Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/3/85; site ukma.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ukma!slg From: slg@ukma.UUCP (Sean Gilley) Newsgroups: net.games.video Subject: Trivial Pursuit -- The Video Game (!) Message-ID: <2373@ukma.UUCP> Date: Wed, 13-Nov-85 09:47:44 EST Article-I.D.: ukma.2373 Posted: Wed Nov 13 09:47:44 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 14-Nov-85 07:34:55 EST Distribution: na Organization: U of Kentucky, Mathematical Sciences, Lexington KY Lines: 140 I hit the old arcade again yesterday after months of ignor- ing the poor thing, and what did I find? A `Trivial Pursuit' video game. Being a fan of the board game, I went over to take a look. With just a slight glance I decided to try it. (Expanding the mind you see...) So I stuck my token in. A quick glance at the high scores showed three people with scores of about 600,000; the rest with scores of about 20,000. The game is simple to play. First you choose one of four characters to represent you on the playing board... yes there is a playing board. The board is rectangular, with various catagories marked by certain squares. In each of the four corners is a square that allows you to try for a ``Pie piece''. If you get all four, you ``win''. But I'm getting ahead of my story. I choose the last pictured character on the screen; a roman gladiator type. The machine started me in the upper lefthand corner, and showed the two squares I could move to. You move by pressing one of two buttons, depending on which way you desire to move. I pressed the button that allowed me to move clockwise. My little character moved to the left, but he himself was split into two parts -- his back half moved first, and then his frount half! But that was ok. Now it was time to answer the question -- excitement began to build.... the question was asked.... and in- stead of the usual fill in the blank that real _Trivial Pursuit_ has, or a multiple choice that might be expected on a video game, the machine showed one answer and asked whether it was right or wrong. After carefully considering all the posibilities, I de- cided it was wrong. I pressed the red button, and another answer appeared. ``Right or wrong -- You decide'' the machine de- clares... this time it was the correct answer, so I pressed the green button. A fanfare exudes from the machine and I smile to myself with pride at my accomplishment. So I continue on in a similar fashion. I move around the board getting most of my answers correct, and I get one or two wrong... Then the machine askes for the Scottish equivilent of the name `John'. Aha, says I, no question there -- *my* name is the Scottish equivilent of John! The first answer was incorrect (it wasn't `Sean'), the second answer was incorrect.... But wait! This machine says the Scottish equilent of `John' is `Ian'! I know that it's incorrect - but how do you argue with a video game? But I continue playing, despite the machine's indiscrepen- cies. And I begin to notice a few things. The number of squares that you are allowed to move never changes. And then I notice something else.. could it be? Surely not... but it is!!! The answer to *EVERY* question, is the second one given. In other words, at each question, you press the red button, then the green and you have answered the question correctly. So I moved between my two favorite catagories (sports and leisure, arts and literature) answering all the questions correctly. When I had about 100,000 points, I got bored (and my hands started to hurt from pressing buttons..) and I began moving around the board and picking up my pie pieces. When I had the last one, the machine announced I had won, gave me about 500,000 bonus points, and end- ed the game. I was *thrilled*. Sean. -- Sean L. Gilley Phone: (606) 272-9620 or (606) 257-4613 {ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax}!cbosgd!ukma{!ukgs}!slg, slg@UKMA.BITNET Watches are a conspiracy by Swiss confidence men.