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lavalamp comments on Wits and Wagers - Less Wrong
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Comments (7)
I have played it, or something very much like it.
My answer is that people are shockingly bad at some aspects. Just knowing the world population, the population of the US, and the difference between million and billion is enough to do significantly better than average for many questions.
It's not good training, though: the people who did poorly didn't really seem to learn. It also is a "which answer is the closest without going over" system, which makes for interesting game play but is not a useful constraint for many practical questions. It also asks things for which you have no information at all, and you just pick based on only the available choices (much like guessing on a multiple-choice test). That's not really a useful skill outside of taking tests. (i.e., in real life you should get more information if possible instead of guessing)
What game have you played that is "very much like" Wits & Wagers? To my knowledge, there is nothing like it on the market right now. I'm the designer of the game and we're in the process of getting 2 patents on what we thought were unique concepts. If there is anything else out there similar, please let me know.
Thanks, Dominic Designer of Wits & Wagers www.NorthStarGames.com
Here is something from our website that seems relevant to your conversation:
"Other trivia games can make you feel like you're taking an academic test. Why? Because they reward you for regurgitating the same facts you had to memorize for standardized tests. Wits & Wagers has changed all the rules. It rewards you for making educated guesses, for knowing the interests of your friends (being social), and for making smart bets (managing risk). In short, Wits & Wagers is fun because you are engaging in activities that are an important part of everyday life. "
I also noticed that a lot of people brought up the "closest without going over" aspect of the game. You do not need to use this constraint if you have a calculator handy. That rule is there to facilitate quick play, making it easy to quickly know the answer that is going to payout for the round. Feel free to change the rule if you'd like to use the game for some academic purpose.
We've done a fair amount of stats on the payouts. The extreme answers pay out less often than the middle answers (though not an infrequently as the odds might lead one to believe). Let me know if you have any questions. We're working on a possible television game show now...
Dominic Crapuchettes dc@NorthStarGames.com
Sorry, yes, this is certainly the game that I played, I just couldn't remember the name. :)