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50 free Game of Thrones Season 1 trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Game of Thrones season 1 trivia quiz sticks to the ten episodes that aired on HBO between April and June 2011, from the White Walkers in the cold open of Winter Is Coming to Daenerys walking out of the ashes in Fire and Blood. It follows Ned Stark's investigation into Jon Arryn's death, Catelyn's arrest of Tyrion, Arya's water dancing lessons, Viserys's golden crown, the trial by combat at the Eyrie and the beheading at the Great Sept of Baelor. It also covers how the season got made: the pilot that was largely reshot, the two lead roles that were recast, the composer hired ten weeks before air, and the awards the season picked up. Roughly a third of the questions are easy for anyone who watched the season once, a third need a decent memory for who said what, and the rest reward the fans who know which episode George R. R. Martin wrote himself and which sword Ned was executed with. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's season and episode articles before publishing, and each question carries the sentence that establishes it. If you think one is wrong, use the report button and we will look again.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Season one of Game of Thrones premiered on HBO in which year?
2011
The ten episodes ran from April 17 to June 19, and viewership grew from 2.2 million to over 3 million by the finale.
Q 02The title of the first episode, "Winter Is Coming", is the motto of which family?
Stark
The finale's title, "Fire and Blood", is the Targaryen motto, bookending the season with two house words.
Q 03Which position does Robert ask Ned Stark to fill after the death of Jon Arryn?
Hand of the King
Robert also proposes betrothing Sansa to Joffrey during the same visit to Winterfell.
Q 04Ned executes a Night's Watch deserter in the premiere. What had the man seen beyond the Wall?
White Walkers
Ned ignores the warning, insisting the Walkers have been extinct for thousands of years.
Q 05Which two dead animals do the Starks find on the road, an omen involving both houses' sigils?
A stag and a direwolf
The direwolf's pups go home with the Stark children, one for each of them.
Q 06Who gives Daenerys three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift?
Magister Illyrio Mopatis
Jorah's gift was books of the Seven Kingdoms; the magister had helped arrange the marriage.
Q 07Who pushes Bran from the tower window at the end of the first episode?
Jaime Lannister
In the finale he admits the deed to Catelyn but will not say why.
Q 08What does Arya name the sword Jon Snow gives her before he leaves for the Wall?
Needle
Jon's parting lesson, "Stick them with the pointy end", supplies the title of episode eight.
Q 09Which direwolf does Ned reluctantly kill himself in "The Kingsroad" after Nymeria cannot be found?
Lady
Cersei demanded a wolf die for biting Joffrey; Sansa's pet paid for her sister's.
Q 10Which sworn brother of the Night's Watch gives Jon the mocking nickname "Lord Snow"?
Ser Alliser Thorne
The master-at-arms was jabbing at Jon's highborn upbringing, and it became the title of episode three.
Q 11Who does Ned hire to teach Arya swordsmanship in King's Landing?
Syrio Forel
The Braavosi "dancing master" appears in the same episode Ned first sits on the Small Council.
Q 12According to Grand Maester Pycelle, what were Jon Arryn's last words?
The seed is strong
Arryn had been researching the houses of the Seven Kingdoms and visiting Robert's bastard, Gendry.
Q 13Which writer scripted episode four, "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things"?
Bryan Cogman
Its title comes from Tyrion's line to Bran about having a tender spot in his heart for such people.
Q 21Which sellsword volunteers to fight for Tyrion in his trial by combat at the Eyrie?
Bronn
He "dishonourably" beats Lysa's champion and walks out as Tyrion's escort, to Catelyn's dismay.
Q 22What clue makes Ned realise Joffrey is not Robert's son?
He lacks the Baratheon dark hair
Sansa's wish for golden-haired babies sends him back to Jon Arryn's genealogy research.
Q 23What does Daenerys eat during her ritual before the Dosh Khaleen?
A raw stallion's heart
She proclaims her unborn son Rhaego, named for her brother Rhaegar, will unite the world as one khalasar.
Q 14What does Tyrion give Bran on his way south through Winterfell?
A saddle design
The design lets the paralysed boy ride; Tyrion is arrested by Catelyn at the Inn at the Crossroads shortly after.
Q 15Which fearful, overweight new recruit does Jon defend from the other trainees at Castle Black?
Sam Tarly
His father forced him to give up his inheritance and take the black because he judged him unworthy.
Q 16How does Ser Loras Tyrell beat The Mountain in the Tourney of the Hand?
By riding a mare in heat
The Mountain beheads his own horse in fury and is stopped from killing Loras by his brother, the Hound.
Q 17According to Varys, which poison was used to kill Jon Arryn?
The Tears of Lys
Varys points the finger at Arryn's squire Ser Hugh of the Vale, who conveniently died at the tourney.
Q 18Why does Ned resign his office as Hand in "The Wolf and the Lion"?
Robert orders the assassination of Daenerys
The order extends to her unborn child and Viserys; Ned refuses to be part of killing a pregnant girl.
Q 19Which member of Ned's household is killed when Jaime ambushes him in the streets of King's Landing?
Jory Cassel
One of Jaime's men spears Ned through the leg from behind, and Jaime leaves him alive to demand Tyrion's return.
Q 20Where is Tyrion imprisoned in a "sky cell" while awaiting Lysa Arryn's judgment?
The Eyrie
The same episode reveals Lysa still breastfeeds her eight-year-old son Robin.
Q 24How does Khal Drogo give Viserys the "golden crown" he demands?
He pours molten gold over his head
Daenerys watches unmoved: "He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon."
Q 25Which writer, best known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, co-wrote the teleplay of "A Golden Crown"?
Jane Espenson
It was also Daniel Minahan's directing debut on the show; he went on to direct three episodes that season.
Q 26Which character speaks the line "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die"?
Cersei
The line comes in her confrontation with Ned and was used heavily in promoting both the books and the show.
Q 27What animal fatally wounds King Robert while he is out hunting?
A boar
Dictating his will, he names Ned regent; Ned quietly writes "my rightful heir" instead of Joffrey's name.
Q 28Who holds Ned at knifepoint in the throne room with the words "I did warn you not to trust me"?
Littlefinger
Ned had asked him to buy the City Watch's loyalty; the gold cloaks slaughtered the Stark men instead.
Q 29Which grisly item does Ghost bring Jon after he and Sam take their vows before the heart tree?
A severed hand
Benjen's horse had already come back without him; the hand belongs to one of his rangers.
Q 30Which season one episode was written by George R. R. Martin himself?
The Pointy End
Its title comes from Jon's parting sword lesson to Arya, and Sophie Turner was singled out for praise.