We mentioned Trivia Crack being released in the Windows Phone Store last week and had the opportunity to spend some time with the game to see how well it shook out. Trivia Crack is an online trivia game, very similar in nature to the popular Trivial Pursuit games.
You have six categories of questions to test your knowledge against and a few power-ups (life lines) to help nudge you in the right direction. Answer three questions in a category to try to win a crown and win all six crowns you win the match.
Available for low-memory devices, Trivia Crack isn't a bad choice of games but it felt more like a work in progress than a polished final product.
Registration Required
When you first launch Trivia Crack, you will need to register with the game's servers to play the game. It's an easy process and once complete you can log into your Facebook account to challenge a friend to a trivia match, find an opponent at random or eventually challenge past opponents you tag as favorites.
The main page for Trivia Crack will list your games in progress, the option to start a new game and several gaming stats. There is no help screen, no tutorial on how to play the game and the only setting available is to mute the sound. You can view your profile by tapping the green smiley box at the top of the gaming summary screen.
You do have a life meter on your gaming summary screen which regulates the number of games you can start. Trivia Crack affords you three lives, to start three games. Lives do replenish at the rate of one per hour. You also have what appears to be a game chip count and coin count on the summary screen but, without a help section it's a guessing game as to what each represents. The coins can be used to buy power-ups but no clue as to what the chips represent.
Starting a new game is simple, just choose your language choice and select an opponent from your Facebook friends, favorite opponents or have the game find an opponent at random.
One quick note about initiating a new game is that at the top of the screen you will find a handful of language support options. Trivia Crack will not default to your Windows Phone language. Before starting a new game be sure to select the appropriate language or you'll be receiving trivia questions that are likely illegible.
Game Play
As you would imagine, game play is turn based. You spin a wheel to randomly select your trivia topic and have the option to answer the question or skip it (limited to three skips per game). Questions are presented in multiple choice fashion and you have thirty seconds to choose your answer. Each turn continues until you incorrectly answer a question. Answer three questions in a row and you can answer a trivia question for a crown and the player with the most crowns after 25 turns wins the game.
The six trivia categories include geography, art & literature, science, entertainment, sports and history. Crowns are available to earn from any of those six categories.
There are four cheats available at the bottom of the question screen that include (and some of this is a guess) time extension, a bomb to remove half the answers, a reset button (resets the clock?) and a skip to the next question button. Each power up will cost you coins that are apparently earned by winning matches.
The questions can be challenging and if you answer incorrectly, the correct answer will briefly be highlighted in green. Should you answer correctly you have the opportunity to up or down vote the question (not sure what that does) as well as the option to proceed to the next question.
There is no time limit on how long you have to start your turn and no means of notification as to when it is your turn. You will simply have to pop in on the game periodically to see if your opponent has completed their turn. If another player is non-responsive you can resign a game.
Overall Impression
I wanted to like Trivia Crack but it was very difficult to bring myself around to liking the game. I don't mean to be harsh but there are so many features missing from the game that it is hard to enjoy it.
For starters, you need the game to recognize the language your Windows Phone is set to. If English is your language of preference, it can drive you nuts if questions are presented in another language.
Next up, the game needs some sort of notification system to alert you when it is your turn to spin the wheel. Otherwise a game that might take a few hours to complete could be drawn out for days. I also think Trivia Crack needs a help section or a tutorial to shed some light on the aspects of the game that isn't so obvious (power-ups, challenges, etc.).
I like the concept of online trivia matches and Trivia Crack does have the potential of being a fun Windows Phone game. But as is, the game just felt more like a Beta version than a finished product.
Trivia Crack is rated at 3.5 Stars in the Windows Phone Store, which is slightly on the high side with all the missing features.
- Trivia Crack - Windows Phone 8.x - 5MB - Free - Store Link
