Trivial Pursuit, one of the most popular board games, began to take shape in Nerja. Two Canadian journalists worked on the project in a bar in the El Capistrano urbanisation.
It was 1980 when two Canadian sports journalists, Scott Abbott and Chris Haney, settled in a house in the El Capistrano urbanisation in Nerja, owned by Haney's family. Their goal was to develop a board game that could compete with the success of Scrabble. What they did not imagine was that this idea, born from bar conversations, would end up becoming Trivial Pursuit, a global phenomenon that is now sold in dozens of countries.
During those months, Abbott and Haney spent long days drafting questions and answers, perfecting the rules, and shaping a project that, at that time, seemed too ambitious for investors. The tranquil environment of Nerja, with its beaches and relaxed atmosphere, became the ideal setting for the idea to take form.
La Cueva Bar, the Unexpected Starting Point
Beyond the hours of work in the El Capistrano house, Abbott and Haney had a regular meeting place: La Cueva bar. It was in this establishment where they shared their project with anyone willing to listen. Between conversations, they explained how the innovative question game worked while seeking funding to make it a reality.
According to various investigations into the origin of Trivial Pursuit, it was precisely in this venue where one of the first decisive supports appeared. The bar owner, Phil Donnason, decided to invest in the project when hardly anyone still believed in its potential. That bet, which at the time may have seemed like a simple help to some friends, would eventually become an extraordinarily profitable investment due to the international success the game would later achieve.
Between Workdays and Visits to Burriana
The stay of the two journalists in Nerja was not solely dedicated to developing Trivial Pursuit. During those months, they also frequently visited the well-known beach bar Ayo, located on Burriana beach, where they found moments of rest between the intense days spent writing questions, reviewing categories, and refining the board's operation. That balance between work and leisure, so characteristic of the Costa del Sol, may have been key to allowing creativity to flow.
For the residents of Nerja, knowing that one of the best-selling board games in the world began to take shape in a bar in their municipality is a source of pride. Although La Cueva bar no longer exists as such, it is part of local history. Those passing through the El Capistrano urbanisation can imagine those two Canadians, notebook in hand, discussing the best geography or history question. Trivial Pursuit, which is now marketed in dozens of languages, has its roots in a corner of the Axarquía.
The next time someone plays a game with friends, they may remember that it all started in Nerja, amid tapas and after-meal conversations, in a bar where two journalists dreamed of a game that would end up going around the world.
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