Empires & Explorers Trivia
A trivia pack on the largest political constructions in history and the people who drew the maps. The Roman, Mongol, Ottoman, Habsburg, British and Russian empires, the European Age of Exploration, the Silk Road and the modern echoes of imperial rule.
Start an Empires quiz →The empires
Roman: from the Republic through the Empire and the divide into Western and Eastern Rome. Byzantine continuation through 1453. The Mongol Empire under Genghis and his successors, the largest contiguous land empire in history. The Ottoman Empire from Osman through Suleiman to the late 19th century decline.
The Habsburgs (Spanish and Austrian branches), the British Empire at its peak in the 19th-early 20th century, the Russian Empire and its Soviet successor, the French colonial empire. Persian and Chinese imperial dynasties for the long view.
The explorers
The European Age of Exploration: Henry the Navigator, Diaz, da Gama, Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan, Drake, Hudson, Tasman, Cook. The land explorers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Zheng He), the polar explorers (Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton, Peary), the African interior (Stanley, Livingstone, Burton, Speke).
Modern frontiers — Hillary on Everest, Cousteau's deep-sea work, the space-age explorers handled in the Astronomy & Space pack.
Frequently asked questions
Roman and British are biggest?
Yes, with the Mongol and Ottoman empires running close behind. Persian / Chinese imperial history gets less ink.
Are colonialism's consequences in?
The pack stays factual — when and how colonial empires expanded and ended is in scope, value judgments aren't the questions.
Polar exploration?
Yes — Amundsen / Scott / Shackleton each get questions.
How many players?
Up to six per room.