Board Game Show Marathon

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'156967\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 09:27 AM\']
Luckily, there are ways around this.  I'm sure someone can manipulate the free buzzers.com software enough to suit the purposes of $ale.  It may not be as sexy as the Quizzard buzzer, but the idea remains the same.
[/quote]
Um, my point was that the Quizzard buzzer is ANYTHING BUT sexy. But, yes, there are ways around it. Sexy ones, even. Which reminds me, I need to look into finding PVC pipe with a 1 1/8" bore...

What about Jeopardy! then?  I remember at least one of the versions had a buzzer as well.

I know nothing about how the Electric Jeopardy buzzers worked. But I'd be interested to.

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'156982\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 01:34 PM\']

What about Jeopardy! then?  I remember at least one of the versions had a buzzer as well.

I know nothing about how the Electric Jeopardy buzzers worked. But I'd be interested to.
[/quote]
I have that game and have used it a few times.  (I bought a used copy from eBay three or four years ago.)  I've noticed no issues with it.  It's very basic; an LED on the "lectern" of the first person to press his button lights up, then goes off after a few seconds.  As on the show, there's nothing flashy, and there are no sound effects.  It works and is better than trying to figure out who clicked his cricket first.  Naturally, it doesn't accommodate as many players as the Quizzard does.

I don't mind the delay with the Quizzard; it kind of reminds me of the way the $otC lecterns would light up in that circular pattern.  I've only rarely had issues with its not being able to determine who buzzed in first.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'156985\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 10:44 AM\']
It's very basic; an LED on the "lectern" of the first person to press his button lights up, then goes off after a few seconds.  As on the show, there's nothing flashy, and there are no sound effects.
[/quote]
Brilliant. I love that they kept it simple and subdued. If $otC had yanked out that awful flashing bit and just done that (maybe keep the beeping sound) I would have been completely happy.

(Really, if they had just made the player who buzzed in flash instead of flashing all of them, I would have been even more happy. There are about a dozen other ways they could have gone with that, all of which would have been an improvement.)

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'156986\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 01:55 PM\']
Brilliant. I love that they kept it simple and subdued. If $otC had yanked out that awful flashing bit and just done that (maybe keep the beeping sound) I would have been completely happy.[/quote]
The beeping sound comes in handy if, as I do, you read the questions in your best Jim Perry voice.  You're too busy looking at the question book to be paying attention for a light to come on.

By the way, the stand-alone Quizzard beeps and flashes lights before showing who was first, too, but its pattern is to light up the LEDs one at a time around the circle (as if the light is moving around it) before settling on the winner.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'156987\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 11:19 AM\']
The beeping sound comes in handy if, as I do, you read the questions in your best Jim Perry voice.  You're too busy looking at the question book to be paying attention for a light to come on.
[/quote]
Sure, having the beeper makes total sense in $otC. It's just that the beeping could have been so much better.

By the way, the stand-alone Quizzard beeps and flashes lights before showing who was first, too, but its pattern is to light up the LEDs one at a time around the circle (as if the light is moving around it) before settling on the winner.

Yeah, I own both as well. The point is the same, though: it interrupts you without immediately telling you who is going to get to answer, and that is annoying.

[chris319]

What's My Line? is gawd's gift to game nights. Absolutely no advance preparation is required. No questions, no Quizzards, nothing.

NOTE: Mystery Guest rounds play better and are easier to get than occupations. For some reason it is easier to get Yolanda Bowersley than to guess that someone's a locksmith (of course Yolanda Bowersley would sign in as "Ms. X").

[alfonzos]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'156902\' date=\'Jul 8 2007, 05:30 PM\']
Whatzit? would be tolerable if you were to chuck the silly "race to the finish" board and did each puzzle and toss-ups, and so on, at which point it becomes very similar to Catch Phrase but without the animation.
[/quote]

Whatzit? was redesgned and reissued by Rose Art. Gameplay was changed but not for the better. There are more puzzles and an impressive gameboard.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'157013\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 01:33 PM\']
What's My Line? is gawd's gift to game nights.
[/quote]
Depends on where you are.

"Ten down, and we move along now to Travis Eberle."

"Erm, are you a dev at Microsoft?"

[alfonzos]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'156938\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 03:54 AM\']
Concentration (Milton Bradley, any edition but first),
I'm interested to know:[list=1]

• How this game would be interesting in a "party" atmosphere
• What is wrong with the first edition?

[/quote]

1. Several copies of the game would be needed for a round robin tournament.
2. The first edition puzzles are distinctly inferior to the rebuses in other editions.

