Trivial Pursuit

When you were little and watching your mum and dad host another soiree from the sanctity of the top of the stairs, that heady mix of prawn cocktail, Babysham and Trivial Pursuit seemed like the height of sophistication. In years to come, we all realized neither prawn cocktail or Babysham were this, but, well, Trivial Pursuit has won many of us over.

Maybe it's something to do with the board games classy racing-green packaging - the same as the iconic MG sports cars, no less. And the 'Trivial Pursuit' logo emblazoned across the front like it's been written with a quill probably helped. But actually, this is one game that isn't shallow by any means and actually has shown enough to keep generations playing - and learning since it arrived on the scene in 1981.

It was one of the first trivia-based games to really flex our grey matter and give dear old uncle Geoff a chance to shine in the sports and leisure round. As well as sports and leisure which was signified by the orange places on the board, there were also questions on geography (blue spaces), nature (green), history (yellow), entertainment (pink) and arts and culture (brown). When you landed on a square, another player would then ask you a question corresponding to the colour space you're on. Get it right and you keep going; get it wrong and the quizzer takes their go.

A correct answer bags you what is affectionately known as 'a piece of pie'. Since each player has a plastic holder in which to place a segment of a circle - one for each trivia category - making it look like a pie. One you've filled your pie it's then a race to the centre of the board to answer one final question and be crowned king or queen braniac!

As you might imagine, the traditional Trivial Pursuit has diversified over the years, and now young players have their own version of the game, as well as a Silver Screen version and All Star Sports version - and even a Lord Of The rings version. Along with the likes of Scrabble, Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders, Trivial Puruit can be found collecting dust in most households, until it's Christmas and everyone gets a yearning to prove their sportsmanship (or not!).