Ah...The Game That Got It Right!

Last week we looked at a game with an interesting idea that, ultimately, just didn't work. This week, we'll look at a game with the same goal that actually does work! 

In 1979 Parker Brothers came out with The Mad Magazine Game! The goal? Lose all your money! Here it is!

Here are the instructions. As you can see, they're pretty simple. There's even a provision where if you don't understand a rule, you just vote on it. 

Here is the board. It's a standard track which is a lot more simple than the Simpsons board. More "Monopoly" than "big grid."

Here are the cards. They do have some silly tasks, but not as goofy as the Simpsons cards. They come across as more fun than embarrassing. 

So why does Mad work while The Simpsons fails?

Well, in my opinion:

1. It's simple. The Simpsons just has too many gimmicks going at once. You can sit down with Mad and play without thinking about it. After all, a joke you have to think about stops being funny.

2. Which brings us to the fact that the humor seems less forced in the Mad game. The Simpsons' universe of jokes is vast and wide. It takes a certain amount of understanding to get it. The gags don't really stand on their own, you need background. 

Mad doesn't have that issue. The magazine has always been simply satire. You can take any joke at face value. You don't need a reference point.

3. Mad is a printed product while The Simpsons are a television show. This makes more of a difference than I would have thought at first. The graphics of Mad have never been animated, We've never heard Alfred E. Newman's voice. The comic strips on the board speak the same language as in the magazine.

Anything based on The Simpsons has to deal with the fact that these are (very) animated characters and storylines. It's hard to get the same amount of excitement from printed text and graphics that you get from the show. The characters seem to be referenced, but maybe not present.

Now, that's a lot of words to say I like The Mad Magazine Game a lot better than The Simpsons- Loser Takes All. One might assume that because the goals of both games are the same (to lose everything) The Simpsons might have ripped off Mad. However, I don't think so. And if they did, they did a bad job of it.

So there you have it! The Mad Magazine Game can be had for around 25 bucks on eBay. It's worth it if you like silly games.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

When a Game Tries Too Hard

 Today I have a scrappy little game that despite all of it's spunk, is just not great.

Years ago, I picked up "The Simpsons- Loser Takes All!" at a thrift store for a hefty ninety-seven cents! It looked interesting, but when I looked closer, the game board wasn't the typical path type board...and there were all these weird pieces that made no sense to me. Here is all the stuff...

How do you play it?

Well, after reading the instructions I still wasn't sure how to explain it, so I went to Boardgame Geek and this is what it said...

A Simpsons branded party game with a strong truth or dare flavor.

The winner is the player with the lowest score at the end of the game.

Players select a Simpsons character for a pawn and place it on the board. They are given $20 in fake money and 10 junk food tokens as well as the give character cards matching the pawn they selected.

Players take turns using the spinner to decide actions and movement. Moving into a new square triggers the action described on the square, in addition to any action the spinner dictated.

Typical actions are giving away money or junk food tokens to other players, receiving money or junk food tokens from other players, and swapping money or junk food tokens with another player.

Special actions are the question spaces on the board. When a player lands on one they must read the next question on the current question card, write down their answer, and pick one of the other players to guess the written answer. If they guess correctly, they turn one of their character cards face down; if they guess incorrectly, then the current player turns one of the his/her character cards face down.

Some sample questions:
"True or False: I'd rather watch a horror movie than a sentimental drama."
"What's my favorite movie?"
"Has a dog ever chased me?"

When one player has turned all five character cards face down, the game is over. Players with face up character cards remaining must add three points per card to their point total (sum of junk food and money). The player with the lowest score wins.

So there you have it. I guess. 

I'm sorry, but the only way this game sounds fun is if you had a few Duff Beers in you- and then it would be too complicated to play. 

Still, the graphics and the text really tries, doesn't it? "Dys-FUN-tional?" If you have to say a game is fun, then it probably isn't. 

Now, to be fair, I've never tried to play it. Maybe there's something I'm missing? I don't think so, though.

So, I'll put it all back in the box, put it on the shelf, and try to remember to ask Jess if she wants it.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure! (even if you get a few turkeys)