In honor of Thanksgiving, let me share a little family story: When I was a youngster, we were into games. Some favorites in the future-quizmaster household: Boggle (better than Scrabble, IMO), Sorry! (ceases to be fun past the age of 12), Clue (often inconvenient, since it needs at least three players), rummy cube (classic), the Hawaiian Punch game (honorable mention). We had a big closet of 'em, one of the joys of living in a large suburban house.
So in 1984, when American culture went through a brief spasm of trivia mania, and Trivial Pursuit became a significant sensation, my parents were quick to jump on the bandwagon. We tried playing as a family, but being well under puberty age, I had a lot of trouble with that dastardly original Genus edition. I somehow had a fighting chance with the blue questions—the Geography category, I was big into maps—but otherwise, it was a bloodbath (figuratively speaking; we weren't like that). Papa Quizmaster tended to find something better to do the second he got frustrated; Mama Quizmaster usually claimed victory.
The Pressman toy company (which would later get this song stuck in my head for 20 years) saw an opening and created a kid-oriented, galactic-themed trivia board game, Trivia Adventure. My parents bought it, we tried playing it, and discovered it was the single worst game ever invented by man. The questions came in two levels; Mom and Dad started me on easy, but when I was asked, "Is the Moon made of green cheese or rock?," they bumped me up to the supposedly challenging level. That's where I encountered tidbits like "What liquid are ice cubes made from?" That was it; Papa Quizmaster was so disgusted he brought the game back to Toys "R" Us. Shortly after, Trivial Pursuit issued its Young Players edition, and the appropriately unimaginatively named Trivia Adventure faded from memory.
Until last month. Walking through a street fair on the UWS, I encountered a battered copy of Trivia Adventure on a blanket, for sale. Nostalgia was stirred; I picked it up and examined it. The woman attending the booth said she'd give it to me for $3. It now sits in my living room.
Sucks, blows chunks, bites the big dick of hell: However you want to say it, this is a horrible trivia game. It's not just the stunning simplicity of a question like "What fruit is used in apple pie?" It's that far too many of these questions are too vague to really work, especially for children: "What do some women wear on their earlobes?" (sexist to boot). "What is the state of Florida most famous for?" (I'd say alligators or old people or election controversy, but they were looking for oranges). "What planet has many rings around it?" (perpetuating a common misconception). Pity the genius child who correctly says "Uranus" for the last question.
Another problem: the inconsistency. The easy "A" level includes both questions like the ice-cube one and "What movie featured apes as rulers and humans as slaves?" Or, amazingly, "Who attempted to run across Canada on one leg to raise money for cancer research?" (which, under other language, has been asked before at the Big Quiz Thing). This is an actual example of a complete question card:
"A" (easy) level
What is the name of French currency?
How many dots does the symbol for the word "therefore" have?
"B" (challenging) level
What are the Academy Awards give for?
Who led the German Nazi war effort in World War II?
Insane. I mean, not that the average five-year-old would find the "B" level a piece of cake, but the "A" levels seem flat-out impossible for any child who isn't a math prodigy living in Provence.
I have not played this game since (re)purchasing it, and most likely never will; I have far more important trivia games to waste my time with, as you are no doubt aware.
November 27, 2009
Adventures in bad trivia games
Posted by The Big Quiz Thing at 1:58 PM
Labels: board games, trivia, trivia adventure, trivial pursuit
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
36 comments:
We owned that shit too, in the Scurry Household of 1988. Me and Janice are on our way over to play right now.
Therefore/dots - are they talking about algebraic proofs...? Is it 3?
Yes, three dots. The fact that you had to ask proves how stupid a question it is.
Dear Author blog.bigquizthing.com !
I would like to talk to you on this theme.
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.
