Smart Discs: Scene It?
Mattel has come up with a new family game by taking the interactive possibilities of the DVD and putting it to work for the board game. Sceneit? is the trivia game that tests your movie knowledge by incorporating movie clips and a lot more into the board game setting to give the whole package a feel that is part family game night and part game show.
Show me the Box
The box is about the size you'd expect for a regular board game and you'll find everything 2-4 players need to get started (DVD player not included!) and setup takes about as long as you want to spend reading the directions.
What's the Point?
The game is simple to understand. Your goal is to travel around the game board by answering the trivia questions and be the first to enter the winner's circle. The numbered die tells you how many spaces you can move ahead and the category die tells you what kind of challenge you have to answer.
There are several different challenges that you may have to face. The two involving the DVD are the My Play and All Play challenges. The My Play challenge is only for the player whose turn it is, while the All Play challenge involves everybody.
My Play usually shows you a clip and then asks you a question about it. Sometimes you have to know the movie in order to answer the question. But other times you need to watch the clip very carefully, because you'll be asked things like what brands or motor oil were in the scene. In My Play you may also be asked put four movies in the order in which they were released.
The All Play Challenge incorporates movie images in a way that lends itself more to a group atmosphere. You may have to guess the title of a movie from a group of frame grabs presented one at a time or a montage or a frame grab where the actors have been removed. The All Play Challenge may also ask you to identify an actor or actress from the movies he or she has stared in or from an old picture.
And you can say good-bye to the sand timer, since the DVD automatically keeps track of the time in these segments and allows you to change the allotted time in the timer settings menu option.
There are also challenges involving the more traditional game cards: Take Three Challenge, Songs and Slogans, and Pop Culture. And here Mattel gives you an option on the DVD menu to use just the timer. You also may have to choose a buzz card, which gives you a slightly corny fate--"Your ex was just voted Worst Dressed of the year"--and tells you to move forward or backward and how many steps.
Once you enter the winner's circle you have to win an All Play or one of three rings of the Final Cut in which you have to answer one to three questions depending on which ring you're in and then you've won the game.
The Real Joy
The real joy of the game is the added dimension and game show feel the DVD gives it. The simple, easy to read menus, the cool animation that takes you from item to item and the Who-Wants-to-be-a-Millionaire-esque music that plays while the timer ticks down all add to the board game experience. Sceneit? is a must have for movie lovers.
Strengths: The different ways in which Sceneit? uses movie images, menu animation and accessibility.
Weaknesses: In the Final Cut you start out having to answer three questions. If you get one wrong, you go down to two questions and so on. We felt you should start out having to answer one and then go up if you get it wrong.
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