1 vs. 100 Hands-On

Trivia games are moving to a whole new level with Microsoft's 1 vs. 100 on Xbox Live. Microsoft decided to host a live show, currently in its pilot season, from Redmond, Washington, while journalists and other participants gathered in Los Angeles and San Francisco to play as the one or the 100. We gathered at a local hotel in San Francisco and tuned in to the live gameshow, hosted by Emmy Award-winner Chris Cashman. Cashman's experience in television and radio certainly brought forth an energetic and exciting vibe, as if you were really watching a gameshow. The only difference is that instead of watching overly excited people bouncing around on stage, we saw our own avatars waving wildly, dancing, and doing arm pumps.

For those of you who have never seen the show before, 1 vs. 100 is a gameshow hosted by Bob Saget of Full House fame. One player ("the one") goes against "the mob," a group of 100 individuals that will answer the same trivia questions as the player. There are three answers to choose from, so members of the mob who get the answer wrong are eliminated after each question and the prize money for the one goes up. The one can choose to run with the money or play against the mob, but if he or she gets the question wrong, the prize is split between the remaining mob members.

We started by customizing our avatar so that we'd be able to point each other out and laugh at whoever got the answers wrong. (Turns out that we were the weakest link a majority of the time.) We were grouped into fours, even though there are no teams, but it's a great way to encourage social interaction and play with your friends on the same couch or elsewhere. We were paired up with a couple of others in the same room, although only two of us were on the same couch. Before the show started, we all gathered around in our virtual lobby and listened to Cashman crack jokes about our respective cities while we waited. With your avatar onscreen, the Y button lets you do a few funny moves, such as the running man, but it's apparently random so that all players don't end up doing the same thing. The D pad lets you change it up a bit, but you're kind of limited when it comes to silly motions.

Once the show got started, it was time to get serious. Between all of the crazy lights in the background--which acts as a replica of the real stage--and Cashman's announcements, you start to feel the pressure. None of us in the room were chosen that evening to be the one, but we were told that you really start to feel the stress when you're up against everyone else. Each question is multiple choice with three possible answers, and the correct answer is displayed after each round, along with the answer that each player chose. Consequently, there's always some pressure to choose the right answer, especially when everyone else on your team gets it right.

There are real prizes to be won, and as long as you're an Xbox Live gold member, you're eligible to win. If you're a silver member, you can still participate as long as you play with another gold member on the same Xbox, but you can't win any prizes. Your chance of getting picked as the mob or the one depends on the number of questions that you've answered as well as your speed and accuracy. These metrics are reset each week, so you don't have to have played all season to increase your chances. Once you've been chosen to play as part of the mob or the one, you can't be picked again for that week. Microsoft is anticipating thousands of players, so even if you don't get picked as part of the mob or the one, you can play as the crowd. You'll score the same amount of points depending on how fast you respond, and if you place in the top three, you can win an Xbox Live Arcade game or Microsoft points. If you're part of the mob, the value of your prize is dependent on how many members of the mob are left. Your chances of getting a prize also depend on whether the one decides to take off with the winnings or not. There's a new Xbox Live Arcade game each week for you to win, totaling 13 different games during the season. Achievements will also be included, with a new set to earn each season thereafter.

The types of questions that came up in our rounds were based on movies, television, and celebrity gossip--categories that may or may not be your strong suit. Does anyone really expect us to know why Britney Spears freaked out at her last concert? Regardless, it's still fun to keep playing even after you've been eliminated; you can still collect the same amount of points for answering a correct question, and it's also an easy way to catch up on current events. When playing with your group of four, you'll have access to standard live-chat options, and you can decide whether you want to help each other or play competitively. As the one, you have three chances to ask for help. You can trust the mob by choosing the answer that the majority of the mob answered. Trusting the brain will give you the answer of the person who currently has the highest score, and trusting the crowd will give you the most popular answer from the larger group of players who are neither the one nor the mob. Commercial breaks between 60 and 90 seconds are strewn in to give you a quick break, which is welcome, considering that the episode can go on for two hours.

There's a dedicated group of writers for each region--United States, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, and Germany--so that the content is always new and current. You can invite friends to play with you from other regions as well, as long as they're willing to stay up late with you. Some of the questions can even be based on events that happened that same week. The live-hosted show is scheduled to run for 13 weeks, on Friday at 7 p.m. PST and Saturday at 4 p.m. PST (this start time could change) for two hours. You can drop in and out at any time. During the rest of the week, there is an Extended Play mode that will not be hosted, wherein everyone plays as the mob for 30 minutes. In these sessions, the questions can be tailored toward a specific topic--whereas the Friday and Saturday show is general trivia--or it could be a battle of the sexes game in which you'll need both male and female contestants. Each time you answer a question correctly in Extended Play, your name will be entered into a sweepstakes, in which a winner is chosen halfway through the season and at the end. Prizes can include a home theater system, a Zune, and if you're in France, apparently they are even giving away a car.

1 vs. 100 is the first of its kind, and we're curious to see how this game will go. It's not just a video game when you combine writers and producers who have to come up with new content each week. Trivia nuts are going to love the ability to play competitively against people from all over the world. And with a scheduled live-hosted game, it gives off that exciting gameshow feel, so instead of just watching, you and your avatar are part of the real thing. If you are ever picked as the one, thousands of players will see you on their screen and can make fun of your choice of the latest Xbox fashions. We still don't have a set date yet on when 1 vs. 100 will go live, but we were told to expect something in the near future, so we'll update as soon as that information becomes available.