Trivial Pursuit Through the Ages – A Complete Guide for 2024

Trivial Pursuit Through the Ages – A Complete Guide for 2024

Trivial Pursuit arrived in the early 1980s with the tagline: “Trivial Pursuit, every home should have one.” Wise words indeed as the general knowledge quiz has gone on to establish itself as one of the best family board games in the UK with updated versions, limited editions and even television shows based on the format.

The italic font used in its iconic logo succeeded in giving the game an air of sophistication while the game itself proved fun for intellectuals as well as quiz enthusiasts. A relatively simple board is jollied up with “pies” – individual pieces that need to be completed with six different-coloured segments won throughout the game.

The premise is simple: keep answering questions correctly, rolling the dice, and moving along the board acquiring a “slice” of pie segment when landing on the right tile. Get a question wrong and the dice roll moves to another player. The first to fill their “pie” with each different colour segment takes the prize.

An average game has 1,200 question cards covering six different general knowledge topics each with its own colour. In the classic version of the game, Entertainment is pink; Arts and Literature is purple; Geography is blue; Sports and Leisure is orange; Science and Nature is green, and History is yellow.

Great game for playing in a group

One of the reasons why Trivial Pursuit continues to rank in the top ten board games of all time is the way that it brings people together for some light-hearted fun.

Easy to set up, not too complex and familiar to so many of us, Trivial Pursuit provides a great focus away from the dominance of screens. From reading out questions in the style of a TV quiz master, to explaining how some obscure knowledge has been acquired, this simple game generates so much fun and can spark great conversation.

How was it developed and by who?

Trivial Pursuit was created in 1979 by two Canadians, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. Both worked in news media, Chris was a picture editor for the Montreal Gazette and Scott was a sports journalist for the Canadian Press.

According to legend, the two men were drinking beer and playing board games when they came up with the idea.

Legal action

Making their game a success was no easy journey not least because they were launching just as the video game market started to take hold. At one point they were even sued by an author of trivia books called Fred Worth. The judge dismissed the claim, ruling that it is not possible to copyright trivia!

Rights purchase

Two years after its initial and largely unsuccessful launch, the rights to Trivial Pursuit were bought by American games manufacturer Selchow and Righter who put major investment into promoting the game which transformed its popularity.

In 2008, the rights to Trivial Pursuit were published by gaming giants, Hasbro for $80 million.

TV movie

In 1988, a TV movie called “Breaking All the Rules” was made about how Trivial Pursuit was brought to life. Directed by David Barlow, and written by William J. Thomas, the movie stars Malcolm Stewart as Chris Haney and Bruce Pirrie as Scott Abbott.

New editions

Part of the reason for Trivial Pursuit’s enduring popularity is the way in which the game has evolved and been updated. The first game was quickly followed by a family edition, making it easier for younger players to get involved.

There now appears to be three main versions: master, family, and the classic edition.

Since launch, more than 100 different versions have been created testing player’s knowledge of television shows and films such as Friends, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. There is even a Beatles edition with 3,000 questions on the Fab Four and their music.

There have also been specially created editions marking the games’ tenth and twentieth birthdays along with a Ruby Edition which celebrates forty years of the general knowledge quiz.

Card Subsidiaries

The creation of card subsidiaries is a highly innovative way to keep people engaged and the game fresh. By using the same board and pieces, it’s possible to increase the stock of cards without filling the game’s cupboard with too many boxes!

Star Trek

One to look out for is a Star-Trek fiftieth anniversary edition. Created in 2016, the board and its components remain the same; however, the questions are all Star-Trek based and the cards come in a specially designed voyager holder.

With only a limited number created made this has since become a collector’s item.

Computer play

Although initially competing with video games, Trivial Pursuit saw itself translated onto the screen quite soon after the physical game started gaining popularity.

The first arcade version of Trivial Pursuit was launched as early as 1984 by arcade game manufacturer, Sente Technologies. A home edition for the PC was also created during the 1980s with the addition of music and picture rounds.

By the late 1990s, Sony Online Entertainment licensed the game from Hasbro Interactive in order to release a downloadable game. In 2014, Ubisoft Entertainment – a French video game publisher – released Trivial Pursuit for a number of home video systems including Sega CD, Wii, Windows Phone, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3.

An online version of the game was released in September 2003.

Currently, the game does not seem to be listed in the App Store although there are a number of trivia-based apps that use the iconic “pie and wedges” as their logo.

Types of questions

Lists exist all over the internet ranking the game’s hardest, easiest, and silliest questions. Test your general knowledge with these five:

Question: What is the scientific name for a rabbit’s tail? Answer: a scut!

Question: What amphibian did Pliny the Elder suggest be tied to the jaw to make teeth firmer? Answer: a frog!

Question: What was broken in Oxford, England on May 6, 1954? Answer: the four-mile minute!

Question: Which famous artist made headlines by shredding a piece of his artwork that was up for auction the moment it was sold? Answer: Banksy!

Question: Whitney Houston’s hit “I will always love you,” was originally written and performed by which musician? Answer: Dolly Parton!

Get game ready!

Next time you’re getting together with family and friends – whether outside for an all-day picnic, or sitting round the fire on a winter’s evening, why not consider this board game classic? Perhaps update it with a subsidiary deck of cards. Get competitive, learn some obscure facts, and showcase your wealth of general knowledge.