It Came From The Oddball Box - Part 2: Trivia

The Parade of Strange continues... Here's a couple of obscure Topps non-sport cards from '84.

This is a game board from the Topps Trivia Battle set. When the Trivial Pursuit craze hit in the early '80s, Topps cashed in with this scratch-off knock-off. Being a smartypants dork who liked such things, I picked up a pack or two of the stuff from McCrory's five & dime at Northlake Mall. I seem to remember the non-sports cards were segregated from the baseball cards so it's a wonder I found them at all.

The backs of the cards have the game rules for 2 player or solitare play. All those scratch-off dots on the front of the card have a color underneath them. The color you scratch is the type of question you have to answer. The subjects are a little less difficult than original Trivial Pursuit for the kiddie audience. The packs had several tear-apart question cards in there, but all those cards from my packs have been lost to the ravages of time. You can play head to head in a game that wasn't much different from the original, or do a solo game where you try to get a good score my missing a few questions as possible. Topps is ruthless in their scoring system, all the dumb kids had to peel themselves a LOSER Sticker.

Here are the sticker prizes. I don't know about you, but my 12 year old self would probably have stuck the loser sticker on a notebook long before professing my nerddom with a Doctor of Trivia diploma for all to see. Of course I exhibited great self control back then, neither scratching nor sticking these cards. Kind of a waste, now that I come to think of it.

One other thing...

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