Why Board Games Are Pointless, (but Quiz Machines Great)

Last night Faith highlighted a slight paradox: I am addicted to quiz machines in pubs (and enjoy playing them), and yet cheats, annoys and whinges whilst playing a board game. I do enjoy playing board games, but solely for the social element (and one which I confess to undermining with my attitude). It's a fair comment though - I love pub quizes but get annoyed by board games.

I think the answer lies in the fact that I (try to) understand the limits of my own knowledge, and don't try to fight it.

We played Trivial Pursuit last night, and I'd estimate that both couples had about a 30% success level at answering questions. Obviously we weren't expecting to know the answers relating to specifically American questions, and don't feel any shame in this percentage. Even if the questions were based on English trivia, I doubt we'd have got over 50%. (Incidentally, we've played two versions of Trivial Pursuit over here. The first questions were written in the 1970s, and this one was up until 2002. Obviously you'd expect to do better in more recent questions, but I wonder the effects of globalisation at making the game increasingly international).

It strikes me that it's an irrational game. What's the point of getting more than two-thirds wrong? Or even fifty-percent wrong? But notice what happens when you answer a question incorrectly: you try to convince yourself that you could have guessed it. That because you understood the question, and the answer, you should have been able to piece the two together.

In other words, the hindsight bias fools you into thinking you were closer to the answer than you actually are, and you therefore overestimate the chances of being correct next go.

Some questions come up and I know that i'd have never heard of the answer so it's not worth guessing. I pass immediately, which frustrates Faith because she wants to try and work it out. But quizes don't test logic. Some questions you can work out, but most are costsless discovery - you either know it or you don't. If you don't, just pass.

The hindsight bias convinces us that questions are logically derivable, and we should therefore invest in thinking about them. I'm the opposite, and see no point in guessing. This strategy isn't perfect, though, and I underestimate the ability to work something out:

Which novel, published in 1950, received a 2 page spread in the New York Times [?] proclaiming it as "the book that turned a generation on".

I didn't know the answer, and didn't want to guess. If I had to guess, I'd have gone for the only novel I could think of that came out in the 50s and engaged an audience: On the Road.
But it would have been a guess and I couldn't be arsed, so I passed.

Contrast this to the pub quiz machine. Partly because it's one player, but mainly because the goal is to get questions correct rather than particpate in a social convention in which people suppress their ignorance by convincing themselves they're cleverer than they are, you can rattle through at speed. I can stand there and immediately pass if I don't know it, and immediately answer if I know it.

If the challenge is to create a sculpture (i.e. Cranium) then team play is important, and discussion worthwhile. But when it comes to trivia an educated guess is simply denial. Don't ex-post rationalise an incorrect answer by convincing yourself you were "nearly there".

Comments

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I love the electronic games in pubs so much better than board games.
There is a new one out called Cash Inn which you play live every Sunday and it's free! It's only in participating pubs but you can find out yours on the website they have.
The cash prizes are huge and its multiple choice, you play with a keypad A,B,C,D type thing.
I would highly recommend it. I believe they have several different cash prizes and one of them is a rollover at the moment for 45k!
try cashinn.com

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