Trivia Game Roundup and Alternatives

Best Trivia Board Games – See Our Top Picks & Alternatives

Many families enjoy playing trivia board games at family get-togethers, and no doubt most of us have played the classic titles time and time again like Scattergories or Trivial Pursuit. While these games have definitely served their purpose to entertain for decades now, there are many wonderful newer game designs that provide unique takes on the classic genre. If you are looking for some excellent trivia games for your game collection, here are 10 that are absolutely worth checking out!

1. Wits & Wagers – A Gambling Trivia Game

Some people shy away from group trivia games/activities because they feel like they aren’t good at trivia or know enough about any given topic to do well. However, one game that gets around that barrier and still allows players to have a really great time without even having to necessarily know the specific answer to trivia questions is Wits & Wagers.

Wits & Wagers at a Glance

Game Type Trivia, Party, Betting and Bluffing, Paper-and-Pencil	Play Time 25 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.3 - 5) Light
Age 10+	Publisher(s) North Star Games and Others	Published 2005
Categories Party / Trivia / Family	Players 2 - 6 (4 Ideal)	Cost $30 Approx.
Our Rating 7/10

Wits & Wagers is a casino-style gambling trivia game where players are trying to have the most money at the end of the game. The game is played over 7 rounds, with each round consisting of a trivia question that is read from a randomly-drawn card. The trivia questions are always number-based, and here are a few examples:

“How much did the average gallon of gasoline cost in the U.S. in 1980?

“In what year was Coca-Cola first produced?”

“How many short stories did Edgar Allen Poe publish?”

After a question is read aloud, players each secretly write a number on their player board. After all the numbers are revealed, they are sorted in numerical order onto a bidding mat where outlying answers have a higher betting odd than the median.

Players then have a chance to place bets on which answer they think is correct, after which point the answer is revealed and players who bet on the correct answer get a payout depending on the indicated odds. The player who personally guessed closest without going over on their player board gets a bonus payout. The game proceeds for 7 rounds, and whoever has the most money at the end of the game wins!

What’s fun about Wits & Wagers is the fact that players can personally be way off or have no idea what an answer is, but can still win the game if they do a good job at betting on which of all the answers is the best guess. Sometimes it’s about betting who you think is most knowledgeable on the subject, and other times it is pure speculation!

Wits & Wagers is technically a 3-7 player game, but you can easily have multiple players on a team. In fact, this is a game that is famously fun at conventions with even dozens of people playing on teams. There are also many versions currently available, including “Wits & Wagers: Family Edition” and “Wits & Wagers: It’s Vegas, Baby!”

2. Blockbuster – A Great Game for Movie Enthusiasts

Packaged in a VHS case, the Blockbuster trivia game is packed full of nostalgia – including a Blockbuster parking lot sign – for anyone who longs for the days of the 90s or early 2000s when weekends usually consisted of a trip to the video store. If you are looking for a trivia game that is specifically geared toward movie knowledge (even for those who are too young to remember Blockbuster or didn’t grow up around one), Blockbuster is one that is packed full of fun and laughs with some highly competitive team play.

Blockbuster at a Glance

Game Type Trivia, Party, Movies Theme	Play Time 30 - 60 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.1 - 5) Light
Age 12+	Publisher(s) Big Potato and Others	Published 2019
Categories Party / Trivia / Family	Players 4 - 10	Cost $16.99 Approx.
Our Rating 7.1/10

The goal of Blockbuster is to be the first team to collect a movie card from each of the 8 different genres, and the game is played over a series of rounds until one team meets the winning condition.

At the start of each round, two players will go head-to-head to name off the greatest number of movies that meet a certain category (like movies that take place in space). These players go back and forth until one player cannot name a movie within the span of 30 seconds.

At that point, the player who won the standoff draws 6 movie cards, and must then decide which 3 will go to their team and which 3 will go to the opposing team. Once each team has 3 movie cards, the two players from the standoff place each of the 3 cards face-down into a different mini game slot: One Word, Quote It, or Perform It.

Starting with the winning team, each team will have 30 seconds to have their team guess the 3 movies correctly in the mini games. In One Word, the active player must get their team to guess correctly by only giving a one-word clue. In Quote It, they provide a quote from the movie. In Perform It, they act out anything from the movie in charades style. If the starting team manages to get all 3 movies and has time remaining, they can also take cards from their opposing team to try and get right.

