The 7 Best Trivia Games to Buy in 2018

If you're looking for a rowdy trivia game to break out at your next party, check out Smart Ass by University Games, a fast-paced trivia game in which players don’t have to wait their turn to yell out the answer and advance around the board as they solve clues.

Smart Ass is designed for two to six players, and it’s best for teens and adults, as you might have guessed from its name alone. The game comes with a game board, six playing pieces, more than 400 question cards, a pair of jumbo dice and instructions. During gameplay, participants take turns rolling the dice and reading out the clues on the question cards. Each question card contains eight hints that will help you guess the answer, and the first person to figure out the correct response simply yells it out.

Reviewers say they love that this isn’t a typical trivia game where you have to take turns. Many note that gameplay moves quickly and there are a variety of difficulty levels in the deck of cards, which keeps it interesting.

One of the best-known trivia games is Hasbro's Trivial Pursuit, a popular and challenging board game that’s been around since the 1980s. This classic version of the game features thousands of tough questions in several categories that will determine who is the biggest brainiac in your family or group of friends.

Trivial Pursuit is best for players age 16 and up thanks to its tough questions, and you can play with two to six people at a time. Inside the retro-style box, you’ll find the classic game board, 400 cards with 2,400 trivia questions, a die, six wedge holders and 36 multi-colored wedges.

To play, navigate around the board answering questions in six categories: geography, entertainment, history, art and literature, science and nature, and sports and leisure. When you get an answer correct, you collect a wedge of the corresponding color to put in your holder. The first player to get one wedge of each color and answer a final question is the winner.

Reviewers say they love that this is just like the classic game they played as children. Many note that the questions have been updated to include trivia about social media and the internet, though several say the questions are still as tough as you remember.

Standard trivia games are often too hard for kids, which is why the Professor Noggin Card Game by Outset Media gets the nod as the best alternative for families. This game comes in a variety of subjects, including kid-friendly topics like history, pets, birds and dinosaurs. You can buy one or several, each one with a focus on a topic your kids are interested in.

Each Professor Noggin game is for two to eight players, and these trivia challenges are ideal for kids age 7 and older. There are 30 cards included in the game, and each contains three hard and three easy questions to accommodate players of various knowledge levels. To play, each person rolls the dice and is asked a question from one of the trivia cards. If you get the answer correct, you get to keep the card; otherwise, it goes to the bottom of the deck. The object of the game is to collect the most cards and be crowned the winner.

Parents report that they like that Professor Noggin's Card Games have both easy and hard questions because this allows children of various ages to play on a level field. Many even write that they learn new facts as they play along with their kids.

Interested in reading more reviews? Take a look at our selection of the best card games for kids. 

If you and your friends are TV and movie buffs, the Best of TV & Movies by Spin Master Games is a must-have for your next gathering. This trivia game will put your knowledge to the test with questions about hundreds of popular films and shows — you’ll quickly find out who spends too much time in front of the TV.

The Best of TV & Movies comes with a game board, 400 trivia cards and six playing pieces. It’s best for adults, and you can play with between two and six people. The questions cover dozens of popular movies and shows, from "Grease" to "Glee," "The Godfather" and "Modern Family." As you play, you’ll have to identify logos and answer questions about characters, among many other aspects of the movies and shows. There are also special cards that let you pick a new question, skip a turn and silence your trash-talking competitors.

According to reviews, die-hard movie and TV lovers will get hours of entertainment out of this board game. Many say it can even be played as a multi-generational game because younger players will know certain answers that older players may not, and vice versa.

A lot of times, one know-it-all will dominate at trivia thanks to his wide breadth of knowledge. However, iKNOW by Tactic Games US evens out the playing field a bit with its unique gameplay, giving everyone a fair shot at winning.

IKNOW is designed for two to six players, and it’s best for kids and adults 15 and up. In the box, you’ll find 400 cards, a game board, six iKNOW tokens, six iBET tokens and a category token, as well as 25 white and 25 black point chips. To play iKNOW, everyone will have to answer the same trivia question with the help of three clues.

However, what’s unique about this game is that before the clues are read, you’ll have to guess how many clues you’ll need to get the answer, as well as create a wager against one of your fellow players. This wagering element allows you to gain points even if you’re not the best at trivia. The first person to get to 20 points wins.

Reviewers say this game will bring out the competitive side of trivia buffs because it includes lots of challenging questions about pop culture, fashion, sports and history. Gameplay is a little complicated at first, but adults will quickly get the hang of wagering.

If you're bored by regular trivia questions and looking for a challenging game to really test your knowledge, you have to pick up the Wit’s End by Game Development Group. The most common comment in this game’s reviews is that the questions are downright challenging, so you know Wit’s End will put your trivia know-how to the test.

This board game can be played with two to six people — however, if you want to play with teams, you can accommodate up to 18 players. Most reviewers agree the trivia game is best for older teens and adults because of the tough nature of the questions. In the box, you’ll find the game board, game cards, playing pieces, one die and instructions.

There are four types of questions in Wit’s End: Odd 1 Out, Teaser, Sequence or Wild Cards. What makes the questions so challenging is that they don’t follow a typical format. Instead, you might get instructions like, “Arrange 'Jaws,' 'The Sting' and 'Star Wars' by release date,” which forces you to think laterally about topics like pop culture, history, science and geography, among others. If you want to challenge your brain while playing a fun, engaging board game, this tops the list. 

The question-and-answer format of most trivia games can get a little mundane, which is why games like Linkee by Bananagrams switch things up a little bit. Instead of simply answering questions in this trivia challenge, players race to figure out the connection between questions, shouting out the answer as soon as they have it.

It can be played with anywhere from two to 30 people, and it’s best for players over age 14. In the box, you’ll receive 1,400 questions, as well as four pencils, four answer pads and a rule guide. To play, you’ll answer the four questions on each card, then try to figure out the link between them. When you figure it out, simply shout “Linkee” to win the round. Unlike many other trivia games, Linkee moves quickly, and games usually take around 30 minutes to complete — a nice and short game if you’re crunched for time.

Reviewers say this trivia game is a fun change of pace and enjoyable for groups of all sizes. However, several reviewers note that there are a lot of pop culture questions, which can make things challenging if you’re not up on the latest movies, TV shows and music.