Inside John Haney’s Caledon farmhouse, under a clock in his “man cave,” hangs a photograph of three siblings on a Spanish street, caught in a moment just before heading to the beach to write questions.
asserted
photograph → hang → questions
It was 1980, and John, the eldest, his brother Chris and their sister Mary were turning the world around them into trivia for a board game idea that Chris and his friend Scott Abbott had sketched on a piece of paper in a Montreal kitchen the previous winter.
asserted
Chris → turn → kitchen
Chris and Mary are now gone.
asserted
Chris → go → ?
The questions, numbering in the thousands, remain.
asserted
questions → number → thousands
Trivial Pursuit became a global phenomenon, selling 100 million copies in more than 26 countries and 17 languages.
asserted
Pursuit → become → countries
It inspired a memorable “Seinfeld” episode, and the cast of the “Big Chill” played it between takes.
asserted
cast → inspire → takes
Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand sent thank-you notes on receiving copies and Princess Margaret reportedly tossed the game into the air after getting an answer wrong.
uncertain
answer → send → air
It spawned more than 50 versions, from “Friends” to the Beatles, and proved a windfall for early investors who saw a $1,000 stake grow to $1 million.
asserted
stake → spawn → million
That history is etched into Haney’s man cave, where collectible editions share space with photos of family and the game’s four creators: the Haney brothers, Abbott and Ed Werner.
asserted
editions → etch → family
“I’m surrounded by my past here,” says Haney.
asserted
Haney → surround → past
“It’s almost a shrine, which my wife tolerates.
asserted
wife → ’ → which
At 80, he is a new author and considering his legacy.
Protospiel North, a twice-yearly gathering, brings together designers and players eager to test games in progress.
asserted
North → consider → progress
Protospiel North, a twice-yearly gathering, brings together designers and players eager to test games in progress.
asserted
North → bring → progress
“My Trivial Pursuits: The Inside Story of the Board Game That Conquered the World” is the first personal account of the game’s creation.
asserted
That → conquer → creation
It’s a story, he says, that has taken him 10 years to write, and one he wanted to leave for his four children and four grandchildren.
asserted
he → ’ → children
“It means the world to me they now know the story behind the game and my part in it.”
asserted
they → mean → it
At the heart of that story is Chris, who called John in 1979 with an idea for a game, setting the whole enterprise in motion.
asserted
who → call → motion
Chris died in 2010, his ashes scattered on the sixth hole at The Devil’s Pulpit, a nearby golf course he and Abbott built with their Trivial Pursuit earnings.
asserted
he → die → earnings
“Every time I play, I say hello and often drop a bottle of Heineken on his gravestone,” says Haney.
asserted
Haney → play → gravestone
“I think I’m jinxed because I can never get it in the fairway where he is; I’m always in the woods.”
asserted
I → think → woods
Lately, Haney has been thinking about tucking a copy of his new book into his golf cart.
“I should just show it to him, hold it up in the air.
asserted
I → think → air
Maybe he’s out there.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
I hope he is.”
What follows is an edited conversation.
What do people constantly get wrong about Trivial Pursuit’s origin story?
Everyone thinks we were American.
asserted
we → hope → story
It drives me crazy.
asserted
It → drive → me
It was an all-Canadian effort, one conceived in Montreal over a game of Scrabble, with Chris and Scott coming up with the lightbulb moment.
asserted
It → conceive → moment
How did you turn everyday observations into interesting game questions?
Out of necessity, needing to write 6,000 questions.
asserted
you → turn → questions
We’d walk into a bar, which we did quite often, and I would start looking at the liquor labels.
asserted
I → walk → labels
I could see a bat on a bottle of Bacardi.
uncertain
I → see → Bacardi
So that would be a question, “What mammal is pictured on a bottle of Bacardi?”
asserted
mammal → picture → Bacardi
Then I’d look up bats: Do bats have eyes?
asserted
bats → look → eyes
It just went from one thing to another.
asserted
It → go → another
My mind warped into that kind of mindset.
asserted
mind → warp → mindset
In the book, you reveal your then sister-in-law ultimately named the game.
asserted
sister → reveal → game
Chris came up with Trivia Pursuit.
asserted
Chris → come → Pursuit
And Sarah was standing there and said, why don’t you put an L on that?
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you → stand → that
It’ll sound much better.
asserted
It → sound → ?
When did you know the game was going to be a success?
asserted
game → know → ?
A store in St. Catharines called Rahman’s bought about 24 games, and the guy said, you know, you guys are going to be big man.
asserted
guys → call → games
I said, “Give me a break, we’re just trying to break even.”
asserted
we → say → break
We went from that to being mentioned by Johnny Carson at the 1984 Academy Awards when he said the winners would be a question in next year’s Trivial Pursuit.
asserted
winners → go → Pursuit
…and 49 more, not listed.
The Aporia