After the other team has a chance to complete their 30-second challenge, both teams look to see if they’ve collected movie cards of all 8 genres. If they haven’t, the game continues to the next round where another set of players have a chance to go head-to-head. If a team has collected movie cards of all 8 genres, they are the winner of the game.

Blockbuster is a trivia game that definitely has the visual nostalgia factor that will appeal to many people, but unlike some other gimmicky mass market titles, this is one that actually has a decent game within the box that is fun and highly engaging. If you and your friends are big fans of movies, this is definitely one to give a try and can be found for a very inexpensive price.

3. Timeline – Can You Guess the Order of Events?

If you’ve ever found yourself in a heated debate with a family member about the timeline of historical events, there is a trivia card game just for you: Timeline. This is an ultra-simple card game where the goal is to get rid of all of your cards by correctly guessing where your cards fall into the timeline in the middle of the table.

This is an ultra-simple card game where the goal is to get rid of all of your cards by correctly guessing where your cards fall into the timeline in the middle of the table.

Timeline at a Glance

Game Type Trivia, Party, Educational, Card Game	Play Time 15 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.2 - 5) Light
Age 8+	Publisher(s) Asmodee and Others	Published 2012
Categories Party / Trivia / Family	Players 2 - 8 (Ideal 4)	Cost $9.99 Approx.
Our Rating 7/10

Players start the game each with 4 event cards that give the name of an event with a picture, and one event card is flipped over from the draw deck into the middle of the table showing both the name of an event and the year.

On a player’s turn, they simply pick one of their 4 event cards and try to correctly place it before, after, or in-between the event timeline (for example, was the first Academy Awards held before or after Starbucks was founded?). Once they’ve chosen where to place the card, they flip the card over revealing the year. If they were correct, the card remains in the middle of the table. If they were incorrect, the card is discarded and the player draws a new card.

At the end of each round, players check to see if one player is out of cards. If one player is out of cards, they win the game. If two or more players are out of cards, the other players are eliminated and the remaining players draw one more card and continue until there is only one winner.

The wonderful thing about Timeline is that the core game idea makes up an entire series of games that cover a wide range of topics. Currently, available Timeline titles include: Events, Inventions, British History, Music & Cinema, Americana, and General Interest. Some people even go as far as mixing/matching cards from different sets for some added difficulty!

4. Fauna – How Well Do You Know Your Animals?

Fauna is an animal-centric trivia game designed by Friedemann Friese, well known for games like Power Grid and Fabled Fruit, in which players are rewarded for both guessing answers correctly but also for being close to the right answer. This is a game that definitely has a hobby board game feel to it, but also is one that can make people feel smart for having good guesses, even if they aren’t 100% sure of the answer.

This is a game that definitely has a hobby board game feel to it, but also is one that can make people feel smart for having good guesses, even if they aren’t 100% sure of the answer.

Fauna at a Glance

Game Type Animal Theme, Trivia, Party, Educational, Card Game, Betting and Bluffing	Play Time 45 - 60 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.5 - 5) Light
Age 8+	Publisher(s) HUCH! and Others	Published 2008
Categories Trivia / Family	Players 2 - 6 (Ideal 4)	Cost $43.99 Approx.
Our Rating 8.3/10

In Fauna, players compete to get the greatest number of points, which they collect over the course of the game for guessing either correctly, or adjacent to the correct answer, on a number of categories pertaining to particular animals.

Each round, players will be presented with a different type of animal, and will take turns placing a cube of their color (each player begins the game with 7) out onto the game board to make an educated guess, or passing if they are out of cubes or do not wish to place anymore. The game board consists of a world map with different regions, and also various measurement scales; players can place their cube onto an empty region or onto an empty measurement space as specified on the animal card, including length, weight, and tail length.

Once all players have passed, the animal card is pulled from the box, revealing the correct region and measurements. Players receive 7 points for correctly-placed cubes, and 3 points for cubes adjacent to the correct region or measurement. Players retrieve their cubes back to their supply for correctly-guessed answers and lose their cubes placed on incorrect answers to the reserve. Then, any player who lost cubes will receive one back from the supply. If a player ever has less than 3 cubes, they draw back up to 3.

