1 vs 100 Makes You the Star of a Game Show from Your Couch [Hands On]

Published May 6, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

The first of its kind where television meets video games meets social entertainment, 1 vs 100 is an interactive game on XBL that takes you from screaming at your TV to being on the show.

What makes this game unique from other Xbox Live experiences is that it is the first time that game developers are actively working with a TV crew on set, creating new content every week with custom-written questions that are created based on what is happening in the world that week. This means each time you play, there will be no repeated questions, with topics that actually pertain to your own world around you. Moreover, gamers can actively participate further by emailing their own unique questions to the host, along with their phone number for in-game interviews, chats and more personalization.

Touted as "appointment gaming," 1 vs 100 works as an actual real-time game show with a live host and 101+ players—including 1 as "the one," 100 in "the mob," and the rest in the audience. Players across the globe, speaking different languages, can play together because questions are translated and even localized for foreign gamers! Moreover, participants and winners are able to win actual prizes, which consist of XBL gamer points and other XBL arcade games. Apparently, it is the first game to have rewards-based entertainment with exclusive content.

"What the Snuggie did for blankets is what 1 vs 100 is doing for video games," host Chris Cashman boasted.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, 1 vs 100 pits one player—"the one"—against 100 other contestants—"the mob"—in a competition to see who answers the most multiple-choice questions correctly. As in the show, it would be nearly impossible for gamers who're playing over XBL to cheat because the countdown to answer each question is roughly 5 seconds after the last multiple choice answer is revealed. As the rounds progress, contestants in the mob who answer questions incorrectly are eliminated, meaning whoever survives by the end of the game splits the prize—that is only if the one is eliminated first.

However, because of this live interaction, 1 vs 100 can only be played on a set schedule—for two hours on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30PM throughout the length of an actual TV-show season, which includes 26 episodes (games) in 13 weeks. For those who can't wait until Friday and Saturday nights, there is an "extended play" edition that lasts for 30 minutes each game throughout the week, but unfortunately, those rounds are also set at certain times during the day. However, for each question you answer correctly in extended play, your name is thrown into a sweepstakes where winners are drawn twice a season for bigger prizes, such as a vacation to France.

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