[url=http://tinyurl.com/y9qxher][img]http://i069.radikal.ru/1001/35/75e72b218708.jpg[/img][/url]
Related keywords:
online order Tramadol
120 tabs Tramadol
Tramadol affect on stomach
buy Tramadol online pharmacy
cod Tramadol
cheapest Tramadol free delivery
false positive pcp Tramadol
Tramadol overnight delivery only
[url=http://www.zazzle.com/AlexanderBlack]Tramadol watson [/url]
[url=http://seobraincenter.ru]http://seobraincenter.ru[/url]
Tramadol online om
saturday delivery on Tramadol
Tramadol alternatives
online ordering Tramadol cod
cheap online pharmacy Tramadol
order chead Tramadol c o d
buy Tramadol pharmacy
[url=http://tinyurl.com/y9qxher][img]http://i069.radikal.ru/1001/35/75e72b218708.jpg[/img][/url]
Related keywords:
sales Tramadol
overnight Tramadol cod
buy Tramadol overnight delivery
cheap order prescription Tramadol
online Tramadol fedex overnight delivery
buy Tramadol from online pharmacy with saturday delivery
Tramadol 50 mg tablets
next day air ups Tramadol Tramadol
[url=http://www.zazzle.com/AlexanderBlack]can you buy Tramadol cash on delivery [/url]
[url=http://seobraincenter.ru]http://seobraincenter.ru[/url]
buy cheap Tramadol here
buy cheap generic Tramadol online without prescription
cheap Tramadol online no rx saturday delivery
buy no perscription Tramadol
Tramadol with next day delivery
Tramadol cTramadol
Tramadol cod overnight delivery
After reading you blog, I thought your articles is great! I am very like your articles and I am very interested in the field of Free trial. Your blog is very useful for me .I bookmarked your blog! I trust you will behave better from now on; I hope she understands that she cannot exepct a raise.
Hey,
When ever I surf on web I come to this website[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url]You have really contiributed very good info here blog.bigquizthing.com. Let me tell you one thing guys, some time we really forget to pay attention towards our health. Are you really serious about your weight?. Research shows that about 90% of all United States adults are either chubby or overweight[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url] Therefore if you're one of these people, you're not alone. In fact, most of us need to lose a few pounds once in a while to get sexy and perfect six pack abs. Now next question is how you can achive quick weight loss? Quick weight loss can be achived with little effort. Some improvement in of daily activity can help us in losing weight quickly.
About me: I am writer of [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss tips[/url]. I am also health expert who can help you lose weight quickly. If you do not want to go under difficult training program than you may also try [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/acai-berry-for-quick-weight-loss]Acai Berry[/url] or [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/colon-cleanse-for-weight-loss]Colon Cleansing[/url] for quick weight loss.
Very Cool.I will tell my friend about this. Thanks
Good day!This was a really magnificentsuper blog!
I come from milan, I was fortunate to discover your subject in baidu
Also I get much in your subject really thanks very much i will come every day
Clomiphene(Clomid) tablet
What is this medicine?
CLOMIPHENE is a fertility drug used to increase the chance of getting pregnant. It is
used to help women ovulate (produce a mature egg) properly during their cycle. Compared
to other fertility treatments, clomiphene alone does not greatly increase your chances
of having multiple babies. An increased chance of having twins may occur in roughly 5
out of every 100 women who take this medication. Occasionally clomiphene is prescribed
to men with fertility problems due to low sperm counts.
Isotretinoin capsule
What is this medicine?
ISOTRETINOIN treats severe acne that has not responded to other therapy such as antibiotics.
[url=http://soscigarette.com]electronic cigarette[/url]
torebka kuferek
to torebki zamszowe , torebki kazar sklep internetowy , torby . kazar sklep internetowy , torby listonoszki ?
unlock iphone 4
to iphone 4 unlock , iphone 4 unlock , . iphone 4 unlock , ?
iphone 4 unlock
to unlock iphone 4 , unlock iphone 4 , . how to unlock iphone 4 , ?
iphone 3gs unlock
to how to unlock iphone 3gs , unlock iphone 3gs , . iphone 3gs unlock , ?
unlock iphone 4
to unlock iphone 4 , iphone 4 unlock , . unlock iphone 4 , ?
how to unlock iphone 4
to iphone 4 unlock , iphone 4 unlock , . how to unlock iphone 4 , ?
earn extra money
to earn extra money , earn extra money , . earn extra money , ?
they need a get ex back trivia game, i think it would help people stay off the maury show
Fire is a good servant but a bad master.
As a mother it was an honour having an intelligent child and we are so proud of it. We want the best for our children and we aim them to excel in every stage in their school. I use to give them food supplements when they are still baby and I saw some advantage of doing it but it was not enough to make a genius one and luckily I have learned about Areas of Development in Children which is a great tool to unlock the Einstein within your child. The price of this product was very affordable but the result to your child was priceless. I am really thankful to this product in fact I even give them a bonus amount just to express my thanks to them. I share this for the purpose of “good news dissemination”. This is a must have product for every family. Thanks and God bless us all.
