I spent the last two weeks logging into Xbox Live to play 1 vs.100, a new online game show. 1 vs. 100 is a two-hour game show featuring live gameplay between players, multiple rounds, and a rather boring host commenting on the action. That sounds like a real game show, right? The idea of bringing a game show with real world prizes to peoples living room is very intriguing. Millions of people connect to Xbox Live everyday and this game has been designed to give anyone the opportunity to get in on the action. This is accomplished by giving gamers three ways to participate during a live show. Every round a player is chosen to be The One. This person is selected to sit center stage and answer multiple choice trivia questions in a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire style arena. Another 100 players are selected to be a part of The Mob. Remaining players logged into the game will be part of The Crowd. Players sign up for a chance to be selected as The One or a member of The Mob by entering the game lobby. All players, regardless of their role in the game, try to answer trivia questions correctly for points. Depending on your role, consequences to answering a question wrong vary. The One wins the game by eliminating all the players in The Mob. If time runs out (currently the game is live for two hours an evening) and The One has not eliminated all Mob members, it’s a draw. The One loses by answering a single question incorrectly. If that happens, all the remaining Mob members win the game. Members of The Mob who answer a question incorrectly are sent to The Crowd, where they continue playing the game. The Crowd is working to earn multiple entries into the 1 vs.100 Sweepstakes, and competing to be one of The Crowds top 3 scorers per round. Sounds a little confusing, I know, but getting one or two rounds under your belt helps everything start to make sense.

Trust the Mob

During each round, The One will be given a choice of “The Money or The Mob”. Think of it as taking the money earned (Microsoft points usable on Live Marketplace.) and calling it quits, or putting it on the line and answering another a question to try and sweeten the pot. Taking the money ends the round and a new One and Mob are selected. If the One does not know the answer to a question they can call for help 3 times during the round. Similar to Who Wants to Be A Million, the answer they get may not be right, but it beats the pressure of a random guess. The first option The One has is called Trust the Mob. This means The One’s answer will be whatever the majority of The Mob picked as an answer. The second option is Trust the Crowd, meaning The Ones answer will be whatever the majority of The Crowd picked. The last option is Trust the Brain. Trusting the Brain makes The One’s answer the same as the top scoring player of the round. If a correct answer is achieved by using Help it is scored the same as if The One answered the question outright. In between Live shows the game is playable via practice rounds which allow you to earn more entries into the 1 vs. 100 Sweepstakes and adds to your chances of being chosen as part of The Mob, or possibly the The One during the next live show. The concept behind the game consists of ideas that have been borrowed from many popular game shows we have seen over the last twenty years. Being in The Crowd is similar to sitting in the audience of The Price Is Right. Round to Round it could be your named called to sit in the hot seat. The Help system is very similar to the Life Lines in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Multiple choice trivia questions have been the back bone of so many different shows I don’t feel like trying to list them out. I have only got to be part of The Crowd, but the idea that I might get to play one of other rolls in the game has kept me coming back. Even if your not picked, its a free, couch trivia game that can be fun for the whole family, whether they are gamers or not. Put your knowledge to the test and give 1 vs. 100 a try. Maybe you will get to be The One. Its going to be interesting to watch the game evolve as time goes on. If successful, games shows as we are familiar with them, could become a thing of past.

Money or Mob?

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