Wii Smarty Pants Game is Fun for Trivia Fans of All Ages

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One of the most common problems with trivia games is that questions are either too easy or too difficult to appeal to a variety of players. To level the playing field between “book smart” and “street smart” participants, however, the Wii Smarty Pants game includes questions covering a wide range of topics and tailored to the age of the person playing.

Examples of adult-level questions found in the game include:

  • Where is the Taj Mahal?
  • What card should be removed from a regular deck of cards to play Old Maid?
  • What art movement is Salvador Dali associated with?
  • From what language does the word “collage” originate?
  • What is another name for the beehive hairstyle?
  • Which constitutional amendment prevents double jeopardy?
  • Which continent in the board game Risk has the fewest entry points?
  • What team played the Mets in the 1969 World Series?

Be advised that the correct answer for each question flashes only briefly, however. Since there is no way to review your performance after you are finished, this means the Wii Smarty Pants game can be a bit frustrating to play when you miss a question that sparks your sense of intellectual curiosity. After awhile, you may find yourself rushing to the computer to conduct some quick online research in between trivia sessions.

3 Modes of Play

The Wii Smarty Pants game offers three modes of play: solo, friends, and family.

In the solo mode, you can’t use your Mii to play or save your progress from day to day. The primary purpose of solo mode is to allow you to practice before playing with your friends or family. So, if you were hoping for a game to play on your own, Smarty Pants might not be the best choice.

In the friends mode, the game is similar to a TV gameshow. When you know an answer, you buzz in by pressing and holding the A button while raising your hand. Challenge cards, such as the “I Know It!” and “That’s Too Easy!” cards add extra interest to the game, while the “Double Points Dance” card is basically just silly fun that requires the player to dance around the room while moving the Wii remote to increase the point meter.

In family mode, Smarty Pants stresses cooperative play. Players are assigned different levels of questions based on their age, making this a good game for parents to play with their children. As you might expect, the makers of Smarty Pants tried their best to make use of the unique features of the Wii remote in this mode as well. If someone seems to be taking too long to answer a question, other players can shake, wave, dance, or jump with the remote to make the timer burn slower.