Dear Readers: Before I leave at the end of the month, I’m going through my files and choosing some of my favorite “vintage” columns from over the years. The following Q&A are both from 2020.
Dear Amy: This is a “trivial” subject that has nonetheless bothered me for years.
My parents have the original Trivial Pursuit game, circa 1983.
At various get-togethers, my mom will drag out this relic, and enthusiastically try to rally us around a good old game of “General Knowledge.”
I feel like she should upgrade her game, at least to a game from this century. We go round and round, arguing about the obviously outdated questions, which the parents insist be answered in the vernacular of what the correct answer was, back in 1983.
Any suggestions to update, or at least omit the blatantly wrong answers, fall upon deaf ears.
I’ve become so exasperated by their childish behavior, and refusal to update, that I simply refuse to participate.
We used to enjoy the familial camaraderie, but it now seems ludicrous to me, when most of these questions are no longer relevant.
Any suggestions?
— JC
Dear JC: The childish behavior in your family may have passed to the next generation. You are pouting.
Your folks have anchored themselves to this particular tradition. They are eager to recreate times of togetherness. I suggest that you work harder to laugh about it, in a good-natured way, putting this into the category of bad “Dad jokes,” your Aunt Marjory’s molded Jell-O salad, and other groaning reminders of family traditions that seem absurd, silly, or pointless.
Instead of trying to replace this game, you could try to introduce a new game, to be pulled out after all of the questions about the Reagan administration and Madonna’s career have been answered, and all of the Trivial Pursuit pie pieces have been played. There are a lot of fun parlor games that are not trivia-oriented, and still encourage conversation and laughter.
I assure you, if you don’t laugh about this now, you will regret it later. Some day (hopefully well into the future), you and your siblings will be going through your folks’ stuff. You’ll pull out that well-worn relic and fight over who gets to keep it.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
©2024 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
