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Are trivia games dead? & If Trivia Pursuit was made today (for the 1st time) how much would it cost to make?

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SL6
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I hope that I`ve posted this in the right section?!

I was just wondering if you think that trivia games have had there day and aren t as popular as they were a few years ago?

The reason I ask is that I have developed a trivia based game which is a bit more game than the general run of the mill trivia games and am wondering if they`ll still be a big appetite/market for it when eventually I get it ready to sell. I normally keep an eye out for what games are available and I couldn t help but notice that Argos (a well established nationwide shopping chain in the UK) has stopped stocking trivia pursuit in its latest catalogue which leads me to one other question...

Would anyone be able to take a guess and give an estimate for how much you`d think a game of trivia pursuit would cost to make in this day and age if it was a new game on the market and the run was for about 500 or even 100?

brisingre
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Not too expensive

Trivial pursuit had very few plastic components, no details on those plastic components, and while it had a lot of cards, they were very simply made. I have no idea what industry prices are like, but those aren't expensive components.

As for whether trivia games have had their time, I don't know. I don't really play them. Party games are doing great (Apples to Apples, Cranium) but people are getting stupider. Trivial Pursuit has been replaced by whatever the pop-culture trivia equivalent is.

Willi B
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Joined: 07/28/2008
Alive with spin...

Wits and Wagers is an example of how to do a new take on the old trivia game.... the trivia questions are harder numerical answers..... players then bet on the answers in a tiered system that bases the odds off of the middle guess. More extreme guesses are higher odds.... you don't have to be right (you get a few chips if you are correct) but you have to wager shrewdly.

gameprinter
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It would be expensive.

Assuming that there are 250 - 500 cards, a board, square box, regular pawns and dice, a rules sheet and a platform, you'd probably spend $10,000 - $15,000 for production of 1000 games in the US. Producing 500 games would cost you about 75-85% of that total. For 100 games, you'd have to go digital, and I don't have any info on that.

The main cost is the cards. A game like Apples to Apples has a zillion cards. Even though they printed 1 million games or so last year, the price from China was about $4.00/game - very high for that number of games and from China. On 1000 games, the cost of 250 cards alone is about $4.90 in the U.S.

Sorry to bear bad news, but I hope the info is useful!

hoywolf
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Thinking

I feel that the trivia game market is getting smaller as fewer and fewer people want to battle their trivia out with someone, not to mention studies show that Americans are getting less smart per generation. Also games like Cranium makes me uphappy about the singing/song one, because my age prevents me from knowing all these old songs, boo to generation gap.

If you want a good trivia game, look at Wits and Wager, that is a great game, because even if you don't know the answer you can still play and even win the round, and if you do know the answer then you get extra reward. If you can some how get this mechanic of still being able to play even if you dont know the answer then you are on to something. (Note: Wits and Wager is travia, but all the answers are a number).

SL6
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Hmmm interesting and slightly

Hmmm interesting and slightly scary responses!!

My game as it currently exists in its newest prototyped form has a lot more extra pieces & cards than that of the original trivia pursuit game ~ which means it looks like it will be quite expensive to make for short run of games... however I really believe that it will sell (but then again don`t we all!?!) and that if the cost of a small run of games isn t too prohibitive I really believe I`ve got to take a punt and get it made, even though most of the advice I`ve read could be summed up in 3 words .... don t self publish!

But if we really believe in something strongly we`ve got to try our best to bring it fruition don t we?

InvisibleJon
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Look for a publisher?

SL6 wrote:
...most of the advice I've read could be summed up in 3 words .... Don't self publish!

But if we really believe in something strongly we've got to try our best to bring it fruition don't we?

Shopping your game around to publishing houses is a valid path to take, too. You may get some very insightful feedback in the process, without the risks of self-publishing. I've had a modicum of success following this path, and I hope to accumulate more.

However, it's your call. I respect your ambition and willingness to try self-publishing and wish you the best of luck.

arkantos
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Updates

Something not mentioned yet, that seems obvious to me, is that trivia games have a shelf life....today's trivia is tomorrow's "Who knows, who cares".

