“You got it! Review

“You got it!

Oh, no. You answered that way. I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Fans of You Don’t Know Jack have been eagerly awaiting this sequel. Unlike the Question Pack and XL, You Don’t Know Jack: Volume 2 has 800 brand new questions in exciting new categories. The addition of a timer in the corner allows players to know exactly how long they have. If you didn’t know jack before, good luck this time around.

The best way to describe this game is Jeopardy on crack. With a delightfully twisted sense of humor, YDKJ Volume 2 goes as far as to have a category ‘Martha Stewart is a hoe.’ No area of our culture is forbidden, from TV to sex, this game has it all. Most questions are in a multiple choice form. The first player that rings in will be able to answer the question. If he fails, the other players get a shot. You even get the chance to ‘screw’ your opponent, forcing him to answer a question. All of these features were part of the original YDKJ and are no surprise to fans of the game.

The big news for this game is the introduction of some brand new categories. There are a few new categories of note. The first was “Dis or Dat.” The other players are not allowed to answer after you select a “Dis or Dat” category. You then are given 2 choices, such as “James Bond Movies” and “Diseases,” and given words that you must match to those categories, such as “Thunderball.” Unfortunately, all the questions of this type were rather easy. If you are lucky enough to get a “Dis or Dat” question, you are guaranteed a few thousand dollars (unless you truly stink, and then you should buy another game).

Next in our cavalcade of queries are the “Fill in the Blank” questions. The host gives you a clue, in my case a haiku, in which you had to type in what it related to. I hate to break it to Berkeley Systems, but these were anything but fill in the blank. They should have called them “Answer the Riddle” or something to that effect. While they were fun questions to answer, the title is just plain wrong.

The next category new to YDKJ volume 2 does not come around that often. We all remember the “Fiber Optic Field Trips” from Volume 1. This time, they’ve brought in celebrities, like Ed McMahon and Dennis Miller, to ask the player questions. These new questions take the form of a collect call, hence their name: Celebrity Collect Calls. While some of the celebrities take a long time and are just plain unfunny, ’tis a fun thing to have the host bagged on by a famous person.

The final new catagory is probably the best addition to Volume 2, the picture questions. Pictures are shown that combine two or more ideas into one picture. You then have a multiple choice question asking which sentence best describes the aforementioned picture. All of the answers take the forms of puns, such as “Spudly Do-Right” or “The Weaning Tower of Pisa.”

There are other clever additions as well. The game appears to be able to check the date and time you play the game, allowing the host to insult you even more. He’ll seriously question your social life if you are playing the game on a Friday night (I won’t mention how I know this). Also, YDKJ Volume 2 has a high score board. Tired of swearing to your friends that you once got $40,000? Well, now you can prove it.

If trivia is what you crave, or you loved YDKJ, this game is right up your alley. To improve your trivia experience, let me suggest the following: never play alone, physical violence is not necessary (even though it may help you buzz in first), daisy-chain three keyboards so everyone has their own (only possible on a Mac), and finally, be comfortable with your own ignorance. If you remember these things, you are bound to have countless hours of entertainment with YDKJ Volume 2.