Andy Whiteford
02-04-2004, 06:00 PM
After releasing Monopoly on the Pocket PC, Handmark must have got the idea to monopolise the board game conversion market because here we are with yet another officially licensed title. Trivial Pursuit, a board game that will have had many families at loggerheads over the festive season has been served up on a Pocket PC platter. Does it live up to the Handmark quality we expect? Read on....<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-1.gif" /><br /><!><br />To satisfy the curiosity of the minority who don’t know what Trivial Pursuit is all about, each player is given a counter that holds up to six coloured pieces. These six colours relate to the different categories of trivia on offer. Each player takes it in turn to roll the dice and then select a corresponding location on the board to move to. You are asked a question depending on the colour you land on. Answer correctly and you roll again, get it wrong and the next person takes a turn. Each colour has a base station and should you land on one and answer that question correctly, you get one of the six colours required. Get all six and you then make you way to the centre of the board where you must correctly answer a random question to win the game.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-2.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 1: The Trivial Pursuit gameboard in your pocket.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Playing the Game</b></span><br />Kicking off a game is simple enough; you select one of the two game play modes and then enter up to six players' names. The dice is rolled automatically for each player and then the possible destinations are highlighted on the board awaiting the player’s selection. Playing the game really is straightforward as the interaction required by the player is relatively minimal and it’s simply a case of tapping where you wish to land and doing the same to pick your answer from the four on offer. What is all too common with the board variation is that some games can last a long time. It all depends on how good you are with trivia and the questions you're asked. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-3.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Possible destinations are highlighted.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-4.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 3: And a sample of the resultant question.</i><br /><br />Should you not have the time to play a full-blown game of Classic Trivial Pursuit, Handmark have added the Flash mode. In this game you have to make your way up a ladder to the very top before answering the final random question to crown the winner. If you are a fan of trivia, this really is a bonus for the Pocket PC variety of the game. You can have up to six players and select between five and 20 correct answers standing between you and victory. On each rung of the ladder is a choice of two coloured categories and each turn is taken in strict rotation regardless of whether you answer correctly or not. You must answer correctly before progressing to the next step on the ladder.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-5.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 4: Setting up the game in Flash mode.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-6.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 5: And the ladder in all its simplistic glory.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Trivial Matters</b></span><br />It wouldn’t be a Handmark game without the usual set of options and things do not disappoint with the ability to change the volume, turn off animations and save a game for later, among others. Another cool option is trivia facts that will tell you a little about the question that you have just been asked should you answer it correctly. Of course this just adds to the attraction of what is already a well implemented and good looking adaptation! The whole appearance is befitting of the Trivial Pursuit name and sound is equally well implemented. Music is left out in favour of ambient effects such as the roll of the dice or a gong to signify an event in the game with a small fanfare the reward for winning a coloured piece. To help move the game along, there is a handy zoom option that will show the relevant section of the board in finer detail.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-7.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 6: The game options screen.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-8.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 7: The icon in the bottom right toggles the handy zoom function.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Is There Anybody Out There?</b></span><br />With more and more Pocket PCs being released with ever increasing communication formats, Handmark are one of the few companies to exploit these networking possibilities. While the game is great to play on a single device, you do have the option to host or join a game using Infrared, Bluetooth or the Internet. This is impressive given the game format already allows multiple players to share the one unit without any restrictions.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-9.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 8: Tips on playing the game guide the newcomers.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-10.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 9: The optional trivia relating to a correct answer.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Gotchas</b></span><br />Not only is this a faithful conversion of the game, it works very well on the Pocket PC. That said, the only issue I can find is a product of the subject of the game; Trivia. Localised for the North American market, many of the questions will go over the head of someone from another location and this is where the game falls down to luck. The multiple choice of answers means you still have a good chance of progressing, however, and the category of ‘Science and Nature’ for example is devoid of such an issue due to its universal nature. I’m unsure if it's financially prudent for Handmark to release localised content for areas outside the North American market but this is something that I would encourage.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/andyw-jan04-tp-11.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 10: Stats show how good or bad you were at the game's conclusion.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Where to Buy</b></span><br />Trivial Pursuit can be bought from the <A HREF = "http://www.handmark.com/products/detail.php?id=220" target = "blank">Handmark Web site</A> or <A HREF = "http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=92897" target = "blank">Handango</A> (Affiliate link) for $29.99.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />As many of you will know, I am a huge fan of Handmark as they consistently release very high quality incarnations of popular titles. This release yet again proves how adept Handmark are when it comes to delivering the goods and if you enjoy Trivial Pursuit, this version really is perfect. The Flash mode adds further value to a title by making it possible to pick up and play for short time periods using a simplified concept. The price tag is admittedly high for a Pocket PC game though and this is the only thing I imagine would put off an American fan of the game.