Add Jackpot! (Milton Bradley) to my list of recommendations. The game can handle sixteen players just change the values of the riddles to reflect the series. Also generate the values of the target number and jackpot the way the series does.

[Peter Sarrett]

The real question here is how you want to structure the evening.  An elimination tournament is fine if people have other games to play once they're knocked out, but horrible if not.  Likewise, a big game like Jackpot can fit a lot of people, but most of them have nothing to do for the entire game.

Round Robin or a Swiss pairs tournament seem like the ways to go, with a center-stage final match for the top finishers to determine a winner.

As such, games that require no emcee would work best.  This generally means games with teams, so the teams not playing can function as judges.  This puts you in the realm of communication games-- Pyramid, Password, and the like-- and games where no buzz-in is required, like Card Sharks.  Concentration only works if it's sudden death-- a wrong guess at a puzzle gives the round to the opposition.

[Sodboy13]

[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'157022\' date=\'Jul 9 2007, 03:51 PM\']
Add Jackpot! (Milton Bradley) to my list of recommendations. The game can handle sixteen players just change the values of the riddles to reflect the series. Also generate the values of the target number and jackpot the way the series does.
[/quote]

I own that one, and I definitely can't recommend it.  The riddles are absolutely atrocious - a good half of them are downright nonsensical.  (From reading Mr. Ottinger's page, I'm guessing whoever did the riddles for Jackpot! also authored the questions for E.S. Lowe's High Rollers.)  But the 15 little envelopes do make for handy props when adapted for other games.  Numbers 1-3 occupy a space in my box of $otC for the "Instant Cash" bargain.

I've hosted a few game show nights at my place.  If you're planning on doing a few games in one night, I definitely recommend kicking things off with Family Feud.  It immediately gets everyone into the game, and even in later games when some people are sitting out, the tone of the night's been set and everyone's had the chance to get into it.

Pyramid is foolproof.  People will inevitably get themselves worked up and panicked against the clock and will shout out the most absurd things.  One of my friends may never live down shouting "Guacamole!" as an attempted answer to "Things associated with hot dogs."  ("It's green and chunky, you put it on top...")

If you've got the equipment for it, hook a computer up to a good-sized TV and play Curt King's PYL game.  A PS2-style USB gamepad with the free Joy2Key software makes a cheap, serviceable substitute for a big red buzzer.  Just program the L3 or R3 button as the spacebar.

Record a few dozen episodes of Match Game to get a decent amount of questions, pick up some blue 4x6 index cards and black Marks-A-Lot markers at Officemax, and there ya go.  Do this one at the end of the night, so you're finishing things off with a bunch of people playing at once.  Especially if it's the sort of social situation where everyone's got a respectable buzz going, but haven't put themselves over the line.

Though I haven't used it for a party, Pressman's 1 vs. 100 box game has materials and rules that make for a great player vs. mob experience without having to round up 101 people.  However, not everyone's a triviaphile, so I've shied away from games centered on knowledge for my parties in the past - though I've been thinking about doing an all quiz show night sometime.  

Whatever other games you decide to play, I wouldn't recommend anything with fewer than three players at once.

[alfonzos]

Add Everybody's Talking! (Watkins Strathmore).

[Jimmy Owen]

See, I thought you were aiming to go with shows that are actually recognizable to a college crowd.  Might as well play poker or blackjack (both great TV game shows, BTW)

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'157129\' date=\'Jul 10 2007, 04:06 PM\']
See, I thought you were aiming to go with shows that are actually recognizable to a college crowd.  Might as well play poker or blackjack (both great TV game shows, BTW)[/quote]
The Super Bowl Party that took place in my room last year turned into a Behind The Blank+Lingo Party, and I was the one that wanted to watch the Super Bowl.  So yeah, thanks for your non-contribution.

The real question here is how you want to structure the evening.

Well, it's not much of an evening as it is a day, as a session of the Pitt Gaming Club can run anywhere between 4-6 hours.  And typically, there is at least one paper/pencil RPG and/or one Fantasy Flight board game being played, with Apples to Apples being a good default.  Actually, one reason I want to do the BGSM is because a session is rarely something other than one paper/pencil RPG and/or one Fantasy Flight board game.

I wouldn't worry about formats, though.  I can concoct some car-razy formats that always tend to work or are flexible enough to work with little change.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'157157\' date=\'Jul 10 2007, 05:12 PM\']
So yeah, thanks for your non-contribution.
[/quote]
There's some delicious irony, right there.

I can concoct some car-razy formats that always tend to work or are flexible enough to work with little change.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall...