Best Holiday Gifts for Game Show Fans
It’s amazing that Christmas is almost here, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were welcoming in 2008, and 2009 is right around the corner. Christmas is only in 8 days and it may be time to get those last minute gifts for your family. If you have game show fans in your family, or just know people who like games, we have a list of our favorites items of the past year which will make anyone on your list happy.
Recently released for the iPhone, iPod, and other mobile devices is the new version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? which will make a fantastic gift along with the DVD version. The DVD game is a pretty fun party game, including the multiplayer mode, but it’s always a bit disappointing to see they can never include Switch the Question on any game using the old format. But beyond that, it follows the original version of the show very well. Click here to get it from GSNShop. In regards to the iPhone game, the format is exactly as it is on television currently. You have ten Experts available to use for Ask the Expert. Modern graphics and actual show music are used well, as well as a video introduction from host Meredith Vieira. For $4.99, it’s definitely worth the purchase. Honestly, the only negative mark is that the categories repeat in one game more than they should, but the questions are different. Check the iPhone app store to get that.
I have to go with a bittersweet game, the 1 VS 100 tabletop electronic game from itoys. It’s extremely well made. Sounds from the actual show are used often. The amazing and very challenging writing style from the first season is also present. It’s hard to make the 100 person Mob seem real, and they did as well as they could. But basically if you can get through 13 or 14 questions, you’ve won. It’s harder than you think. Game play is identical to the fantastic first season, down to the helps. It’s really compact too and great to travel with. It’s a shame the show got canceled because we don’t get any of the planned expansion packs. However, it’s one of the best game show games of the year. You can buy that by clicking here.
Another bittersweet product is the Lingo DVD game. Even though the show is canceled you can still enjoy it dailywith your friends on television. It basically plays like the show, and includes a fun All Play round. Chuck Woolery is there to guide you through the game. It’s a very fun game that makes you relive one of GSN’s best shows and the confusion over its cancelation. It’s popular apparently too, as it’s out of stock. However, you can reserve it here, from GSNShop. Another one of GSN’s shows, Bingo America, has a DVD game but I haven’t played it yet so I have no idea how it is. We’ll try to find out soon, though.
Finally, for now, is the new Million Dollar Password game. Based on the successful primetime CBS game show which comes back tomorrow, the game brings the fun and excitement of the big money revival hosted by Regis Philbin to your home. Usually for timed games, you’ll just see a hourglass type system used. Not here, though. It actually uses an electronic timer including the music from the show to bring in more pressure. Lots of Password cards makes sure you have the game for a long time. It’s great for a party and really gets people shouting. Click here to get it from GSNShop.
We’ll have more recommendations as we get closer to Christmas.
My friends and I had a game night last night, and one of my friends brought “Million Dollar Password.” It was really fun and exciting. The words were extremely challenging (You try giving a clue for “forthright.”). But it was still fun! The timers (:30 and :90) use sound effects and music from the show. I have played the original “Password” game, “Password Plus”, and the “Password” DVD game. “MDP” offers a new and exciting way to play. I highly recommend it!
I’m getting myself the MDP game for Christmas, when it goes on sale on the 26th. :-) Looking forward to your getting the Bingo America game though, Alex – I’d love to know what you think of it! I reviewed it last week, and was probably a little too generous with my score. (2.5 out of 5 stars)
I own the “Bingo America” DVD game and it’s pretty cool. It combines the play at home & studio game elements. Everyone gets a disposable bingo card. So, the ball rolls up on the screen. If you have the number on that ball, you mark it off the card. Then a question comes up and it’s read aloud. Whoever gets it right first gets the point value like the show. You keep going until someone gets a bingo on their personal card. That person goes to the Bingo Bonus Board round. It combines season one & season two bonus rounds.
You pick a number from the B line that has a point value hidden behind it. Then you pick one as needed from I, N, G, O. If you match two point values, you win that point value and the game is over. The losing players, before the round, pick which number from each line they think the winner will pick. If they’re right, they get the point value from behind the number they predicted. Whoever has the most points at the end wins!
It sounds a bit complicated, but really it’s not. It’s a whole lot of fun and I recommend it.
I really, really want the Millionaire mobile game based on the new season. The problem is, I don’t have an iPhone or an iPod touch. I have a regular cell phone and a regular iPod. This game should definitely be available for people who don’t own these two specific products- for me, at least, the game would be an instant buy.
If Capcom really wanted to be clever, they’d release it on WiiWare for the Nintendo Wii as a downloadable game. That would be really cool, and since both iPhones and the Wii use motion sensors, the port wouldn’t be that hard.
Secondly, I bought the Million Dollar Password game last week. It’s one of the best game show adaptations on the market. The electronic base with the countdown music from the show was a really, really nice touch. I highly recommend picking up this game.
I don’t see why we have all of these coming out on DVD when they could be also coming out for Wii/Xbox/PS3. To me, it makes much more sense to put them as a real video game. DVD’s work great for Scene It, but past that, they get kind of slow, in my opinion. They do appeal to those without video game systems, but I’d like a quality Lingo or Millionaire game for Wii. Heck, I love the Merv Griffin’s Crosswords game for Wii!
the motion sensor that we use at home uses infrared beams and photocells’”*