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 (now part of Hasbro) 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 (such as Star Wars, Saturday Night Live, and The Lord of the Rings movies).
How to Play[]
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 colour to readily identify itself; in the classic version of Trivial Pursuit, these are Geography (blue), Entertainment (pink), History (yellow), Arts &Literature (originally brown, later purple), Science & Nature (green), and Sports & Leisure (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 in Trivial Pursuit are round and divided into six sections, similar to a pie. A small plastic wedge, sometimes called cheese, 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 colours, and the centre 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 colour 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 colour, 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 colour 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 centre of the board and try again on the next turn.
How to Play Trivial Pursuit
Revisions, Editions and Expansions[]
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - Genus Edition (Original) (1981, Master Game)
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - Genus II Edition (1984, Subsidiary Card Set)
Geography
Entertainment
History
Art & Literature
Science & Nature
Sports & Leisure
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - Young Players Edition (1984, released in both Master Game and Subsidiary Card Set editions)
People & Places
Good Times
Science & Technology
Art & Culture
Natural World
Games & Hobbies
Trivial Pursuit - RPM Edition (1985, Subsidiary Card Set, UK version also released with different box art, unknown if questions differ from US version)
Cover Notes
Your Mother Should Know
Fiftes
Sixties
After the Beatles
Anything Goes
Trivial Pursuit - Welcome to America Edition (1985, Subsidiary Card Set)
America
Americans
Journey through America
Ship to Shore
Made in America
The Melting Pot
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - Walt Disney Family Edition (1985, Subsidiary Card Set)
World of Places
World of Music
World of People
World of Fantasy
World of Science
World of Leisure
Trivial Pursuit Featuring the Magic of Disney - Family Edition (1986, partial re-release of 1985 edition in both Master Game and Subsidiary Card Set editions)
World of Places
World of Music
World of People
World of Fantasy
World of Science
World of Leisure
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - The 1960's (1986, released in both Master Game and Subsidiary Card Set editions)
Personalities
Entertainment
Headlines
Music
Sports & Leisure
Wild Card
Trivial Pursuit for Juniors - First Edition (1987, Master Game)
Geography
Entertainment
History
Art & Literature
Science & Nature
Sports & Leisure & Food
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - A Genus Edition Volume II (1987) - Coleco Games
Geography
Entertainment
History
Art & Literature
Science & Nature
Sports & Leisure
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - A Genus Edition Volume II (1987, revised 1989) - Parker Brothers
Geography
Entertainment
History
Art & Literature
Science & Nature
Sports & Leisure
Family Edition (1988, Later editions changed Places to People & Places, UK Version)
Places
Good Times
Yesterdays
Art & Culture
Created World
Games and Leisure
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - The Vintage Years (1989, released in both Master Game and Subsidiary Card Set editions)
Products & Progress
Sports & Leisure
History
Personalities
Entertainment
Wild Card
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - The 1980's (1989, released in both Master Game and Subsidiary Card Set editions)
Personalities
Entertainment
In the News
That's Life
Sports & Leisure
Wild Card
Trivial Pursuit for Juniors - Second Edition (1990)
Every Day
Nature
Stories & Songs
Science
Fun
Games
Trivial Pursuit Master Game - TV Edition (1991, released in both Master Game and Subsidiary Card Set editions)
Classics
Sitcoms
Drama
Kids & Games
Stars
Wild Card
The Year in Review 1992 (1992, Subsidiary Card Set)
