Trivial Pursuit rules: how to play and how to win
Reviewed on 20 October 2026 against the publisher’s rulebook. How we check
Trivial Pursuit plays 2 to 6 players, or teams: each fills their wedge holder by answering general knowledge questions. Here are the essential rules, setup and how to win, based on Hasbro’s official Classic Edition rules.
- Players
- 2 to 6, or teams
- Play time
- About 1 hour
- Winner
- The first to collect six wedges and answer their final question correctly
Trivial Pursuit quick rules
- The goal
- Six categories, one color each. Fill your wedge holder with six wedges of different colors, then return to the hub and answer one last question correctly to win.
- Moving
- Roll the die and move the exact number of spaces, in the direction you choose, without turning back during the move. The central hub counts as one space, and any number of wedge holders can share a space.
- Answering questions
- On a colored space, the player to your left takes the card from the front of the deck and reads you the question of that color. Right answer: roll again. Wrong answer: your turn is over. The card goes to the bottom of the deck.
- Earning wedges
- Wedges are only earned on the category headquarters, one large space per category: a right answer there earns the wedge of its color. Missed? You must move away before trying again. Only one wedge per color.
- Special spaces
- A Roll again space lets you roll again with no question, and you may then change direction. Land exactly on the hub, and you choose the category of your question yourself.
- Winning
- With six wedges, move your wedge holder straight back to the hub. On your next turn, the others choose the category of your final question before drawing the card: answer correctly and you win; otherwise you stay on the hub and try again each turn.
- Beginner pitfalls
- An ordinary space never gives a wedge. A color you already have still lets you roll again. And the final question often lands in your weakest category: the others choose it.
How to win Trivial Pursuit
- No points
- Trivial Pursuit has no points: the first player with six wedges of different colors who answers their final question correctly wins. The others aren’t ranked.
- The final question
- It is played on the hub, in the category chosen by the other players. A wrong answer costs nothing: you try again next turn.
- Wedges
- For the record, optional: they don’t change the winner. In teams, one column per team.
Example ending
Emma has her six wedges and returns to the hub. Jake and Leo choose Sports & Leisure; Emma gets it wrong and stays on the hub. Next turn, they choose History: Emma answers correctly and wins. Jake had four wedges, Leo three.
Common mistakes
- Giving a wedge on an ordinary colored space: only headquarters spaces give one.
- Requiring a move back to the hub by die roll: in the current Classic Edition, you return there at once.
- Letting the player choose the category of their own final question: the others do.
How to set up Trivial Pursuit
A two-minute setup, in two parts. The rules let players choose who goes first.
The game
- Decide whether you play individually or in teams.In teams, each team shares a wedge holder and anyone on the team can answer.
- Place the gameboard in the middle of the table.Each color is a category: Geography, Entertainment, History, Art & Literature, Science & Nature, Sports & Leisure.
- Place the cards in a deck next to the board, answers hidden.Always take the card from the front, and return it to the bottom once read.
- Place the die within everyone’s reach.
- Place the 36 wedges next to the board, sorted by color.
Each player
- Each player, or each team, takes an empty wedge holder.
- Place all wedge holders in the central hub.The hub is the round space where the six spokes meet.
- Choose who goes first; play then passes to the left.The player on your left reads your questions.
Frequently asked questions
How do you win Trivial Pursuit?
Collect six wedges of different colors, return to the hub, then correctly answer the final question whose category the others choose.
Where do you earn wedges in Trivial Pursuit?
Only on the category headquarters spaces, one per category, by answering the question of their color correctly.
Who goes first in Trivial Pursuit?
The Classic Edition rules let players choose; play then passes to the left.
Ludingo’s Trivial Pursuit sheet was last reviewed on 20 October 2026, based on: hasbro.com 1, hasbro.com 2, BoardGameGeek.