Simpsons Board and Trivia Games Are Fun for the Whole Family

The Simpsons has been around a long time and has been very successful, so it should come as no surprise that the makers and Fox have tried to cash in on games related to the show. So far, only Simpsons Hit and Run has really made any mark in the video game arena, but did you know that the weird yellow animated family has made a niche for itself in board games and trivia games?

The Simpsons have been successfully transplanted to such famous board game universes as Clue, Monopoly and The Game of Life. In addition, there are many, many trivia-based Simpsons games to choose from.

Probably the most unique among all the Simpsons trivia games is What Would Homer Do? This was released by Tiger Electronics and part of the fun is the design itself, which features a surprisingly large figure of Homer sitting at his nuclear power plant console.

A cardboard background featuring simulated video monitoring screens and a window into a section where a nuclear accident is happening add to the fun. On the console is where the action really takes place. Buttons in the shape of the heads of Bart, Moe, Krusty, Mr. Burns and Marge act as player buttons while a Duff beer can, donut and sandwich buttons all serve as answer buttons.

The trivia questions are written on little green cards, front and back, and you must enter a code based on a grouping of four heads made up from any made up of any combination of the five player buttons. Although it sounds needlessly complicated, it is. Even so, it's a lot of fun. As far the difficulty of the trivia questions, it certainly helps to be a fanatic, but even a slightly more than casual fun can win.

Another entry in the Simpsons trivia game gambit that differs from the pack is Simpsons Jeopardy, from Pressman Toys. This is much like the traditional Jeopardy board game that goes back to the late 60s, except that it's designed with a little Simpsons cardboard frame that goes on top of the plastic answer board. You just slip in the paper with the clues, cover them up with the money amount cards and go for it.

In place of the buzzers, you get those little cricket clicker things that are almost impossible to distinguish from one another in determining who clicked in first so you might want to try finding another way to answer that challenge. It comes with a question booklet for the Alex Trebek in your group and it behooves you make this person the one who knows the most about The Simpsons because many of these questions can reach a rather high level of difficulty.

Cardinal has put out several trivia games that come in nicely done tins, featuring different designs. These are card games feature trivia questions, but also pose questions concerning identifying characters on a poster, and not just the major characters. The nice thing about this one is that various players can play at their own individual difficulty level during the same game.

One of the new games that comes in tin form is Simpsons Group Photo, a card game focusing on trivia, but far more entertaining to play, especially for younger fans of the show, than the other trivia games. The object of this game is to match cards in your hand to characters in a photo card you'll pick. Although the rules are a little complicated at first, they are easy to get down and once you do this game can go by really quickly. This is definitely the pick of the current crop of Simpsons trivia games.

If you're more into traditional board games, Simpsons Clue has taken that venerable old standby and done it up nicely. Following the design of the original, the board is laid out in the form of nine rooms, featuring overhead views of such Simpsons favorites as The Android's Dungeon, Krustylu Studios and the Kwik-E-Mart. Instead of Prof. Plum and Col. Mustard, you will play as Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, Krusty and, for some reason, Waylon Smithers dressed up as a maid. The game follows essentially the same rules, except that there are new weapons such as an Extend-O-Glove and Lisa's saxophone.

The Simpsons' Game of Life from Milton Bradley also basically follows the same rules, but of course the board is completely changed. Taking place in Springfield, it features drawing of many of the most beloved characters and refers back to several actual episodes of the show as you travel along your journey toward death.

Mr. Burns' face appears on the money, the gangster Fat Tony appears on the promissory notes and the Jack Lemmonesque jack of all of trades salesman Gil is featured on the insurance notes. It's the little details that make or break a game based on a movie or TV show and it's a credit to the designers that they got this one right.

The Simpsons Monopoly is equally deserving of credit, but there is such a glut of Monopoly games based on other product that that topic is deserving of its own article.