Well, after popping up on various websites in the last 2-3 weeks, I saw the game at my area's Toys R Us store today. Many of the websites had slightly higher prices listed, but the TRU store had it for $19.99!
The game includes:
Wpe-off game board with stand, wipe-off marker, "mob" squares, 4 shields, 4 multiple-choice boards and 3 multiple-choice cards, plus 275 trivia cards (with a total of 825 questions), wipe-off money board, score pad and instructions.
A more detailed description mentioned that there are 51 "mob squares," which includes 36 that represent "One," mob member, and 25 that represent "Five," mob members. When playing with the maximum of four players, one serves as "host," one as "contestant," the remaining two as "mob members."
Each of them (including the host, who also serves as a mob member), gets one shield, and one "mult-choice board." The contestant receives the three "multi-choice cards," and the host and "mob members" equally divide up the "mob squares."
Although the game is pretty faithful to the show, the key difference is in how three players represent 100 mob members, and how they are eliminated. With their "multi-choice answer boards," hidden behind their shields, the mob members decide how many members from the total of the numbers represented by their "mob squares," will give a certain answer. If they are 100% confident they know the right answer they may place all their squares on the corresponding letter of that answer they believe to be correct. If not sure, they may decide to place a certain number on one letter, a certain number on another letter, and maybe a certain number on the third letter. Whatever the case, they must place all their "mob squares," in play on their "answer board," and any squares placed on a letter representing an incorrect answer are eliminated from that person's future play. As the discarded "mob squares," accumulate, you may exchange a "Five," member "mob square," for five "One," member "squares."
The scoring system is just like that on the show (which I think I'd read somewhere, too, that the show allows a contestant who has eliminated 90 mob members the opportunity to decide to take the money, or go on against the mob, after seeing the question first--This rule is intact in the box game).
After each of the four players have had their turn as host, contestant, and (twice as) mob member, whoever has the largest sum of money accumulated on the scorepad is the winner!
I don't have access to any hardware/software to scan illustrations of the contents, nor the box illustrations, but I think some will turn up later, somewhere. Not a bad box game concept, IMO!
I'd still like to see what the iToys electronic game will be like, which I'm sure will be expandable later on!
