Trivial Pursuit thumbnail 1
Trivial Pursuit thumbnail 2
+3
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at Young V&A
Play Gallery, the Arcade, Case 1

This object consists of 9 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Trivial Pursuit

Board Game
ca. 1988 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The game of Trivial Pursuit was invented by two Canadian journalists, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. The story goes that on 15 December 1979 the two friends got together for a game of Scrabble but found that some of the pieces were missing. They decided to invent their own game and the result was Trivial Pursuit. They involved a couple of other people, Chris' brother John and Ed Werner, and founded a company, Horn Abbott, to publish and promote the game. Early production and distribution proved a loss making exercise but gradually over the next three years the game became more and more popular. In 1984, 20 million games were sold in the United States.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 9 parts.

  • Playing Board
  • Box
  • Box
  • Bags (Containers)
  • Rules (Instructions)
  • Cards
  • Boxes (Containers)
  • Display Arrangement
  • Dice
Titles
  • Trivial Pursuit (manufacturer's title)
  • Master Game Genus Edition (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Printed card and paper, injection-moulded plastics
Brief description
Board game, 'Trivial Pursuit', made by Parker, England, late 1980s.
Physical description
Boxed board game.

The board unfolds twice to form a playing area which consists of a colour printed paper sheet. The background is green and the playing area forms a six spoked wheel with the playing spaces marked in six different colours - blue, pink, yellow, brown, green and orange - as well as black and white. The spaces also have black ink drawings on them. The reverse of the board is black with gold lettering.

Two card boxes, each with a white base containing colour printed cards. The lid is covered with green paper and has yellow lettering. One box has a circular red sticker on the end of its base.

Clear plastic bag with two areas of yellow colour that have green lettering. The top of the bag has a plastic strip locking system. The bag contains six plastic circular containers, each divided into six triangular compartments. There are seven triangular pieces of each of the six colours - blue, pink, yellow, brown, green and orange. The bag also contains one white die with black spots.

An almost square sheet of pale orange coloured paper printed in green. One side lays out the rules, the other has Notes on Play and an illustration in black of Oliver Twist asking for more.

Sheet of paper plain white on one side and colour printed on the other showing an explanation of the categories of questions. The paper is designed to be folded.

A square card box consisting of a lid, a base and an insert. The outside of the lid is covered with green paper printed in yellow. The outside of the base is covered with white paper, printed on the underside in black with a picture of the game laid out for play and a short general text. The card insert is a black H shape deigned to hold the two boxes of cards.
Dimensions
  • Board width: 508mm
  • Board depth: 505mm
  • Card boxes height: 90mm
  • Card boxes width: 69mm
  • Card boxes depth: 158mm
  • Notes on play width: 200mm
  • Notes on play depth: 210mm
  • Instructions width: 176mm
  • Instructions depth: 259mm
  • Box height: 85mm
  • Box width: 168mm
  • Box depth: 169mm
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Trivial Pursuit' (Printed in each of the four corners of the playing surface and once on the reverse)
  • 'Horn Abbot / International / Genus Edition'
Gallery label
It took several years for the game of Trivial Pursuit to become "an overnight success". It was invented in 1979 by four Canadian friends. At the 1982 Toy Fair in New York interest was slight but growing. In 1984 the game sold over 20 million copies.
Summary
The game of Trivial Pursuit was invented by two Canadian journalists, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. The story goes that on 15 December 1979 the two friends got together for a game of Scrabble but found that some of the pieces were missing. They decided to invent their own game and the result was Trivial Pursuit. They involved a couple of other people, Chris' brother John and Ed Werner, and founded a company, Horn Abbott, to publish and promote the game. Early production and distribution proved a loss making exercise but gradually over the next three years the game became more and more popular. In 1984, 20 million games were sold in the United States.
Collection
Accession number
B.61:1 to 7-2004

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Record createdApril 14, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest