It's Only Trivial To Those Who Lose
Review by Kyp
"...You want me to give you the name of what?!"
actual quote from staff during "research"
STAR WARS Trivial Pursuit
released by HASBRO
in stores near you
I was really shocked when I saw this on store shelves. For one, it stood out - done in gilt and positively glowing on the shelves. And it's nicely done too - showcasing all major characters in a prominent scene from the original trilogy. The back of the box has a shot of the game board and cards set up in a pretended gaming situation. Presentation is excellent overall, and I wish Monopoly had been this jazzy.
 Ultimate experience? |
EVERY COLLECTOR HATES THIS PHRASE...
Upon opening the box, I discovered:
4 pewter figures (Leia, Vader, Han and Luke)
One game board
r2-D2 complete with LCD stomach.
Lots of question cards including ten prequel cards.
LOOK SIR, DROIDS...ERR, FIGURES!
The pewter figures are done to varying degrees of success - much like the Monopoly version
of same. Leia was the best by far - actually resembling the character. Vader was not that
bad but not that good either, and Han and Luke were not far from abysmal. All of them sit
on black plastic bases in which you can stick the plastic question pieces to show that you
have correctly completed a section successfully. The game board is a simple replica
of the original Trivial Pursuit board with Star Wars movie shots to depict what question
set you've landed on. It is 100% Star Wars - unlike Monopoly which retained elements of
the original on the board (Go to Jail, Go, Free Parking and Jail) much to my
chagrin.
The R2-D2 with the LCD screen is a nice touch - a dice randomizer, which brings thought to sabacc games. Good attention to detail and when you push R2 on the head, the number appears on the LCD panel. Works nicely indeed, though how long the batteries last I have not been able to determine yet.
Question cards are arranged into two types - picture cards with excellent screen shots from the trilogy on the back of the card and cards done in the typical Trivial Pursuit fashion. There are 100 picture cards and around 400 cards done in the original style. With 6 questions on each card, that is a phenomenal amount of questions in a game with only the movies for a source. The questions range from easy to impossible, with a good mix of the in-between. It is going to make even the most ardent of SW fans think just a little bit before rushing to answer.
 sneak peak, or just weak? |
COMING (UN)ATTRACTIONS...?
I was disappointed with the prequel cards as they appeared to have been rushed
and thrown in at the last minute. They are nicely done but the questions are very
simplistic and in my opinion, pathetic. It is reasonable considering the fact that
we
didn't know very much about these compared to the original trilogy's huge database
of knowledge. At the time the game was produced, we didn't even know the title of
Episode One. No picture cards for the prequels, much to extreme disappointment,
however there is a title card with the same shot of Coruscant that everyone in the
know must be sick of seeing appear by now.
I love it and think that Hasbro have a winner on their hands. It has a more polished feel than the Monopoly set in a lot of respects, and although the price may put some people off, it is yet 'another' Collector's Edition, so that may help ease the pain.
(Our Resident Australian, Kyp can be found on various message boards, chat rooms and IRC channels around the web, and simply loves to hear the phrase "throw another shrimp on the barbie" from total and complete strangers with whom she's never spoken before. Really. Trust us. Would we lie?)
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