Category Archives: Wii

You don’t know You Don’t Know Jack? Here’s a quick history lesson. In a time when Youtube and streaming internet video was just a pipe dream and animated gifs were considered cutting edge technology You Don’t Know Jack was a breath of fresh air. The irreverent digital trivia game became the centerpiece of many geek parties and even had a chance going mainstream with a six episode television run hosted by Paul Ruebens (of Pee Wee Herman fame). After not catching any national attention, You Don’t Know Jack slowly took it’s ride into the sunset.

Fast forward almost 15 years later. THQ has decided to bring back You Don’t Know Jack, this time to almost every game console and handheld under the sun. Does this once cutting edge franchise have a chance in the ever expanding world of living room entertainment? Surprisingly, yes.

You Don’t Know Jack plays like a 15 minute television show. Up to four players grab their Wii remotes and are presented with a series of questions. Each game you play is considered an episode, and each episode has ten set questions locked and loaded. This is what makes You Don’t Know Jack work – the lack of a random puzzle generator means that you won’t be seeing repeat questions annoyingly pop up.

A Chance to Screw Another Contestant? YDKJ at Its Best

Multiple choice questions make up a majority of You Don’t Know Jack‘s itinerary, but there are a few new and classic YDKJ mini-games to mix things up for even the most experienced trivia buff. DisOrDat is one of the repeats from series past, but it’s quick and simple format is a nice break after a few multiple choice rounds.

My favorite new addition to the franchise is the Who’s the Dummy round, where the game’s host explains his recent interest in ventriloquism and then contestants are challenged to decode the question and answers without the use of Bs, Ps and Ms – the three letters that are almost impossible for any ventriloquist to pronounce. This type of humor is what You don’t Know Jack is famous for and is guaranteed to produce a chuckle.

Another gem is the Wrong Answer of the Game Challenge. A side quest that presents a product sponsor at the beginning of the game and has contestants second guessing even their correct answers while hunting for, you guessed it, the wrong answer of the game. By picking the wrong-yet-sponsored answer players are awarded extra cash and a short commercial from each product’s sponsor.

Insert Big Cock Joke Here

You Don’t Know Jack‘s simple text based looks and style work perfectly for this genre and I never noticed any notable load times. You can get a game started quicker than an average board game, which is a real selling point that a lot of developers seem to ignore in this category. The Wii version of the game lacks online play, but honestly this type of game is made for a family room full of friends and isn’t missed.

73 episodes are included on this edition of You Don’t Know Jack, and YDKJ‘s $29.99 price sticker makes it the perfect value for the budget conscious gamer. With over 65 hours of entertainment it will take quite a few get together to burn through all of You Don’t Know Jack‘s trivia, and the games quick and easy set up process should make it the goto next time your throwing a party with a group of trivia savvy friends.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Are you a trivia fan? If you answered yes than You Don’t Know Jack is a no-brainer. The game’s humor, variety and approachability makes it the perfect party favor. For under 30 dollars you’ll get a polished quiz show that’s guaranteed to produce a ton of laughs at your next special occasion. I can’t wait for volume 2 – Viva You Don’t Know Jack!

DigitalNipples You Don’t Know Jack Score – 8.5 out of 10