One game getting a lot of buzz over the past weeks or so is Trivia Crack, a trivia game in which users can challenge their friends and advance in levels.
The game is modeled after games like Trivial Pursuit and stays interesting by allowing players to create questions, ensuring a wide variety of topics. It's also available in five languages.
While the game is certainly interesting, an effort also has been made for the game's aesthetics. It features bright colors on a dark background, with characters corresponding to categories only adding to the fun.
These characters play an important role in the game. Users have to correctly answer questions to gain a character. In fact, to win the game, players have to acquire all six characters from categories including entertainment, art, sports, history, science and geography. Users can do this by answering enough questions correctly to fill up a meter, or by challenging their opponents to steal their characters away from them.
Players can also start or join games with multiple opponents, further adding to the social aspect of an already very social game. It's an interesting take on a trivia game, but one that many developers are beginning to think about.
There are a number of pitfalls to social games such as these. It is easy to leave a game unattended for a few days; however, doing so will end the game. This can mean having to bother your friends to keep the game going, but it also keeps you hooked on the game and looking at those ads that the developers so obviously want you to see.
Another interesting point to make about the game is that users themselves have a say in how its run. After answering each question the user is given the opportunity to rate it, saying that it was either fun or boring. Questions that are submitted by users also undergo a rigorous filtering process, and any inappropriate or offensive question will lead to the user being banned from the game.
As mentioned before, the free version of the game is ad-based. There are banner ads at the bottom of the screen as well as full-screen ads that are shown after each question or round of questions. While I appreciate the fact that the developers have to make money somehow, the ads are poorly implemented and often don't even properly fit the screen. I understand that advertising is a great way for the developers to make money from a game they put a lot of effort into, but it feels like they put almost no effort into how the ads would appear.
To avoid these ads, however, a user can pay $2.99. The game is available on both iOS and Android, and users can connect with friends either through Facebook or through email.
Overall, Trivia Crack is a successful implementation of a social game in which players can also learn a thing or two. While the ads leave much to be desired, if they can be overlooked, Trivia Crack is definitely worth a crack.
