: In which city was the 1980 Summer Olympics held?
Answer: Moscow.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular candy of the 1980s?
Answer: Runts.
Trivia Question: John Landis directed which iconic music video of the 1980s?
Answer: 1983's Thriller by Michael Jackson.
Trivia Question: How many children did Roseanne have on the TV show "Roseanne?"
Answer: Three children.
Trivia Question: Which actor played the husband in the hit movie, "The Money Pit?"
Answer: Tom Hanks.
Trivia Question: Which film title featured a police officer and a dog solving a m#rder?
Answer: Turner and Hooch.
Trivia Question: Robert DeNiro played a driver and punk in what 80s film?
Answer: Taxi Driver.
Trivia Question: "Never going to give you up. Never going to let you down." These lyrics are to what popular 1980s song?
Answer: Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Trivia Question: What popular board game featured ships that you would sink?
Answer: Battleship.
Trivia Question: What was the name of the town in the film "Back to the Future?"
Answer: Hill Valley.
Trivia Question: How many sequels did "Back to the Future" have after it became a hit?
Answer: Three.
Trivia Question: Michael J. Fox was best known for which 80s TV show?
Answer: Family Ties.
Trivia Question: Zach Morris is a fictional character on what TV show?
Answer: Saved by the Bell.
Trivia Question: Madonna's first Billboard Hot 100 song was what?
Answer: Holiday.
Trivia Question: In what year did John Lennon pass away?
Answer: 1980.
Trivia Question: What year was the first computer released?
Answer: 1984.
Trivia Question: What year was "Dirty Dancing" released?
Answer: 1987.
Trivia Question: In what year was the movie "16 candles" released?
Answer: 1984.
Trivia Question: Which actor played the jock in the movie "The Breakfast Club?"
Answer: Emilio Estevez.
Trivia Question: What company made cell phones in the 1980s?
Answer: Motorola, Technophone, or Nokia.
Trivia Question: What was Michael Jackson's biggest hit song?
Answer: Thriller.
Trivia Question: What film used Blondie's "Call Me" song as the theme song?
Answer: American Gigolo.
Trivia Question: What TV channel played music video after music video?
Answer: MTV (Music Television).
Trivia Question: What year was the film "Big" released?
Answer: 1988.
Trivia Question: Who played the main character in the movie "Big?"
Answer: Tom Hanks.
Trivia Question: In the film "Big," the actor danced on what with his work boss?
Answer: A piano in a toy store.
Trivia Question: Which song spent 27-weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the early 1980s?
Answer: Thriller.
Trivia Question: What was the highest-selling record of the 1980s?
Answer: Michael Jackson - Bad
Trivia Question: What famous boat/wreckage was found in 1985?
Answer: The Titanic.
Trivia Question: What 1980s synth-pop duo wore red pyramid hats on their head?
Answer: Devo.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular television series of the 1980s?
Answer: Cheers.
Trivia Question: In what city did "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" take place?
Answer: Chicago.
Trivia Question: What television series starred actor Kirk Cameron?
Answer: Growing Pains.
Trivia Question: What year was the Rubik's Cube invented?
Answer: Originally named "Magic Cube," it turned into "Rubik's Cube" in 1980.
Trivia Question: How many cabbage patch kids were sold at the end of the 1980s?
Answer: 3.2 million dolls.
Trivia Question: What year was the first walkman created?
Answer: 1979. Becoming popular in 1980 (trick question!).
Trivia Question: What hit television series featured a bar in Boston?
Answer: Cheers.
Trivia Question: What spooky song of Michael Jackson's hit Billboard Hot 100?
Answer: Thriller.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular board game of the 1980s?
Answer: Monopoly.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular arcade game of the 1980s?
Answer: Pac-Man.
Trivia Question: Pac-Man, the arcade game released a second female version called what?
Answer: Mrs. Pac-Man.
Trivia Question: What was the song that Tom Cruise danced to in the film Risky Business?
Answer: Bob Seger - Stranger in Town
Trivia Question: A Nightmare on Elm Street featured which creepy and spooky fictional character?
