Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's
ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was
created in December 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo
editor for Montreal's The Gazette, and Scott Abbott, a sports editor for The
Canadian Press. After finding pieces of their Scrabble game missing, they
decided to create their own game. With the help of John Haney and Ed Werner,
they completed development of the game, which was released in 1982.
In North America, the game's popularity peaked in 1984, a year in which over 20
million games were sold. The rights to the game were initially licensed to
Selchow and Righter in 1982, then to Parker Brothers in 1988, after initially
being turned down by the Virgin Group; in 2008 Hasbro bought the full rights,
for US$80 million. As of 2004, nearly 88 million games had been sold in 26
countries and 17 languages. Northern Plastics of Elroy, Wisconsin produced
30,000,000 games between 1983 and 1985. In December 1993, Trivial Pursuit was
named to the "Games Hall of Fame" by Games magazine. An online version of
Trivial Pursuit was launched in September 2003.
Dozens of question sets have been released for the game. The question
cards are organized into themes; for instance, in the standard Genus question
set, questions in green deal with science and nature. Some question sets
have been designed for younger players, and others for a specific time period or
as promotional tie-ins. Gameplay
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 of Trivial Pursuit, the
Genus edition, these are Geography, Entertainment, History, Arts &
Literature, Science & Nature, and Sports & Leisure. 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 in Trivial Pursuit
are round and divided into six sections, similar to a pie. A small, plastic wedge
can be placed into each of these sections to mark each player's progress.
During the game, players move their playing pieces around a track which is
shaped like a wheel with six spokes. This track is divided into spaces of
different colors, and the center of the board is a hexagonal "hub" space. At the
end of each spoke is a "category headquarters" space. When a player's
counter lands on a square, the player answers a question according to the
color of the square, which corresponds to one of the six categories. If the
player answers the question correctly, their turn continues; if the player's
piece was on one of the category headquarters spaces, he/she collect a
wedge of the same color, which fits into the playing piece. Some spaces say "roll
again," giving an extra roll of the die to the player. The hub is a "wild"
space; a player landing here may answer a question in the category of his/her
choice. Any number of playing pieces may occupy the same 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.
Once a player has collected one wedge of each color and filled up his/her playing
piece, he or she must return to the hub and answer a question in a category
selected by the other players. If this question is answered correctly, that
player wins the game. Otherwise, the player must leave the center of the
board and try again on the next turn. Editions
Over the years, numerous editions of Trivial Pursuit have been produced,
usually specializing in various fields. The original version is known as the
Genus edition. Several other general knowledge editions have followed. Some
include, Junior Edition, All-Star Sports, Baby Boomers, 1980s, All About
the 80s, and 1990s. In the United Kingdom, Trivial Pursuit
players complained that the 2012 version of the game was "dumbed down" in
comparison to previous editions, with easier questions and more focus on
celebrities and show business. Legal action
= Fred Worth lawsuit= In October 1984, Fred L. Worth, author
of The Trivia Encyclopedia, Super Trivia, and Super Trivia II, filed a
$300 million lawsuit against the distributors of Trivial 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 and deliberately placed misinformation. One of the questions in
Trivial Pursuit was "What was Columbo's first name?" with the answer "Philip".
That information had been fabricated to catch anyone who might try to violate
his copyright. The inventors of Trivial 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 the Trivial Pursuit inventors. The
decision was appealed, and in September 1987 the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit upheld the ruling. Worth asked the Supreme Court of the
United States to review the case, but the Court declined, denying certiorari
in March 1988. = David Wall lawsuit=
In 1994, David Wall of Cape 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 near Sydney, 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 a Trivial 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, the Nova Scotia
Supreme Court ruled against Wall. Adaptations
= Television= A version of Trivial Pursuit, hosted by
Wink Martindale, aired on The Family Channel in the United States from 1993
to 1995. A syndicated version entitled Trivial Pursuit: America Plays aired
from 2008 to 2009 and hosted by Christopher Knight. In September 2004,
Roger Lodge hosted a sports trivia game show on ESPN entitled ESPN Trivial
Pursuit, which aired five episodes. BBC Television produced a Trivial
Pursuit game show based on the game in the UK hosted by Rory McGrath. Another
British version was hosted on The Family Channel by Tony Slattery. Birgit
Lechtermann hosted a version for VOX in Germany from 1993 to 1994.
In 1988, a made-for-television movie entitled Breaking all the Rules: The
Creation of Trivial Pursuit aired. Treated largely as a comedy, the movie
featured the music of Jimmy Buffett and portrayed the creators of the game as
three beer-loving Canadians. In Spain, a version of the show called
Trivial Pursuit: Spain Plays premiered in September 2008 on Antena 3.
= Arcade game= In 1984, Bally Sente released a Trivial
Pursuit arcade game. Like the board game, several variants were also
released. = Home computer games=
British software company Domark released a home computer version for multiple
formats during the 1980s. This version included pictorial and musical questions
but was otherwise mostly faithful to the mechanics of the original board game.
Later, Domark released another version called Trivial Pursuit: A New Beginning,
also across multiple formats. This version featured a plot about the dying
earth and significantly altered gameplay mechanics.
Hasbro Interactive released a "Millenium Edition" in 1999 with three different
modes, and different categories: Classic Pursuit: Played just like the
board game. A "QUICKPLAY" option was also available, where, to speed the game
up, every question would be a wedge question. Up to six can play. The winner
is the first one to earn all six wedges, land back in the center hub by exact
count, and then give a correct answer. Party Pursuit: Up to three can play. The
computer randomly spins categories until there are three to choose from. A
correct answer by the first player to buzz in earns the wedge; a wrong answer
gives the opposition a chance, as well as take away any wedges earned in a
category. The first player to earn all six wedges wins the game. After 20
questions, the computer begins selecting categories for the players.
Point Pursuit: Same as Party Pursuit, except point scores are kept, and
questions range from 250 to 1,000 points. Players can also wager any or
all of their scores on one final question. Bonus points are earned for a
wedge and for how much or how little time it took to answer a question.
There are also three different ways to answer the questions:
Multiple choice, where the players press the numbers 1, 2, 3, or 4 on the
keyboard. Spelling accuracy: loose, where players
must type in the answers but may be awarded the correct answers if the
computer knows what's being said. Spelling accuracy: strict, where
spelling must be exactly right to count. This game featured a total of seven
voice-overs, one host, and one for each of the six categories: People & Places,
Arts & Entertainment, History, Science & Nature, Sports & Leisure, and Wild Card.
= Video games= Trivial Pursuit was released for a
number of home video systems, including Sega CD, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2,
PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. References
External links Official site
Exhaustive list of editions Trivial Pursuit rules
Trivial Pursuit at BoardGameGeek Inventors and history
CBC Archives CBC Television on the invention of Trivial Pursuit