Loaded Questions: The TV Series

Don't laugh. Well, you can laugh at the game. Just don't laugh at the idea of the board game becoming a TV game show.

All Things Equal, maker of the board game Loaded Questions, filed a trademark app on September 6, 2007 to protect the name of the game for "entertainment services, including, production of television programs."

I'm not sure this idea is going to fly. According its website, All Things Equal has sold more than 500,000 units of Loaded Questions. I'm guessing no more than 2.5 million people ever played the game and only a fraction of those would be interested in watching it on TV. It might be OK as a niche game on GSN, but it won't have the mass appeal and instant recognition of "Merv Griffin's Crosswords" or "Scrabble."

I would love to see the numbers — units sold and ratings — for "Taboo", "Balderdash" and "Scattergories" when those game shows preemed on TV. All three shows were based on board games and none of them had a long run. Geez, "Trivial Pursuit" only had a two-year run back in the mid-90s and everybody played that game.