Q. What role did formal education play in the success of Chris Haney, the co-creator of the board game Trivial Pursuit, which he and Scott Abbott sold to Hasbro for $80 million?

A. Born Aug. 9, 1950, in Welland, Ontario, Mr. Haney often described himself as a beer-swilling high school dropout whose biggest mistake was quitting school at 17. “I should have done it when I was 12,” he said in interviews.