The History of Apples to Apples

The hit party game Apples to Apples was invented by Matt Kirby. He was inspired by a lunch he had with his in-laws. Wanting to have a good conversation, he began asking questions like, “Who is the better writer – F. Scott Fitzgerald or Hemingway?” Realizing there was a pattern of comparisons in his line of questioning eventually led him to develop Apples to Apples, which he played with his friends and family to great enjoyment. Apples to Apples was published by Out of the Box in 1999 and quickly became a board game sensation. It’s now part of the Mattel portfolio of games and is a very common sight at family game nights. Its inventor, Matt Kirby, has even created a whole module of extensions and ideas for different ways of playing the game, and there are multiple editions of Apples to Apples on the market today.