7 Trivia Games That Will Put Learners’ Knowledge to the Test

Fun fact: Did you know that the inventors of Trivial Pursuit were playing Scrabble when they decided to invent their own game?

If you’ve spent any time earning cheese wedges in Trivial Pursuit, you know that it’s practically inevitable that you’ll learn something new while playing the game. Quizzes of all types are an effective way to boost learners’ motivation and engagement, and increase their retention. But a trivia quiz, in particular, is an opportunity to add a game-like experience that’s playful as well as effective. Best of all, trivia games can be used in a variety of ways:

• At the start of a lesson, use a trivia game to pique your learners’ interest by foreshadowing information they’ll see in your course.
• By placing a trivia game in the middle of your course, you can break up content and give  learners a chance to reflect and re-engage with the information you’ve shared.
• Finally, wrap up your course with a trivia game as a rewarding way to make sure learners have met your course objectives.

Ready to try your hand at creating your own trivia game? Here are seven examples (including a few from our recent game show–themed E-Learning Challenge) to get you started. Take a look:

• Inspired by an infographic, Allison LaMotte built this clever trivia game template to test learners in six categories. Download it here to include it in your next project.
• Give David Tait’s Spinning Wheel Trivia Game a whirl to test your knowledge of history, music, and general knowledge.
• What is “impressive,” Alex? Montse Anderson looked to “Jeopardy” for inspiration with this multicategory trivia game.
• Don’t be fooled: Jeff Batt’s QuizTime template looks like “Jeopardy” at first, but he takes learners in a different direction by using a multiple choice answer format.
• Watch how Trina Rimmer goes beyond the mainstream to find out how much of a film buff you are with this movie trivia game. So, grab the popcorn and play along or download the template to use for your own course.
• Amy Lamb put her love of reality TV to good use, serving up some tasty tidbits in her “Hollywood Squares”-style trivia game.
• Let Teo Karageorgakis show you how to put learners in the proverbial hot seat with his “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”–esque example.

Interested in more courses inspired by game shows? Take a look at what course developers created in this E-Learning Challenge. If you want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Articulate 360, start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.