MEDFORD, Ore. - eTradeWire -- Trilobyte Games, the independent studio behind the landmark CD-ROM titles The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour, has officially launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to bring Diddly to market — a one-to-three-player word and trivia game show that has been gestating since 1999 and is now fully designed, engineered, and nearly ready for its public debut.

The campaign, now live on Kickstarter, carries a deliberately modest fundraising target of just $5,000 — a figure that reflects the game's advanced state of readiness. The core design is complete, the game engine is built, and the content library is already robust. The campaign funding is earmarked specifically to fine-tune the final user experience, complete quality-assurance testing, and execute a full commercial launch.

Part Strategy. Part Puzzle. Pure Chaos.

Diddly is, at its core, a word game — but it is far more than that. Players reveal words concealed within a crossword-style grid, then race to identify the single connecting idea that ties them all together. The game draws intelligently from the DNA of beloved classics: the letter-revelation mechanics of Wheel of Fortune, the deductive structure of Jeopardy! and Password, the spatial targeting of Battleship, the memory play of Concentration, the vocabulary challenge of Scrabble, and even a touch of the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. The result is a game that is simultaneously familiar and entirely original.

A full game show runs approximately 40 minutes, though players may engage in shorter rounds to accommodate time constraints. The game ships with a substantial library of show content — enough to provide hours of replayability across solo, head-to-head, and three-player competitive formats. Players accumulate winnings over time, climbing a leaderboard and staking their claim to a place among the pantheon of Diddly Champions.

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Its aesthetic is intentional: colorful, quirky, and retro-casual in spirit — the kind of game that feels like a beloved discovery from decades past, yet plays with the fluency and responsiveness of a modern digital experience. It is fast. It is funny. And, as playtesters have consistently confirmed, it is surprisingly strategic.

Designed for Players Who Love to Win — and Laugh Doing It

Diddly is engineered for broad appeal. Its target audience spans party enthusiasts, trivia aficionados, casual gamers, would-be game show contestants, competitive families, streamers, and anyone who regards themselves as the smartest person in the room. Word game fans who helped fuel the viral rise of Wordle will find familiar satisfaction in its mechanics — combined with far greater depth, competitive tension, and social engagement. Whether played in-person with family or streamed to an audience, Diddly delivers a game show atmosphere on demand.

Decades of Pedigree Behind a Modern Game

Diddly was originally conceived in 1999 by Rob Landeros and the late Peter Oliphant — two game industry veterans with a combined portfolio of milestone titles.

Rob Landeros is the co-founder of Trilobyte Games and the creative force behind The 7th Guest (1993) — the CD-ROM phenomenon that sold over two million copies and prompted Bill Gates to call it "the new standard in interactive entertainment." Landeros is the current CEO and creative director of Trilobyte Games.

Peter Oliphant (1950–2023) was a prolific game designer, programmer, and producer whose career spanned Mattel Electronics, Cinemaware, and Interplay Productions. He is best remembered for Lexi-Cross (1991), a critically acclaimed word-puzzle game show that Computer Gaming World ranked among the 150 best computer games ever made. The creative DNA of Lexi-Cross runs directly through Diddly, which Oliphant co-designed alongside Landeros before his passing. The game is, in part, a tribute to his enduring creative vision.

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"Diddly has been with us for a long time," said Landeros. "Peter and I knew we had something special when we first built it. Resurrecting it — with new design, new features, and a modern engine — feels like the right way to honor what we set out to create together. This is the game we always meant to finish."

Kickstarter Campaign Details

Campaign Title: Diddly: The Word and Trivia Game Show

Funding Goal: $5,000 (USD)

Campaign URL: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roblanderos/diddly-the-word-and-trivia-game-show

Demo Video: https://youtu.be/UfQiR_Dn5uk



Developer: Trilobyte Games (trilobytegames.com)

The $5,000 fundraising goal is a deliberately targeted figure reflecting the current state of development. Unlike many crowdfunding campaigns that seek capital to initiate development, Diddly's Kickstarter is a finishing push — the game is designed, the engine is built, and the campaign funds are allocated toward final polish, quality assurance, and market launch execution.

Backers are invited to explore the full campaign page, watch the demo video, and join a growing community of players who have already previewed the game and responded enthusiastically to its unique blend of trivia, word play, and competitive energy.

About Trilobyte Games
Trilobyte Games is an independent game development company based in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1991 by Rob Landeros and Graeme Devine, the company achieved international recognition with its groundbreaking CD-ROM titles The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour.