Question Time! board game

Question Time! was originally designed and created by political scientist Tess Shannon and graphic designer Libby Blainey. It first saw daylight in 2004 as a birthday present for Labor senator John Faulkner, who described the game as ‘basically exactly like Federal Parliament, only a lot more fun’. Faulkner later launched the first commercially available version of the game in 2013.  

Shannon said federal parliament was a dramatic place with a rich environment in which to base a board game. As well as educating people about politics while they play, the game encourages competition and deal-making, as well as underhandedness and keen political instincts.  

Players are asked to make impromptu speeches about political topics, or to answer political and historical trivia questions. The main goal is to pass ‘bills’ on various policy topics to secure your legacy in politics, sometimes requiring some negotiation with your rivals. The political motif is strong - the board is shaped like the House of Representatives Chamber, the rules are called the Standing Orders, and the cardboard spinner is called the ‘Spin Doctor’.  

Shannon said the game, which was illustrated by Walkey Award-winning cartoonist Jenny Coopes, is ‘meant to be fun and raucous … but if it whips up some interest in the history of Australian politics, then that’s good too’. 

A later edition featured caricatures of prime ministers as playing pieces.