[url=http://buycialispremiumpharmacy.com/#tyusg]buy cialis online[/url] - generic cialis , http://buycialispremiumpharmacy.com/#pavoo buy cialis online
[url=http://buyviagrapremiumpharmacy.com/#msksn]buy viagra online[/url] - viagra online , http://buyviagrapremiumpharmacy.com/#veyac buy viagra
osx nexrad software http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/fr/product-35534/Chronos-SOHO-Labels-5-0-MacOSX small business account software [url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/de/product-14330/The-Missing-Sync-for-Windows-Mobile-3-0-Mac]sierra software planner[/url] order processing software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-31552/MyNotes-1-5-MAC]MyNotes 1.5 MAC - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] best tune software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/de/manufacturer-6/Borland][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/1.gif[/img][/url]
[url=http://viagraboutiqueone.com/#ahdgk]order viagra[/url] - generic viagra , http://viagraboutiqueone.com/#etpad viagra 120 mg
[url=http://onlinemedistore.com/products/claritin.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/7.jpg[/img][/url]
nys board of pharmacy http://onlinemedistore.com/products/prazosin.htm kansas pharmacy interview participants [url=http://onlinemedistore.com/catalogue/w.htm]prescription solutions mail service pharmacy[/url]
royal college of pharmacy http://onlinemedistore.com/products/diclofenac-gel.htm post subject pharmacy bottle list update day carlos today hectic [url=http://onlinemedistore.com/products/generic-motrin.htm]generic motrin[/url]
pharmacy in pharmacognosy http://onlinemedistore.com/products/dramamine.htm midlands technical online pharmacy tech [url=http://onlinemedistore.com/products/viagra-super-active-plus.htm]cvs pharmacy farmington[/url]
pharmacy technician school in toledo http://onlinemedistore.com/products/femara.htm daughtery pharmacy [url=http://onlinemedistore.com/products/rocaltrol.htm]rocaltrol[/url]
[url=http://buyonlineaccutaneone.com/#puait]cheap accutane[/url] - order accutane , http://buyonlineaccutaneone.com/#xvyer accutane 30 mg
[url=http://buynolvadexonlineone.com/#gmvdu]buy tamoxifen[/url] - buy generic nolvadex , http://buynolvadexonlineone.com/#xogwq nolvadex 20 mg
[url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/lexapro.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/9.jpg[/img][/url]
find pharmacy health questions and answers http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/flagyl-er.htm company health solutions pharmacy nda network report [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/relafen.htm]salina pharmacy[/url]
pharmacy compatibility http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/tricor.htm diflucan and canadian pharmacy [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/hard-on.htm]hard on[/url]
what is the salary of a pharmacy tech http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/dilantin.htm on line pharmacy canada [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/cephalexin.htm]syncor pharmacy phoenix arizona[/url]
university of michigan school of pharmacy http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/dostinex.htm one international place boston pharmacy [url=http://englandpharmacy.co.uk/products/innopran-xl.htm]innopran xl[/url]
Thanks you on account of your explication of the topic. You rocks with [url=http://www.payloansonline.com]Online Payday Loans[/url] Online advance Payday
best lds dating sites http://loveepicentre.com/contact/ dating one day friendship the next
popular dating sim games [url=http://loveepicentre.com/map/]dating con artists[/url] beautiful island phillippine girls for dating
christians adult dating moline il 2008 [url=http://loveepicentre.com/faq/]dating videos on utube[/url] biblical dating love [url=http://loveepicentre.com/user/michaelogy/]michaelogy[/url] teenage dating etiquette
[url=http://www.vip1michaelkorsoutlet.org]Michael Kors Outlet[/url] Such bindings are common for everyone but advanced level skiers, who often have specific binding needs, especially if they engage in competition
[url=http://www.mislouboutinsaleuk.co.uk]Christian Louboutin Sale[/url]Club shoes, spring wedges, prom shoes and jelly flats are all feature favorites at these great stores
[url=http://www.getfreerunaustralia.org]Nike Australia[/url]it could happen
[url=http://www.vipnikenewzealand.info]Nike NZ[/url] That's not my niche in life," whereas our other son, John-David (who doesn't get poison ivy), said, "Man, I like this
[url=http://www.upnikepascherfr.info]Nike Pas Cher[/url] Discount artist pieces are accessible for serious good deal hunters
Post a Comment