I attended a private boarding school during my 4 years of highschool, which is a very interesting experience to say the least. Though far more regulated (for obvious reasons), it is in many ways a lot like going to college 4 years early. My grandparents lived in the same town as the school, so "officially" I lived with them, but I was on campus from 7-7 (or later) every day of the week and usually on Saturday's, so for all intents and purposes I lived on campus.
My freshman year, one of the things that spread through the student population like wildfire was ...(you think I'm going to say mono don't you? Dont lie) a game called You Don't Know Jack. Effectively, Jack is a spoofed trivia game that asks a series of odd questions, most of which pair something about pop culture with some sort of actual trivia. Meanwhile the host has an endless stream of absurd commentary, reinforcement of correct answers, and a bit of amusing verbal abuse for wrong ones which give the game a ton of character. The best part of Jack, however, is the multi player element. Each player had a "buzzer" key on the keyboard, letting up to three friends cram in together and play this game for hours, until my Grandmother would show up and ask why I had made her wait for me for 45 minutes downstairs. Whoops =)
Actually... I'll tell you what. In keeping with my semi-regular (ie totally irregular) tradition of posting ridiculous things on Friday afternoons, why don't I just show you what Jack is all about? No multi player I'm afraid, which really adds a huge dimension to the game, but something is better than nothing right?
Disclaimer: don't worry, this is legal =) Some adult language. Also, I'm not sure if the game will transfer through RSS readers, so you may need to browse to the actual website to check it out.
Like I said, without the multi player element, you miss out on the hair trigger factor that goes with every question, especially the jack attack. But you get the idea.
So thats it right? Class dismissed and have a good weekend? You thought you'd just get to play games and run did you? Sadly there is actually a point to this trip down memory lane. Can't you just hear Admiral Ackbar saying "It's a trap!" in that wonderfully squid-like way he does? That was the most egregious use of embedded media ever. And you loved it ;-)
...*awkward silence*...
There are a few things that make Jack such a great game. Its social. Its humorous. Its very easy to play. And it spins its content in such a way that it can be relevant to a lot of different people. Its pretty much the definition of a casual game.
So whats to say this format couldn't be used for book-learning instead of just for fun? The idea of playing Jeopardy for in class reviews has been around since roughly the Middle Ages, so think of this as a new trick for an old dog - but with a much more hip, fun, social twist. A study group could have a "Jackified version" of course content to play through together before a big exam or something like that. Its a simple trivia game with a few jokes and jabs - but the experience it could create could help make an irrelevant piece of trivia something you keep with you for a long time.
Anyway, thats enough thinking for a friday. Enjoy the weekend. And remember the Jack.
This You Don't Know Jack Demo as well as others are available at http://www.youdontknowjack.com/
Memories! Ahh, Phil's computer...
I think this is an excellent idea. The only problem is that it just wouldn't be the same without the snarky commentary from the host. Then again there must be scores of would-be snarky announcers out there waiting for an opportunity to be the You Don't Know Jack host, so maybe it wouldn't be such a problem after all.