United States in 1982. The company that purchased
the game, Selchow and Righter, employed a word-of-
mouth advertising strategy, sending copies of the
game to people in the entertainment industry, radio
personalities, and toy buyers at the 1983 New York
Toy Fair. This promotion strategy led to 1.3 million
copies of the game being sold in 1983; the com-
pany’s goal had been to sell 300,000 copies. By 1984,
Trivial Pursuit had become a fad similar to the Cab-
bage Patch Kids, with copies of the game selling out
as quickly as they hit the shelves. It was estimated that
about 20 million copies of the game were sold in
1984.The New York Timesthat year published several
stories of Trivial Pursuit parties that lasted well into
the night, and confessions from “Trivial Pursuit ad-
dicts.” In 1984, thanks to the popularity of the game,
sales of the adult board games reached $777 million.
In 1986, it was estimated that 1 in 5 families in the
United States owned the game.
Impact Numerous articles were written speculating
about Trivial Pursuit’s popularity, with popular cul-
ture critic Jack Santino suggesting in 1985 that the
game’s devotion among baby boomers was a result of
their generation “developing a nostalgia for a shared
era.” Strong sales continued throughout the decade,
as new versions of the game, such as Silver Screen, Ju-
nior, Genus II, and Baby Boomer were introduced.
Similar games were produced by other board-game
companies in an attempt to cash in on the fad, and
there was an increase in the number of adult board
games being introduced to the market overall.Further Reading
Dougherty, Philip. “Trivial Pursuit Campaign.”The
New York Times, July 17, 1984, p. D19.
Santino, Jack. “From Jogging to Trivia Games, Fads
Create Status.”U.S. News and World Report, Febru-
ary 11, 1985.
“Seeking Board Game Bonanza.”The New York Times,
December 30, 1986. p. D1.
Wulffson, Don. L.Toys! Amazing Stories Behind Some
Great Inventions. New York: Henry Holt, 2000.
Julie Elliott984 Trivial Pursuit The Eighties in America
Students at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, play Trivial Pursuit on an auditorium-sized version of the game on October 17,
1984.(AP/Wide World Photos)