The game of 1 vs. 100 is one that has some inherent problems when transitioning from television to online play. While a studio-based mob of 100 people is by nature interactive and competitive, the online counterpart is basically imaginary. This means that you're not actually playing against real people, and there's no way to know the seemingly random method in which the mob members are being knocked out of the game.
Keeping this in mind, 1 vs. 100 for Facebook, created by iWin, can be a fun little game. The trivia itself isn't too challenging so you've got a good chance at winning, and there are a couple of extras to make things more interesting. See if you can channel your own inner Jason Luna and eliminate the entire mob!
How to Play Facebook's 1 vs. 100
When you first start your game of 1 vs. 100, you'll notice the faces showing up in the mob are actually your friends' profile photos. I have no idea how this works if you don't have at least 100 friends, however. A little window pops up to show you how to play the game through the first five questions.
The Facebook version of the game is pretty close to the original with, of course, a few deviations. The first five questions are mandatory - you'll get no choice of "the money or the mob" within this period. If you get one of these questions wrong, however, you'll continue playing but miss out on any cash you would have banked had you been correct.
Here's where the game gets questionable though. As you play, you'll notice that various mob members are answering questions incorrectly and being eliminated. What is curious is that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the eliminations. Really easy questions can take out almost half of the remaining mob, and at the same time the tough ones don't seem to stump many of them. This can get frustrating, especially as you near the end of the game.
As you play, you earn cash for each mob member eliminated. The amount per member of the mob increases after each question, starting at $5 and topping out at $1000, which is a departure from the scoring system of the TV game. If you eliminate the entire mob you get a bonus based on your experience level.
If you don't win your game you are offered a consolation prize and the chance to send your final question to a friend in order to get a bit of game cash. If you do end up eliminating the entire mob, you can also send a question to a friend. If that person accepts, he or she spins a wheel to determine the value of the prize you're both playing for, and then answers the question.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The announcer is a great addition to the game, and he gets to say fun things like "Kablamo!"
- The game moves along at a quick pace, making it easy to play without a huge time investment
- Many of the questions are writting in classic 1 vs. 100 format, meaning that you often have to figure out what each answer means before selecting it
- The three "helps" that were available in the TV game are also on hand here
Cons:
- The mob eliminations are completely random and often don't make sense
- After using the "Ask the Mob" help, you have to lock in your answer immediately or you run out of time
- There aren't as many extras, such as alternate methods of play or special bonuses, as you find in other Facebook games such as Deal or No Deal
- The extras that are available aren't as much fun as the ones you get on $100,000 Pyramid, for example
The Verdict
For a casual game show or online game fan, 1 vs. 100 for Facebook is a good way to kill a few minutes playing a trivia game. For those who are more serious about having a social media-based game reflect the rules and format of an actual game show, however, this one might be disappointing. It would be almost impossible to duplicate the mob element of the real show, and this adaptation leaves a bit to be desired. It can be difficult to understand the randomness of the eliminations, and that's really what the game hinges on.
