You Don't Know Jack: the Trivia Video Game

As I was packing up stuff from my mom's basement to help her move, I came across a box with a bunch of old computer video games. Most of these games have been shoved in this box, in a dark part of the basement, for a reason... They were straight, bargain bin video games.

After digging through, I found some video game gems that made this discovery worth while, and gave me the brilliant idea to start this series of articles. For this article's purpose, we will be discussing the video game, You Don't Know Jack. For those of you who don't know Jack, it is a trivia game unlike any other trivia game.

Made primarily for the computer, the video game You Don't Know Jack, was released in the United States in 1995 and went on to win awards and the praise of millions of fans. The reason Jack is unlike any other trivia video game, or any other video game in general, is the set-up and humor throughout the game.

The Cast

You Don't Know Jack is set-up like a trivia game show, with all the same elements of a traditional game show. There are the hosts, and, like almost any other game show that has been around for twelve years and counting, there have been a few. The most famous and the favorite among You Don't Know Jack fans, is Cookie Masterson.

Originally featured as a sign-in host to get player's names and info in You Don't Know Jack Volume One and Volume Two, Cookie is just as loud and obnoxious as the video game itself is. As I said, the You Don't Know Jack video game has had more than its fair share of hosts; Nate Shapiro, Buzz Lippman, Guy Towers, just to name a few, but Cookie still remains THE host in the hearts of many fans.

The Game

Most versions of the You Don't Know Jack video game, and there have been many different video game versions which we will be touching on in a few minutes, run and play the same. The common bond between all the video games, no matter the game play, is that the players are on a very crude, and hilarious, TV game show.

The game starts in the 'Green Room'. The sign-in host asks the players for their names and info, but in the background you hear backup singers warming up, announcers giving stage directions, commercial recordings playing, and the like, with the only on-screen graphic being a blinking 'On Air' sign. I have mentioned the humor in You Don't Know Jack, and some of that humor can be seen in this early stage of game play. If a player doesn't enter their name soon enough, the sign-in host will assume they have stage fright and give them a fake name. You can also skip the instructions and hear the host talk about how impatient you are.

After the 'Green Room' intro, You Don't Know Jack starts. The graphics are just the questions and how much money each player has, so there is nothing too fancy to look at. Most of the humor of this video game pretty much comes through the voice actors, namely the host. The host will introduce himself, and then proceed to ask the questions.

The questions come in many different forms, but almost always have some sort of a pop culture reference or twist to them and are multiple choice. Example regular question: If judging by the society of Planet of the Apes, what kind of military officer would Magilla Gorilla be?" The answer: A General. If you got that one wrong, don't worry. Most of the fun is derived from You Don't Know Jack's wise-cracking hosts about the players as the guess the wrong answers. It almost pays to guess wrong!

Other question types include Dis or Dat, which makes you decide which of two or three categories certain things fall into, Fiber Optic Field Trips 'call' a random person in the phone book and have them come up with trivia questions (this type is only in the early versions of You Don't Know Jack, probably because of the reality that the game actually could call random people with newer technology), Gibberish Questions give you a phrase that isn't right, but the sound of the phrase rhymes with the phrase you have to guess, and many, many more.

Every game of You Don't Know Jack ends with the Jack Attack question round. This word association game gives players a clue, then places a word or phrase in the middle of the screen while other words and phrases appear from the sides of the screen, but disappear after only a few seconds. The point is to buzz in when a match is seen, but it has to match the clue given at the beginning of the round; e.g. TV Moms. Players score money for every right answer, but also lose money for every wrong answer. Afterwards, the money is totaled up and the winner is declared, but there is still more humor to be had.

The Funny

Now that you know the hosts and the point of the game, let's delve into the humor, or the funny, as the cool kids call it. If you decide to play a 21-question game, after the tenth question there is an 'intermission' featuring voice commercials or comments. Commercials are also featured during the credits after the game. Typing certain unmentionable words in some question types will cause the host to lash out at the players, and the continued use of these phrases will cause the host to shut down the game. These highlights are just that, highlights. The verbal abuse and sexual innuendos throughout the You Don't Know Jack video games make it the most entertaining trivia game to play, and is the main reason the game is so much fun.

The Versions

OK. This is the long list of the versions, but I am only listing the American releases. It should be noted that You Don't Know Jack is available in other countries; such as Japan, Britain, and Germany. I will also include the release dates of each version.

You Don't Know Jack Volume One (1995)

You Don't Know Jack Volume Two (1996)

You Don't Know Jack: Sports (1996)

You Don't Know Jack Volume Three (1997)

You Don't Know Jack: Movies (1997)

You Don't Know Jack: Television (1997)

You Don't Know Jack: The Ride (1998)

You Don't Know Jack Special Edition (1998)

You Don't Know Jack: Offline (1999) - Featured games from the netshow.

You Don't Know Jack: 5^th Dementia (2000)

You Don't Know Jack: Louder! Faster! Funnier! (2000) - more questions from the netshow.

You Don't Know Jack 6: The Lost Gold (2003)

There were also two versions released for the PlayStation:

You Don't Know Jack (1999)

You Don't Know Jack: Mock 2 (2000)

You Don't Know Jack was also released as books, which featured the questions, but in book format, a tabletop game, and a short lived TV series. Paul Reubens, known for his character Pee-Wee Herman, hosted the show. After six episodes on ABC, the show was canceled, but with the impossible question, a wise-cracking host, and ninjas, this version was just like the actual video game version.

The netshow was canceled, but http://www.youdontknowjack.com, features daily Dis or Dat questions and as of March 5, 2007, Jellyvision, Jack's owners, have begun to create new web episodes, with a new one each week. A great and forgotten game, until its resurrection, You Don't Know Jack will always have a place in my heart.