Customer Reviews

Mental Floss Trivia Game

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Brain all gummed up after too much work and no play? Well then try Mental Floss! Mental Floss ties knots around the fluffy newer trivia games. Be prepared for some fun and fascinating literature, nature and science questions. I found them much less pop-culturesque than many Trivial Pursuit questions. The premise is simple, pick a colored gamepiece and place it on a like colored square. Roll the dice, land of the appropriate square and you'll answer either a "left-brained question" (regarding something sciency), a "right-brained question" (something literary or artsy) or you'll get the chance to to dispel "the big fat lie", wherein you must decide which one of two historical situations is true and which one is false; a correct answer to either of the three will win you a token (6 tokens will win you the game). Once in a while you may land on a space entitling you to a chance at an "Enlightening Round". For that, answer 3 related questions and win a token (or risk it all to answer the hardest question to win another turn). A unique plus: play goes back and forth between players and the questions are less obscure so it's a much faster game than TP. I'd recommend the game for knowledgeable children and adults 12+. The negatives of the game are the game pieces: the colored gamepieces are boring and made from a colored sticker and plastic. And the tokens? They're made of cardboard. It's not like it's Barbie Trivia Game- the manufacturer recommends it for players 15+ (pretty much adults)! So, I'm left to wonder why they created such a great game and spent no time on the tangibles. Despite it's material flaws, it is a fun and interesting addition to anyone's board game collection, with refreshing questions worth knowing the answers to!

I am a long time reader of mental_floss magazine and when I discovered the game, I was pleased to see a continuation of the theme that learning can be fun. The instructions are easy, in fact, you can set up the board, read the instructions and begin playing within minutes. After rolling a die the players move around the board landing on a variety of spaces. The space dictates the type of question than an opponent asks from the floss facts cards. It might be a "right brain" question,"left brain" question or you may be challenged to spot "the big fat lie." With each correct answer you receive a piece of mind token. Occasionally a player may land on "Enlightening Round," upon which the contestant is asked a series of increasingly difficult questions. Using "mental block" cards players can challenge one another adding a bit of strategy to the game.
While the instructions set the winning number of tokens at six, it seems to me that players could play to any number they choose. This allows you to sit down for a twenty-minute game or to play for hours. The questions are varied in topic and are interesting and fun.
You don't have to be smart to play mental_floss trivia, but watch out, you might become that way.

It's faster than Trivial Pursuit. After playing Mental Floss you're ready to play again. With Trivial Pursuit, most of the players are glad to see the game end. The questions are challenging but not obscure, as in the most recent TP game, which is not even remotely fun. Plus, it's no fun playing TP with the smartest guy in the class - he gets all the pie. With Mental Floss we can compete with the nerdy ones. Trivial Pursuit is all about rolling the die and answering the questions. Mental Floss has that and more. Enlightening Rounds offer you 3 questions with an optional bonus and Mental Block cards allow you to steal tokens from your opponents. I may never play Trivial Pursuit again. I hope Mental Floss will come out with new cards so we can continue to play after we've gone through all the cards.

I'm usually not a huge fan of Trivial Pursuit like board games BUT the Mental_Floss game is totally different. The questions and attitude of the game embody the quirkiness and imagination that Mental_Floss magazine exudes. That said I had a great time playing the game and highly recommend it to anyone who likes the magazine or just wants a change from the traditional board game.

Being an avid fan of the Mental_Floss magazine, I was curious how that same witty style could be translated into a board game. All I can say is that they've far surpassed my expectations. The questions are fun to read and will have you laughing all the way through. A nice feature of this game is that there are several different levels of difficulty in the questions, allowing even those people who aren't walking encyclopedias to answer some of the questions. However, even those people who thought they were trivia gods will be entertained and challenged by the questions.

I was looking for an interesting board game that I could play with 2 people or more. Trivial pursuit has been done and some other games (Are you smarter than a 5th grader) were just lame. But this is interesting, difficult in spots and has a broad base of odd and fun trivia categories. I'd reccomend it to people who enjoy trivia.

The creators of this board game are manically inventive. The cards spill over with kaleidoscopic humor and wit. The questions are composed in the way a magician performs tricks, with dazzle and slight of hand. The trivia category needed some flash, and Mental Floss delivers!


Barbara Finson

St.Paul, MN

Mental Floss is fun, entertaining, enlightening and sets a new benchmark for trivia based games. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game, and the best part is you don't need to be a genius to win.

One round. You'll know. Mental Floss takes trivia to a new level.
It's about time someone published a trivia game that's not tied to a short-lived movie or TV show.
Long live Mental Floss. Destined to become a classic.

Nora Cassini
Dallas, TX

Mental Floss starts where Trivial Pursuit stops. As a diehard trivia player, I cannot tell you how great it is to see a fresh approach to the genre.

Joel Harvill
Norwalk, CT