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 Cover for theClassic Edition | |
| Designers | Chris Haney Scott Abbott |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Selchow and Righter Parker Brothers Hasbro |
| Publication | 1981; 44 years ago (1981) |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Genres | Board game |
| Languages | English |
| Players | 2–6 (teams allowed) |
| Setup time | 5 minutes |
| Playing time | 45'–90' |
| Chance | Medium (dice, order of question cards) |
| Skills | General knowledge, knowledge ofpopular culture |
Trivial Pursuit is aboard game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answertrivia andpopular culture questions. Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question they are asked from a card (from six categories including "history" and "science and nature"). Each correct answer allows the player's turn to continue; a correct answer on one of the six "category headquarters" spaces earns a plastic wedge which is slotted into the answerer's playing piece. The object of the game is to collect all six wedges from each "category headquarters" space, and then return to the center "hub" space to answer a question in a category selected by the other players.
Since the game's first release in 1981, numerous themed editions have been released. Some question sets have been designed for younger players, and others for a specific time period or aspromotional tie-ins (such asStar Wars,Saturday Night Live, andThe Lord of the Rings movies).
The game was created on December 15, 1979, inMontreal,Quebec, by CanadiansChris Haney, aphoto editor for Montreal'sThe Gazette, andScott Abbott, a sports editor forThe Canadian Press.[1] Various versions of the events leading up to the creation ofTrivial Pursuit exist, most involving the board gameScrabble.[2] The game was designed within 45 minutes on the back of a cigarette carton. The questions were researched over 1980, and thetest marketing was done in 1981.[3] With the help of John Haney and Ed Werner, they completed development of the game, which was released in 1981[1] in Canada.[3][4] During the development of the game, some of the early work and question writing was completed by Chris and John Haney inWeymouth Library,Dorset where they were staying with family.[citation needed]
By 1982, the game had sold 100,000 copies in Canada. Sales began in the U.S in 1983.[3] Between 1983 1988, it sold 30 million copies of the original version; retail sales were at 750,000,000$.[where?][5]
The rights to the game were initially licensed toSelchow and Righter in 1982, then toParker Brothers (later part ofHasbro) in 1988, after initially being turned down by theVirgin Group; in 2008, Hasbro bought the full rights, for US$80 million.[6]
By 1986, the board game had sold 20 million units, grossing $600 million in sales.[7] As of 2014[update], more than 100 million[8] games had been sold in 26 countries and 17 languages. Northern Plastics ofElroy, Wisconsin produced 30,000,000 games between 1983 and 1985. In December 1993, Trivial Pursuit was named to the "Games Hall of Fame" byGames magazine. An online version ofTrivial Pursuit was launched in September 2003.[9]
The object of the game is to move around the board by correctly answering trivia questions. Questions are split into six categories, with each one having its own color to readily identify itself; in the classic version ofTrivial Pursuit, theGeography category is blue,Entertainment is pink,History is yellow,Art &Literature is originally brown, later purple,Science &Nature is green, andSports &Leisure is orange. The game includes a board, playing pieces, question cards, a box, small plastic wedges to fit into the playing pieces, and a die.
Playing pieces used inTrivial Pursuit are round and divided into six sections like wedges of pie. A small plastic wedge, sometimes called a cheese (like a wedge of cheese),[10] can be placed into each of these sections to mark each player's progress.
During the game, players move their playing pieces around a board which is shaped like a wheel with six spokes, rolling a single die to determine how far to move. The board is divided into spaces of different colors, and the center space is a hexagonal "hub." At the end of each spoke is a "category headquarters" space. After landing on a space, the player is asked a question in the category corresponding to its color. A correct answer allows the player to roll the die again and continue their turn, while a miss passes control to the next player in sequence. Questions must be answered without any outside assistance. Landing on a category headquarters space and answering correctly awards a wedge in that color, if the player does not yet have one; wedges are fitted into the playing pieces as they are earned. The player may move in any available direction and change directions at any category headquarters space or the hub, but may not backtrack.
