Chris Haney

Chris Haney was a Canadian journalist and co-creator of the Trivial Pursuit board game with Scott Abbott. He was born in Welland, Ontario, on August 9, 1950, to Ross and Edna Haney. He had a passion for sports and trivia, and he played hockey and baseball in his youth. He dropped out of high school at the age of 17 and became a copy boy at the Montreal Gazette. He worked his way up to become a photo editor and a sports reporter, covering events such as the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Winter Olympics. He also wrote a column called "Haney's People", which featured interviews with celebrities and athletes. Haney's most famous achievement was his invention of the Trivial Pursuit board game, which he co-created with his friend Scott Abbott, a sports editor at the Canadian Press. The idea came to them in 1979, when they were playing a game of Scrabble and realized that some of the tiles were missing. They decided to create a new game that would test their knowledge of trivia, and they spent the next two years researching and writing thousands of questions on various topics, such as history, geography, entertainment, arts, science, and sports. They also designed the game board, which consisted of a circular track with six wedge-shaped spaces, each representing a category. The players had to roll a die and move their pieces along the track, answering questions from cards that matched the color of the space they landed on. The goal was to collect one wedge from each category and return to the center of the board. ¹ Haney and Abbott launched their game in 1981, with the help of two other partners, John Haney and Ed Werner. They formed a company called Horn Abbot, named after their surnames, and invested their own money to produce 1,100 copies of the game. They faced many challenges in marketing and distributing their game, as most retailers and publishers were skeptical of its appeal. They managed to sell some copies at local stores and fairs, and they also sent samples to celebrities and media outlets. The game gradually gained popularity and word-of-mouth, and by 1984, it had become a global phenomenon, selling over 20 million copies in 26 countries and 17 languages. The game also spawned several spin-offs, editions, and adaptations, such as a television show, a magazine, and a video game. Haney and Abbott sold their rights to the game in 2008 for $80 million. ¹ Haney died of kidney failure in Toronto, Ontario, on May 31, 2010, at the age of 59. He was survived by his wife, Hiam, and his three sons, John, Thomas, and Mark. He was widely regarded as a genius and a visionary, and his game was recognized as one of the most influential and successful board games of all time. He was inducted into the Canadian Toy Hall of Fame, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and the Order of Canada. ¹