The game will continue until the end of a round in which one player reaches a certain number of points, as determined by the number of players. At the end of that round, whoever has the most points is the winner of Fauna with serious animal-expertise bragging rights!

Fauna is a game that is both educational and well suited for a variety of gaming occasions. Hobby gamers will likely appreciate the game feeling similar to a worker-placement or area-control game with having to place cubes on the board to claim spots, and casual gamers will have lots of fun with trying to outguess their family members with their animal knowledge. Friedemann Friese definitely has a diverse range of games in his portfolio, from heavy Euro strategy games like Power Grid and Faiyum to light-weight trivia games like Fauna and Terra!

5. Smart 10 – A Great Trivia Game to Play at the Pub

Sometimes it’s fun to try and get in a quick game with your friends while you wait for food at the pub, but it’s hard to find a game that you can quickly pull out with minimal setup and one that is also a lot of fun. Smart 10 (2020 Spiel der Spiele Game of the Year Winner) is a trivia party-style game that fits this category quite well and is one that you can easily pass around – even if you are standing and waiting in line.

Smart 10 is a trivia party-style game that fits this category quite well and is one that you can easily pass around – even if you are standing and waiting in line.

Smart 10 at a Glance

Game Type Trivia, Push Your Luck	Play Time 20 - 120 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.3 - 5) Light
Age 10 +	Publisher(s) Asmodee and Others	Published 2017
Categories Trivia / Family / Party	Players 2 - 8 (Ideal 3 - 4)	Cost $14.99 Approx.
Our Rating 8.6/10

In Smart 10, players either work alone or in pairs to try and be the first person/team to reach 30 points. Players will get points by guessing trivia answers correctly in a round where there is one question with 10 possible answers, each of which has an answer marker that players remove and keep if they guess correctly.

On a player’s/team’s turn, they can decide whether to guess an answer, or pass. If they pass, they keep all of their point markers from that round, and if they guess an answer incorrectly, they lose their answer markers they have collected so far.

The game itself is made up of a plastic box where there is a circular window that lets players see the trivia question and a portion of the 10 possible answers that correspond with the answer markers. For example, the question in the middle might be something like “Which is an original Netflix series?” And each of the 10 possible answers are a different TV show. In this case, a player/team would choose one of the shows that they believe is an original Netflix series, and remove the answer marker which will reveal whether it is true or false.

An example of a different type of question is “Rank these US presidents chronologically (1=most recent).” Players will then look at the 10 US presidents and decide which of the remaining presidents listed served in office most recently, and players continue passing the game around until either all answer markers have been removed and/or all players have passed.

Play continues in this fashion until one player/team has reached 30 points at the end of a round, and whoever has the most points wins the game!

Smart 10 has a wide variety of trivia categories represented, and also many different question/answer types, which makes for a really fun and engaging trivia experience. It’s designed in a way where you can often still make educated guesses even if you aren’t 100% sure on the answer, which is a way for you to push your luck in order to try and collect more answer markers. Because the game itself is a small/portable box that you can easily pass around, this game does make for a perfect game to bring along to the pub with friends.

6. Half Truth – A Trivia Game from an Interesting Design Duo

Half Truth is a trivia game with names on the box that will intrigue a lot of people. One is Ken Jennings, known for having the longest winning streak on the American trivia show Jeopardy. The other designer is none other than Richard Garfield, best known for being the designer of Magic: The Gathering, among many other games. The third name on the box that will interest hobby board gamers is the artist Ian O’Toole, whose artwork has appeared in games like Lisboa, Black Angel, and Irish Gauge.

Half Truth at a Glance

Game Type Trivia, Push Your Luck, Dice	Play Time 30 - 45 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.5 - 5) Light
Age 12 +	Publisher(s) Nighthawk Interactive LLC	Published 2020
Categories Trivia / Party	Players 2 - 6 (Ideal 4 - 6)	Cost $34.99 Approx.
Our Rating 7.2/10

In Half Truth, players try to push their luck and bet on correct trivia answers in order to have the most points by the end of the game. The game is played over 3 rounds, each of which will end as soon as one player reaches the end of the point tracker.

