Game 137: Lizzy and Darcy

 

This game was given to me by my brother. If he sees something he thinks someone will like, he buys it for them, so that is how I came to own this game. The game is basically Chutes and Ladders combined with trivia, so it's almost entirely based on luck. If you land on a square with a letter symbol or a book symbol on it, then you answer a question on a card. If you get it right, you spin again; if you get it wrong, then your turn ends. There are blank squares on which nothing special happens and the turn just passes. The spaces that cause ascent or descent are kind of clever. The base of each ladder is a property such as Netherfield or Pemberely. The top of each rope (chute) is a "spoiler" - a character from Pride and Prejudice who interfers with the course of a romantic relationship. There are some other twists to basic Chutes and Ladders such as what happens when you reach squares 89-99 and what happens if you land on your "perfect match."

The questions are very well chosen. There are 100 of them, and, since my husband is unlikely to ever play this with me, enough time goes by between games that I wouldn't necessarily remember the answers just from having heard them before. My brother and I played today, and we ended up using only about 12 to 18 of the cards. 

I could definitely see playing this with my writer's club or friends who are Austen fans. The questions relate both to Austen's life and her works and also customs of the era in which she lived. As an avid reader and as an Austen fan, I always feel like I learn something that appleals to me when I play this game. (Bonus: The flip-side contains a chess board, so you can use the board for chess or checkers as well!)

I've labeled this a "Trivia Game," but it's technically possible, though unlikely, to never land on a square that requires you to answer a question, so it could end up playing out just like Chutes and Ladders, with no trivia involved! But if that happens you could always just quiz each other off the cards for fun.


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