One of the first things that comes to mind when someone mentions the bizarre or the unbelievable is Ripley's Believe It or Not. Cartoonist Robert Ripley spent a good portion of his life traveling the world collecting strange facts, photos, and objects to add to his collection and use in his comic strip. His world-famous archive has been used on television, in newspapers and magazines, and in a number of museums located in tourist destinations around the world. Now Sierra has brought Ripley's Believe It or Not to the PC in the form of a lighthearted trivia-based party game that delivers what is expected of it.

The game features four distinct types of questions.

As would be expected from a game based on Ripley's archive, Ripley's Believe It or Not features a wide variety of strange facts and photos divided into four basic question types: things you shouldn't know, believe it or not, odditorium, and things you shouldn't see. At the start of the game, players choose to answer either seven or 13 questions, and each question is worth a different amount of money that ranges from $250 to $3000 or more. The prizes get bigger as the game progresses, so even the players in last place stand a chance of winning in the end.

Things-you-shouldn't-know questions are basic multiple-choice trivia questions that are answered by the first player to buzz in. Believe-it-or-not questions are basic true-false questions that each player gets to answer at the same time by either believing the statement, not believing the statement, or passing. Odditorium questions are multiple choice, but with this type of question, the first player to buzz in answers, and then the remaining players have the choice to believe the first player's choice, not believe it, or pass. If the player who first buzzed in is correct, he or she wins the full amount of the prize money; if incorrect, he or she loses that amount. The remaining players either win or lose a smaller amount of money based on their belief or disbelief of the first player's answer. The final type of question is things you shouldn't see. Each of these questions begins with a phrase and a series of images that flash up on the screen in a random order, and players must buzz in when they see the image that matches the phrase. The first player to buzz in at the right time wins the prize money.

Overall, the game feels very well made. The graphics are clean and bright and the interface is clear and easy to navigate. The entire game has an old-fashioned circus sideshow feel that matches the Ripley license well. The sound, though, makes up a large part of the game's ambience. Jack Palance does some of the voice acting in the game, along with John Armstrong, and together their voices provide an integral part of the game's appeal. The music in the game gives it sense of a mystery, and the sound effects used throughout are appropriate.

Believe It or Not offers trivia in the purest form.

Ripley's Believe It or Not stays well within the lines of party trivia games, and it succeeds in presenting a good selection of strange facts from Ripley's archive in an easy-to-play game. Its subject matter is sure to appeal to just about everyone, if only for a brief time. The game includes hundreds of questions and photos, so it's sure to stay fresh for plenty of play sessions. The trivia itself is of the purest variety--unlike other trivia games that rely somewhat on factual knowledge of science, art, and history, most of the questions in Ripley's Believe It or Not are just as easily answered (or mis-answered) by all types of players.

The game supports up to four players on the same computer, and though it's more fun with more than one player, the questions themselves are entertaining enough for one player to enjoy alone. The game could have been improved by adding more options for the single-player game or by adding Internet multiplayer support. The single-player game is fun, but once you've played through the game once, only the questions change. A top-score hall of fame section, or perhaps some kind of difficulty level progression in the game, could have added some replay interest beyond just seeing what new questions pop up. Overall, though, Ripley's Believe It or Not provides the same kind of family-friendly amusement that made Ripley's original comic strip a success. The game's combination of off-the-wall facts and bizarre photos is a welcome addition to the party trivia genre.