What curiosities. A waste of time so old that it predates iPhones, computers, and probably even books.
We’re pretty sure that on a winter’s night long ago, in some long-forgotten language, a hunter or gatherer growled “paint seven antelopes on the cave wall, then die from a festering wound,” and he replied “Who Og?” Yet here we are, in 2010, no smarter, no more advanced in any real sense, tapping our iPhones like chimpanzees trying to get pins in some insane grad school experiment, and still obsessed with trivia.
Since we can’t stop playing trivia games, we can also entertain ourselves. Here are the The 5 best Trivia apps for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch devices.
Ben Stein: It’s Trivia, Griptonite Games; $3.99. What is it about Ben Stein that just screams inconsequential but accurate facts? Is the nasal monotone? Tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses? Whatever it is, this game features plenty of Stein’s trademark sarcastic sarcasm, Stein’s fake (or is it?) selfishness, and the opportunity to strip Stein of some of his hard-earned stuff (shades of TV’s forerunner , “Win Ben Stein’s Money.”) Well worth the $3.99, and its trivia is actually, in some ways, meaningful. To try Stein, download the lite version for free. Does anyone have a better trivia app? Bueller? Bueller?
Trivial Pursuit, Electronic Arts; $4.99. Right after the aforementioned stone age, in the eyes of some, came the 1980s, when Trivial Pursuit was born (with some unimportant bits of history in between). Thankfully, your elders can now instruct you on those unimportant bits of history through Trivial Pursuit, at least the lore slice of the pie, which is where the original Trivial Pursuit game now resides. You can play the game in classic mode or a new “chase mode”, play with up to four friends over Wi-Fi, and download new questions for a price. Typical EA formula: buy the rights to a classic, offer a new option, charge a premium price, and do it all very well. Psst, Sony, take note: Jeopardy has more than 3 categories per round.
PopQ Trivia, Sina Mobasser; $1.99 It’s pop trivia, and you’ll find everyone who’s anybody in PopQ’s 15 categories, not to mention everyone who’s nobody. Attention parents and boomers, you can play too: pop stands for all eras of pop, and there’s a “where are they now?” which should make you feel at home. It’s not a game just for friends, but you can challenge your friends to beat you to the top of the global leaderboard, along with a few thousand strangers.
6501 Crazy Facts, Charles Jamerian; Free. The best of a “just the facts, ma’am” genre of apps, Crazy Facts has no gameplay, no mass-market namesake, no glitz, and no glitz. Just facts you didn’t know, unless you’re very weird. It’s still growing and it’s still ad-free and free.
That’s not all, IMAK Creations; $4.99. One of these things is not like the others. Locate it… quick! Play for the best price or for the speed record. Play until you can put it down, and good luck with that. Two global leaderboards, with no multiplayer option.
Full disclosure: While some are well-done, we avoid games based on anyone’s favorite band, TV show, or holy religious texts. If you want niche trivia, click on the App Store search box.