"Roll Again" spaces allow the player an extra die roll without having to answer a question, while landing on the hub allows a player to answer a question in the category of their choice as long as they do not yet have all six wedges. Any number of playing pieces may occupy a given space at the same time. A variant rule ends a player's turn on collecting a wedge, preventing a single knowledgeable player from running the board.
After collecting all six wedges and filling their playing piece, the player must land on the hub by exact count and correctly answer a question in a category chosen by the opponents in order to win the game. If the player misses the question, they must leave the hub on their next turn and return to it for another chance to win.
Over the years, numerous editions ofTrivial Pursuit have been produced, usually specializing in various fields. The original version is known as theGenus edition (orGenus I). Several different general knowledge editions (such asGenus II) have followed. Other editions include Junior Edition (1985), All-Star Sports, Baby Boomers, 1980s, All About the 80s, 1990s,Harry Potter, and others. In total, over 100 different editions in different languages have been printed.[11]
In the United Kingdom,Trivial Pursuit players complained that the 2006 version of the game wasdumbed down in comparison to previous editions, with easier questions and more focus on celebrities and show business.[12]
The Toy Insider mentioned that it can be "enjoyed by baby boomers, millennials, and everyone in between",[13] while Board Games Land called it "The timeless classic and the godfather of trivia games".[14]
In a review for Issue 31 ofGames,Mike Shenk stated the game's questions were "excellent in quantity, scope, and level of difficulty" but warned that "the wait between turns can be uncomfortably long."[15]Games also includedTrivial Pursuit in itsGames 100 in 1982,[16] 1983,[17] 1984,[18] 1985,[19] and 1986, saying "The game’s winning formula is to offer well-written, entertaining questions in a continuing flow of new categories for players of all ages and interests."[20]
Jeux & Stratégie [fr] reviewedTrivial Pursuit (as "Remue-méninges") in Issue 28, generally praising the quality and accessibility of the game's questions, but also expressing that they are sometimes subject to doubt.[21]
In October 1984, Fred L. Worth, author ofThe Trivia Encyclopedia,Super Trivia, andSuper Trivia II, filed a $300 million lawsuit against the distributors ofTrivial Pursuit. He claimed that more than a quarter of the questions in the game's Genus Edition had been taken from his books, even to the point of reproducing typographical errors anddeliberately placed misinformation. One of the questions inTrivial Pursuit was "What wasColumbo's first name?" with the answer "Philip". That information had been fabricated to catch anyone who might try toviolate his copyright.[22]
The inventors ofTrivial Pursuit acknowledged that Worth's books were among their sources, but argued that this was not improper and that facts are not protected by copyright. The district court judge agreed, ruling in favor of theTrivial Pursuit inventors. The decision was appealed, and in September 1987 theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the ruling.[23] Worth asked theSupreme Court of the United States to review the case, but the Court declined, denyingcertiorari in March 1988.[24]
In 1994, David Wall ofCape Breton, Nova Scotia, launched a lawsuit against the game's creators. He claimed that in the fall of 1979, he and a friend were hitchhiking nearSydney, Nova Scotia, when they were picked up by Chris Haney. Wall claimed that he told Haney about his idea for the game in detail, including the shape of the markers.
Wall's mother testified she found drawings of his that looked like plans for aTrivial Pursuit-like game, but the drawings had since been destroyed. Wall's friend, who was allegedly hitchhiking with him that day, never testified. Haney said he never met Wall.
Over the years, there was much legal wrangling, notably around whether the suit should be decided by a judge or jury. On June 25, 2007, theNova Scotia Supreme Court ruled against Wall.[25]
A version ofTrivial Pursuit, hosted byWink Martindale, aired onThe Family Channel in theUnited States from 1993 to 1994 (Jay Wolpert had attempted a pilot in 1987, but it was not picked up). Asyndicated version entitledTrivial Pursuit: America Plays aired from 2008 to 2009 and hosted byChristopher Knight. In September 2004,Roger Lodge hosted a sports trivia game show onESPN entitledESPN Trivial Pursuit, which aired five episodes. A new version of the game premiered on October 3, 2024 onThe CW hosted byLeVar Burton.[26][27]
BBC Television produced aTrivial Pursuitgame show based on the game in theUK hosted byRory McGrath. Another British version (with rules/format similar to the Wink Martindale version, and also using the same theme tune as the Wink Martindale version) was hosted onThe Family Channel (now Challenge) byTony Slattery.
