I begged and pleaded and finally got the game “You Don’t Know Jack”.  In fact I got what is called the “You Don’t Know Jack — Snack Pack”.  The Snack Pack contains four complete games of “You Don’t Know Jack”.  Included are “You Don’t Know Jack — Movies” which features 800 trivia, quotes, and sequel questions from old and recent movies and “You Don’t Know Jack — TV” (another 800 questions) that contains questions from the good old sitcoms like “My Three Sons” and “Father Knows Best” to the more modern sitcoms.  I admit I do better at the questions from the older sitcoms – not because I am that old (I was just a toddler in the late sixties/early seventies) but I seem to be more familiar with them.  The questions on these two packs can be very difficult too.  They do like the more obscure trivia at times, but for the Queen of Useless Trivia it is a fun challenge.

The Snack pack also includes “You Don’t Know Jack — Volume 1” with another 800 questions that really run the gambit of the knowledge base.  These packs sport multiple choice questions, gibberish questions, Dis or Dat questions (questions asking which subject a particular thing is part of), and Jack Attacks.  The gibberish questions take sayings and mess them all up, the announcer reads these sayings in gibberish as they appear on the screen and you have to figure out what they are with a certain time period.  Here’s a hint, don’t look at the screen when the announcer reads the gibberish, just listen, then if you still need help look at the screen.  I have found it helpful to listen first and sometimes just by hearing it you can figure it out.  But that is all I am giving away about those questions.  Then come those Jack Attacks (Figure 2). This usually the last in a set of questions and all I am going to say about these questions are that you better have quick eyes and quick fingers.  It is a challenge not in difficulty of the questions but in quick thinking.  The questions are assigned monetary values according to the category on each question you pick.  I have noticed that sometimes the more wacky a category you pick the bigger the monetary value but then again the stranger the questions get too. 

The last in the Snack Pack is called “You Don’t Know Jack — The Ride”.  It seems to be a game unto itself as it varies a bit from the other three.  You get to choose the monetary values for each question (again you need to read and press buttons quickly).  While this one is definitely the funniest by far of the four, I would not recommend this as a kid’s game.  All four games have their irreverent moments; this one outdoes them all.  It has language in it that kids are exposed to each and every day of their young lives however, you might play it first to see what you think.  Be prepared for questions that are somewhat on the risqué side.  Okay not just somewhat risqué but really risqué at times.  That is probably what makes them so funny.  I have to admit that while I enjoyed the trivia in each of these games “The Ride” made me laugh the hardest and say “Oh my gosh” more than once.  I am not giving away anymore info on these games as you just have to try them for yourselves.

“You Don’t Know Jack” is an interactive game of course.  It will remind you of game shows on TV as you have an announcer that you interact with but of course you have to use keys on your keyboard to do so.  You will be asked how many players (allowing 2 to 3 players depending on the game) and how many questions you want (7 or 21) and then in order to answer questions you will be assigned a key to push.  The mouse is not used in this game.  The game has sound and visual effects.  When you are through you may continue to play or quit by simply reading the screen and choosing the key to the corresponding option.  This game is relatively simple to play but trivia-wise it can be a little on the challenging side 

The game is produced by Sierra Attractions and is advertised as “The Irreverent Quiz Show Party Game” and by the way it is great for a party game.  We have played a couple of times and our friends find it most amusing.  Okay, okay it downright laughable at times – not the games per say but the way we make fun of people who get the wrong answers (just kidding).  The game is rated T for Teen.  As I said before I would think hard about letting little ones play it.  The game does post a warning on the label about the mature content of the game including language and sexual references that may not be suitable for children.  Sierra has also added games under the “You Don’t Know Jack” umbrella such as 5th Dementia; Louder, Faster, Funnier; Jack Volume 3, You Don’t Know Jack - Sports and they also have Jack for Playstation 1 and Mock 2 for Playstation. 

Minimum requirements are a 486DX66 MHz processor or faster, Pentium recommended; 16 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 180 MB of hard drive space, video card capable of at least 640 X 480 resolution with 256 colors, SoundBlaster 16 or compatible 16-bit multimedia sound card.  The game can be used with Windows 95/98/ME/2000, probably not NT, and not sure about Windows XP.  I did not see anything listed on the website saying yes or no.  If you would like more information on the game here are some helpful Websites; 

• www.ydkj.com
• www.sierra.com
• www.jellyvision.com
• www.knowledgeadventures.com.