Playing games with kids can vary depending on who they are and at what age. Some kids do not like board games, while others lean towards sports, video games, or none of the above. The important thing is finding ways to connect with our kids when they are interested in something. There have been times when we all have reading sessions or watch YouTube videos together. Other times, my daughter Adelaide will ask to play some form of trivia, because that’s her go-to game (even though it’s not her go-to activity).
Clearly, there are a lot of options out there, but Trivial Pursuit Family Edition is what we have at home, and we picked it up specifically for Adelaide as a gift one year. We were even able to play a variant of Trivial Pursuit on our trip to Barbados this past summer, which was a great way to take a break from the sunshine. It’s quite satisfying to go around the board and then place a different colored pie-shaped piece after answering a question correctly.
It’s a great way to connect, learn new facts, and just try to not look like a complete fool when you miss so many questions in a row. But, anyway, if you don’t have access to Trivial Pursuit or other trivia-based games, there’s one way you can accomplish this task: Create your own. If you’ve never done it before (like me), think of it as another exercise you’ve done countless of times in other circumstances.
How Do You Create Your Own Trivia?
Think of it this way: Have you ever tested your kids on anything? Younger or older, have you ever quizzed them on Math facts or elements on the periodic table? Maybe you’ve asked about ranking their favorite songs or movies, where they have to spend time thinking about it? It’s this type of process that you can translate to creating your very own trivial-style game.
The game doesn’t have to look a certain way either. It can be as intricate or low-key as you want it to be. Most of the time, my wife or I will pick a topic and ask questions, which then allows the kids to get involved and ask us questions, too. And it’s mostly never structured or scheduled, it will pop up during dinner or when the kids want to hang out when they don’t have screentime.
For example: One dinner we were chatting about our travels, and we would go around stating something specific about our vacation that we liked, but we couldn’t repeat. Is this very simple and begs to question whether or not it’s a game? Sure. But it provides that semblance of game-like activity, where you can tell they want to say an answer that hasn’t already been said or pick something before the other person.
Creating a More Elaborate Trivia, Maybe?
Maybe not advanced, but a little more time might make the creation of a game possible. Again, time is a huge commodity and it’s not always possible, so do what you can when you can – and your kids will appreciate the time you spent with them. For example: This article was supposed to be dedicated to a personal trivia creation where I created something specific for my own kids and then play with them. But, I failed to do that. Not only have our schedules been increasingly busy, finding creative energy has been lackluster with the state of things.
However, a personalized trivia experience with your kids is possible. Let’s consider this in a few different stages, or difficulty levels: easy, medium, and hard. In the easy stage, pick one thing you and your kids have enjoyed (or not) together. Maybe it’s a favorite (or least favorite) TV show or movie, a book or graphic novel, or there’s a sports team you all cheer for. Find that one thing and then create a series of 10 to 20 questions (could be less, could be more) per person based on said thing.
For a sample trivia that I plan to run with my own kids, please check out an “Easy Level Trivia” below featuring The Hunger Games.
Depending on how many people will be playing (one child and your partner, two kids, etc.), they will each take turns as you read them questions one after the other. The point system can vary, if at all, but that will be up to you as the “Trivia Master” to decide. It can be simply for “bragging rights” as the winner, or you can choose fun perks like a trip to the comic shop, picking the next place to grab takeout from, or something as simple as “dibs on the last Oreo.”
For the medium difficulty level with creating your own trivia, this will involve many topics within the same genre. If you’re still in the TV, movie, and book realm, then you’ll need to include questions from multiple shows, films, and books. This will test your kid’s memory and you’ll get to see how they respond when they remember certain answers. Maybe they don’t like a certain show as much anymore and their response isn’t as enthusiastic as you thought it might be.
I’m not saying you can’t ask your teenagers a question about Dora the Explorer; maybe they’ll even laugh at the thought of a show they used to watch. On the hard difficulty level for creating trivia, this is where you pull from multiple different genres. Much like Trivial Pursuit, you’ll be creating your own categories where it’s specialized to your kid’s specific interests. If they like a certain graphic novel, include it. If they’re a huge Taylor Swift or Queens of the Stone Age fan, add questions referencing lyrics or their albums.
Depending on their age, you can include trivia on foreign languages or facts about world history they’re learning in school. The trivia world is your oyster. For each difficulty level, make it as easy or fun as you want. You can create index cards and stick them to a board underneath the appropriate category. Use a dry erase board to indicate what categories are available and then cross them out once a category has been depleted of all its questions.
If you’re feeling froggy, and you decide to go up to six categories, have them roll a standard die and ask them a question based on the number they roll. That could add a little bit of fun, and even if a category doesn’t get rolled often, those can be asked at the end. The rules are also your oyster. The idea is to have fun and connect with your kiddos, even if it’s just sitting around the dinner table asking them to guess a number you’re thinking between 1 and 100.
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget how simple things can really be enjoyable and allow us to spend time together. In today’s world, it’s easy to find nothing but stress and worry, but hopefully, something like this will be a fun way for you and your loved ones to sit around the table (or couch or wherever) together and enjoy each other’s company.
Until next time, friends, happy parenting and happy geeking.