In 1991, a local version was aired inAustria, hosted by Bernadette Schneider onORF.
InGermany, Birgit Lechtermann hosted a local version forVOX from 1993 to 1994.
In 1988, a made-for-television movie entitledBreaking all the Rules: The Creation of Trivial Pursuit aired. Treated largely as a comedy, the movie featured the music ofJimmy Buffett and portrayed the creators of the game as three beer-loving Canadians. The actors wereGordon Clapp as John Haney,Malcolm Stewart as Chris Haney andBruce Pirrie as Scott Abbott.
InSpain, a version of the show calledTrivial Pursuit was aired in 2011 and presented by Silvia Jato on Veo7.[28]
TheSoviet Union in 1989 bought the rights to produce its own version of the board game, and also started an official championship for family teams, finals of which were broadcast onSoviet Central Television as the game showLucky Case (russian: Счастливый случай). After the agreement ended in 1991, the show changed their rules, droppingTrivial Pursuit elements, and continued broadcasting until 2000.
In 1984,Bally Sente released aTrivial Pursuit arcade game.[29] Like the board game, several variants were also subsequently released.
British software companyDomark released a home computer version (billed asTrivial Pursuit: The Computer Game) for multiple formats during the 1980s.[30][31][32][33] This version included pictorial and musical questions[34] but was otherwise mostly faithful to the mechanics of the original board game.
Later, Domark released another version calledTrivial Pursuit: A New Beginning, also across multiple formats.[35][36] This version featured a plot about the dying Earth[37] and significantly altered gameplay mechanics.[36]
Hasbro Interactive released a "Millennium Edition" in 1999 with three different modes, and different categories:
There are also three different ways to answer the questions:
This game featured a total of seven voice-overs, one host, and one for each of the six categories: People & Places (blue wedge), Arts & Entertainment (pink wedge), History (yellow wedge), Science & Nature (brown wedge), Sports & Leisure (green wedge), and Wild Card (orange wedge).
In 1999,Sony Online Entertainment licensedTrivial Pursuit from Hasbro Interactive[38] to release a downloadable online game on The Station@Sony (home toEverquest at the time), where up to three auto-matched players could chat with each other live while they played. A correct answer on any space earned a wedge on the category answered, the wedge spaces gave the player their choice of category, and the first person to earn four wedges was the winner.[39][40] It was hosted on The Station until 2001.[41]
In 2003, Bolenka Games released an online game ofTrivial Pursuit on the now-defunct website Uproar.com[42][43] where it features five editions such as:Genius,Silver Screen,Music,1980s andTV.
Trivial Pursuit was released for a number of home video systems, includingSega CD,[44]Wii,Windows Phone,Xbox 360,Xbox One,PlayStation 2 andPlayStation 3. The board game was also adapted into a mobile game calledTrivia Crack as well asTrivial Pursuit Genius Edition for the Nokia 3650, 6600, N-Gage, and Siemens SX1.[45]
Ubisoft releasedTrivial Pursuit: Live!, on 17 December 2014 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, on 18 February 2015 for Xbox One andPlayStation 4.[46][47] It is similar to theBuzz! series. On Xbox One and PS4, it is a part from the Hasbro Game Channel, and it was released in physical on theHasbro Family Fun Pack compilation on 25 October 2016. It was ported on 30 October 2018 onNintendo Switch, for theHasbro Game Night compilation in physical or individually for download. A sequel calledTrivial Pursuit Live! 2, published by Ubisoft and developed bySnap Finger Click, was released in 2022 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, andStadia.[48]
Trivial Pursuit was also adapted into a featured game on theNTN system of video-bar-trivia games. The game ran during the early 2000s.
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