The games also rapidly get stale for the owners....they learn what the correct answers are from playing, and it is just a memory game based on previous play, rather than actual knowledge from things like being well-read or having a life.

Soon, no one is going to have a life, or care about trivia. We're going to be shivering in the cold, starving, sick with bird flu and fighting over the meager scraps of what is left of civilization.
Remember when they said, "There's no future"? Well, this is it.
Create a game that teaches people how to kill, that will sell.

Zzzzz
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arkantos wrote: Remember when

arkantos wrote:

Remember when they said, "There's no future"? Well, this is it.
Create a game that teaches people how to kill, that will sell.

I would NOT use those exact words, but there are studies and proof that both *violence* and *sex* do often sell things.

Though I am sure that no one (hopefully no one), would venture to truly TEACH someone to kill via a game. The idea of teaching the process of killing via a game actually disgusts me.

Yes you can argue games like Grand Theft Auto, or even *military games* that do lean toward this direction, but again an actual game that outlines such a topic would be a horrible idea.

brisingre
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Joined: 01/21/2009
Hmmm...

Grim, cynical, angry, and at some point played Age of Mythology. I like you...

I tend to agree with you about there being no future, but bird flu is not your threat. So far, there have been very few human cases. I'm more worried about nuclear war, with the direction America has been going over the past years...

I'm not sure if you can actually sell a game about killing. People buy games for entertainment, not education. There's also the logistical problem of capturing violence in a boardgame. No video game has really done it, and they have a much greater toolset than we have.

I'd like to agree with the person who mentioned trivia games turning into memory games, and point out that the only way around this is to include a ton of questions, and even that won't last forever.

boardgameguru
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Company?

What Chinese publishing company was it produced those Apples to Applese games anyone know?

simpson
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Quote:Are trivia games

Quote:
Are trivia games dead?

Trivia games aren't dead, they are just cultured now. Game design has come along way from "making a game" to "making a game for this audience". Trivia games are leaning away from trivial fact to social fact and is evident in almost every social networking site out there.

Where you might have had "who was the commander in chief during the war of 1812?", a newer game will ask "who won american idol in 2005?". Trivia questions are still there, they are just more socially relevant to today's events.
People don't need to know encyclopedic facts anymore -- that's the internet's job now.

What people do know are their hobbies & obsessions. Current trivia games let them exercise that knowledge base. Ask yourself why a circa 80s era Trivial Pursuit game SHOULD sell as well as a Hanna Montana Scene-It game.

simpson

The Game Crafter
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POD

I agree with everything that's been said here. People are getting dumber, and game production is expensive. I think the only way you're going to pull this off is to do Print On Demand. The reason is that the audience for hard core trivia games is getting smaller. It may turn out that your interesting mechanics prove that it's a hit, and then the print on demand model will give you the numbers to convince a publisher to pick you up for full run.

gameprinter
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Apples to Apples

boardgameguru wrote:
What Chinese publishing company was it produced those Apples to Applese games anyone know?

I have no idea. I'm sure Mattel has a relationship with someone or even owns their own plant in China. I only know (read: think I know) the pricing because I was quoting on the game for U.S. manufacture.

Traditionally, companies never disclose who prints for them. This may change with the CPSIA (new safety laws in the US), but the labeling requirements are confusing. The law seems to state that the "final assembler" is the manufacturer of record, but most big companies do not want someone else's name on their box. I don't blame them, either. If the law is applied such that a contract manufacturer's name has to be listed on the box, you'll get a whole lot of manufacturing leads by this time next year!

bluesea
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brisingre wrote: I'm not sure

brisingre wrote:

I'm not sure if you can actually sell a game about killing. People buy games for entertainment, not education. There's also the logistical problem of capturing violence in a boardgame. No video game has really done it, and they have a much greater toolset than we have.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42112
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/398981
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/400376
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/400749/page/1

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