Answer: Freddy Kruger.
Trivia Question: What movie rental store took off in the 1980s?
Answer: Blockbuster.
Trivia Question: What hit film featured an older gentleman and a younger gentleman who were able to travel through time?
Answer: Back to the Future.
Trivia Question: In the film "Back to the Future," what was the date they traveled to?
Answer: October 21, 2015.
Trivia Question: What film featured an alien and hit charts as the highest-grossing film of the decade?
Answer: E.T.
Trivia Question: What 1980s film featured heroes who abolished ghosts?
Answer: Ghostbusters.
Trivia Question: What was the name of all the characters in the movie "Ghostbusters?"
Answer: Slimer, Egon, Peter Venkman, Winson, Gozer, and Ray.
Trivia Question: In the 1980s a film was released about shrinking people. It was called what?
Answer: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
Trivia Question: "Don't mess with the bull young man. You'll get the horns." This was a line from what movie?
Answer: The Breakfast Club.
Trivia Question: Harrison Ford was a popular actor that was featured in what movies?
Answer: Indiana Jones.
Trivia Question: In what movie was there a character that made realistic sounds with this mouth?
Answer: Police Academy.
Trivia Question: This film featured golfing and comedy as its main act. It was called what?
Answer: Caddyshack.
Trivia Question: Carla was a character on what TV show?
Answer: Cheers.
Trivia Question: In which city was the 1980 Summer Olympics held?
Answer: Moscow.
Trivia Question: What was the most popular candy of the 1980s?
Answer: Runts.
Trivia Question: John Landis directed which iconic music video of the 1980s?
Answer: 1983's Thriller by Michael Jackson.
Trivia Question: How many children did Roseanne have on the TV show "Roseanne?"
Answer: Three children.
Trivia Question: Which actor played the husband in the hit movie, "The Money Pit?"
Answer: Tom Hanks.
Trivia Question: Which film title featured a police officer and a dog solving a m#rder?
Answer: Turner and Hooch.
Trivia Question: Robert DeNiro played a driver and punk in what 80s film?
Answer: Taxi Driver.
Trivia Question: "Never going to give you up. Never going to let you down." These lyrics are to what popular 1980s song?
Answer: Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Trivia Question: What popular board game featured ships that you would sink?
Answer: Battleship.
Trivia Question: What was the name of the town in the film "Back to the Future?"
Answer: Hill Valley.
Trivia Question: How many sequels did "Back to the Future" have after it became a hit?
Answer: Three.
Trivia Question: Michael J. Fox was best known for which 80s TV show?
Answer: Family Ties.
Trivia Question: Who was the first woman to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Answer: Aretha Franklin.
Trivia Question: Die Hard was which actor's first feature film role?
Answer: Alan Rickman.
Trivia Question: What video game did Super Mario first appear?
Answer: Mario Bros.
Trivia Question: What year did Eddie Murphy join Saturday Night Live?
Answer: 1980.
Trivia Question: Nintendo released a handheld game called what in the 1980s?
Answer: Game changer.
Trivia Question: A popular Billy Joel song references what presidents wife?
Answer: John F. Kennedy.
Free PDF Resource
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About the author
Patrick Algrim is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), NCDA Certified Career Counselor (CCC), and general career expert. Patrick has completed the NACE Coaching Certification Program (CCP). And has been published as a career expert on Forbes, Glassdoor, American Express, Reader's Digest, LiveCareer, Zety, Yahoo, Recruiter.com, SparkHire, SHRM.org, Process.st, FairyGodBoss, HRCI.org, St. Edwards University, NC State University, IBTimes.com, Thrive Global, TMCnet.com, Work It Daily, Workology, Career Guide, MyPerfectResume, College Career Life, The HR Digest, WorkWise, Career Cast, Elite Staffing, Women in HR, All About Careers, Upstart HR, The Street, Monster, The Ladders, Introvert Whisperer, and many more. Find him on LinkedIn.
Fact checked: Our small and dedicated team rigorously evaluates every article, guide, and reference to ensure the information is accurate and factual. Learn more.
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