Each round might consist of multiple trivia questions with 6 possible answers, with 3 being true and 3 being false. Players will secretly pick answers and can decide to guess on 1, 2, or 3 answers. Once the correct answers are revealed, any player who guessed only 1 answer and got it correct will move up a number of spaces on the point track based on the die rolled at the beginning of the round. If a player pushed their luck and guessed either 2 or 3 answers correctly, they get additional point chips as well. If a player guessed any answers incorrectly, they get nothing! The game continues until the end of the 3^rd round, at which point the player with the most points is the winner of the game.

Each round might consist of multiple trivia questions with 6 possible answers, with 3 being true and 3 being false. Players will secretly pick answers and can decide to guess on 1, 2, or 3 answers.

Having Ken Jennings involved in its game design, you can expect many of the trivia questions to be challenging, but the fact that each question has 6 possible answers means that you can make extremely educated guesses. But the big question is: do you play it safe and guess on only 1 correct answer, or do you go all-in on 3? Half Truth is a game that could make a great gift for any Jeopardy fans or Richard Garfield fans in your life.

7. Anomia – A Fast-Paced Trivia Game

Are you a fan of fast-paced games like speed, but also enjoy games that test your quick-witted trivia knowledge? If so, Anomia might be the game that you are looking for that makes for a great party game (2016 Årets Spel Best Adult Game Winner).

Anomia at a Glance

Game Type Party, Word Game, Pattern Recognition, Speed Matching	Play Time 30 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.1 - 5) Light
Age 10 +	Publisher(s) Anomia Press and Others	Published 2010
Categories Trivia / Party / Word	Players 3 - 6	Cost $14.99 Approx.
Our Rating 7.3/10

Anomia is a tense game where players take turns flipping over cards from a deck that has both a category and symbol. If a player flips over a card and it matches a symbol in front of another player, that immediately triggers a face-off where players try to be the first to provide an answer to the category of the other player. For example, a player’s card might say “two-letter word” or “fairy tale character,” which the other player would need to give an example of. The player who gives the first (correct) answer takes the other player’s card and places it face-down in their supply.

Anomia is a tense game where players take turns flipping over cards from a deck that has both a category and symbol.

There are also wild cards that can match up two different symbols in order to force players into a face-off. Also, if a player ever loses a card and the card below that one matches with another player, that can cause a second face-off, and so on.

Players continue taking turns flipping cards over until the deck is depleted, and at that point the winner of the game is the person with the most cards in their face-down supply.

Anomia is a game where you have to pay very close attention to the cards that get revealed if you want to have a chance at winning the game, and when you are put into a face-off with another player, you only have a split second to think about an answer to the category on your opponent’s card. While the categories don’t seem particularly difficult, it can be hard to think super quick when the situations arise. If you enjoy these sorts of games, this is definitely one to check out.

8. Stay Cool – A Game That Will Make Your Brain Explode

Stay Cool is a trivia game that makes you have to use different parts of your brain and mentally juggle things simultaneously in order to have the most points at the end of three rounds. This is a game that will absolutely make your brain explode with frustration and laughter as you try and keep track of everything going on around you, and definitely one of the most unique trivia games on this list.

Stay Cool at a Glance

Game Type Party, Trivia, Real-Time	Play Time 10 - 30 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.1 - 5) Light
Age 12 +	Publisher(s) Le Scorpion Masqué and Others	Published 2019
Categories Trivia / Party / Word	Players 3 - 7	Cost $22.99 Approx.
Our Rating 8.1/10

In Stay Cool, players take turns as the active player who has to guess the answers to trivia questions. However, they must try to answer questions simultaneously as the player to their right and the player to their left read them questions at the same time. One set of questions they will need to answer verbally, while the other set of questions they will have to spell out using letter dice in front of them. Meanwhile, another player keeps track of a 30-second round timer which they will flip over 4 times, and the active player has that amount of time to try and guess as many questions from both lists as possible. The number of questions they get right from both lists are multiplied to give them a score for the round.

In Stay Cool, players take turns as the active player who has to guess the answers to trivia questions. However, they must try to answer questions simultaneously as the player to their right and the player to their left read them questions at the same time.

The 2nd round works the same way, except the active player is also in charge of flipping their own timer. If the timer runs out and they haven’t flipped it, their turn ends and they still get points based on the questions they answered correctly.

