How to design a Trivia game in 2025
Review copies provided:
ROUGHLY (Laurence King Publishing)
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/443605/roughly
CDSK (Randolph)
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/383789/cdsk
From Trivial Pursuit to Bezzerwizzer, board game designer Adam Porter explores the mechanisms used in trivia board games. The video is a toolbox for you as a designer: an exploration and distillation of what has gone before - how a mechanism has developed - lessons learned and new avenues to explore. Take these mechanisms, combine them, subvert them, and create something new.
0:00 Introduction
1:25 Sourcing Questions
4:47 Production Costs
7:19 Television quizzes
12:32 Specialised Knowledge
14:05 Teams
15:10 Close is good enough
17:30 Using other players answers
18:55 Push your luck
20:03 Question Format
22:53 Game Structure
25:30 Physical presentation
26:49 Speed
28:29 The Questioner
31:33 Summary
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Purchase the Adam in Wales: Board Game Designer Journal.
Downloadable PDF: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/472771/Adam-in-Wales-Board-Game-Designer-Journal?affiliate_id=430883
To purchase on Amazon, use the links below.
UK: https://amzn.eu/d/6HWPjVN
USA: https://a.co/d/63DoQmZ
France: https://amzn.eu/d/cSt7sS5
Germany: https://amzn.eu/d/bcaR6Nw
Italy: https://amzn.eu/d/cYAThwU
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Australia: https://amzn.asia/d/4lh9Ihu
Netherlands: https://amzn.eu/d/bvH9JlK
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The journal provides a multitude of reflective tools to help you develop as a tabletop game designer. This is not a playtesting journal. That is to say, the journal is not focused on one specific game or project. It is focused on you. You are the project.
The journal is broken down into logs, with prompts to guide your reflections.
You will be guided to reflect on:
- Your own definition of success
- Your gaming preferences and those of the market
- Games you have played and what you learned from them
- The people who support you in game design
- How you support other designers
- Your design ethos
- Your goals and ambitions
The journal contains a selection of tools to help you analyse your prototypes in development.
- The Hook Generator - to help you create concepts which will catch attention
- The DARE Model - to help you prioritise your ideas
- The Ladder Model - to help you determine how engaging your game is
- The Idea : Execution Matrix - to help you determine how likely your game is to achieve commercial success
- Player Journey Maps - to help you identify the pain points in your games
These tools are all based off of models and matrices developed and discussed on the Adam in Wales Youtube Channel. If you would like more information about any of these topics, there is a huge amount of information within that channel.
