Brad Hilderbrand reports:
''As a general rule, video games based on board games don't tend to do very well. "Monopoly" has been trying for years to score a fat paycheck from the legions of gamers, but the elements that work well for a game which requires a room full of people sitting around a board are not the same elements that make a successful game. And so, yet another failure finds its way into the digital world, and this time, it is Wits & Wagers on the Xbox Live Arcade.
This particular game, as the title suggests, rewards players for both knowledge and gambling prowess. At the start of each round, a question is posed along with a range of numerical answers. For example, one such question is, "How many states seceded during the U.S. Civil War?" Contestants are then given a range of numbers (for this particular question, the range is from 0-55) and 30 seconds to guess closest to the right answer without going over. Once the initial round of guessing is over, all of the answers are revealed and players then use tokens to bet on which is closest to the correct response (again, without going over). Those who guess correctly are awarded chips, and the player who supplied the answer is given a small bonus. At the end of seven rounds, whoever has the most chips is the winner.''