During the 3^rd round, the timer is hidden behind the box, and the active player must still decide when to flip it over, having to mentally guess how much time has passed since the last time they flipped it.

At the end of 3 rounds, the player with the most points wins the game!

Stay Cool is a quick game that will have people dying with laughter as it pushes the limits of the brain’s ability to multitask. This is definitely not your typical straight-forward trivia game, and if that is what you are looking for, this might be a game for you to avoid. However, if you are looking for a trivia game that is more party-oriented, and with some very unique twists, this is one you will want to take a look at!

9. TAGS – How Many Categories Can You Guess?

TAGS is fast-paced trivia game that makes you have to think quickly about things that match different categories but also words that start with certain letters – all in the span of 15 seconds. Sounds simple, right?

TAGS at a Glance

Game Type Party, Trivia, Word, Real-Time	Play Time 20 - 40 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.3 - 5) Light
Age 10 +	Publisher(s) HeidelBÄR Games and Others	Published 2018
Categories Trivia / Party / Word	Players 2 - 4+	Cost $31.99 Approx.
Our Rating 7.1/10

The game board in TAGS is made up of a grid of white, blue, and black marbles. On the top of the board are 5 different random categories, and on the left are 4 different random letters. On a player’s turn, they must look at the game board and name words as quickly as they can in order to take marbles off of the game board where the categories and letters intersect.

For example, a category might be something like “things people buy regularly” or “occupations” and if the letter on the left is M, the player might guess “milk” and “meteorologist.” If a player guesses correctly (i.e., if another player doesn’t object), they take the marble that corresponds to the category/letter. If a player takes the last marble in a column, they also take the category tag from the top of the board and put it into their supply.

Marbles are worth points depending on color – whites are worth 1 point, blues are worth 2 points, and blacks are worth 3 points. Players also get points for tags in their collection at the end of the game based on the number of stars shown (the greater the difficulty, the more stars a tag is worth).

A round ends when someone has taken the last marble or if all players are unable to guess correctly. The game continues for a number of rounds equal to the number of players, and the winner of the game is the player with the greatest number of points.

What appears to be a very easy and straight-forward trivia game is actually quite challenging. Given the fact that players only have 15 seconds on their turn to name words, it can be hard to think of more than a couple words that quickly! Also, players have to think about taking marbles that will be worth more points, or trying to be the last player to take a marble in a given column. To adjust the difficulty level, however, players can decide to play with tags of a lower or higher complexity rating depending on the group.  

10. Color Brain – A Trivia Game All About Colors!

Are you looking for a trivia game that flexes a different part of your brain than your standard trivia questions? Color Brain is not a trivia game about remembering facts or dates or names – it’s one where you have to remember colors that make up certain things. For instance, what colors make up Superman’s suit? Or what colors make up the Colombian flag?

Color Brain at a Glance

Game Type Party, Trivia, Simultaneous Action Selection, Voting	Play Time 30 mins	Skill/Complexity (1.1 - 5) Light
Age 8 +	Publisher(s) Big Potato and Others	Published 2017
Categories Trivia / Party / Family	Players 2 - 12	Cost $24.99 Approx.
Our Rating 7.2/10

In Color Brain, players are split into teams and the goal is to be the first team to make it to 10 points. Each round, a card will be revealed and players will have to select a certain number of color cards from the 11 in their hand based on the question, and place those cards face-down. Once all teams have guessed, the question card is flipped over to reveal the correct colors. Each team who guessed correctly will get points equal to the number of teams who guessed wrong, and play continues until one team wins with 10 points!

This game was a 2020 Spiel des Jahres Recommended title, and likely because this game is so incredibly simple but also provides an enormous level of fun around the table as players try to remember just exactly what colors are correct. When the answer is revealed, everyone who got it wrong will groan as they realize how obvious it was. This is a game that can either be played with individual players or with teams, and like many trivia games – the more the merrier!

David Harriman

Dave's passion for board games began as a kid when his uncle taught him how to play Chess. He eventually discovered the world of hobby board gaming as a young adult with Settlers of Catan which sparked his interest in discovering what kinds of other games were out there. While Dave is always willing to try new types of games, his favorite games tend to be mid-weight Euro games – The Castles of Burgundy, Viticulture, and Orleans, to name a few.

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