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Homogenius Gay Trivia
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Homogenius
Gay Trivia Game |
review by Bob Bolyard
At family (the genetic kind, not the "family" kind) gatherings, my siblings - usually headed up by my sister - their kids, my mom and anyone else still awake after a traditional huge home-cooked meal, gather around the table and play board games. Of course, decisions need to be made. Will it be Taboo, Scattergories, Whatzit, or one of the various editions of Trivial Pursuit? And then, who's going to be on whose team? Boys vs. girls? Counting off of threes or fours? Left side of table against right side? By now it's time for another piece of pie.
My aforementioned sister is the one who brings the games and therefore is the one who knows and enforces all the rules. Everything is black or white. Rules are rules. No interpretation needed. This is the background that I brought to the table when asked to review "Homogenius - The Game."
To play the game, I gathered my "family" together, ate a big meal, and then assumed the role of my sister. And if you know me or my sister, this wasn't a big stretch.
The press release that came with the game and the box it came in were quite impressive. But, like online personals that offer outdated or wrong pictures and misleading stats, closer inspection is disappointing.
The object of the game is "to get out of the closet." Players (2-6), with their rainbow-colored playing pieces start at the bottom of the board (a not so gaylooking picture of a closet), and "each turn, a player rolls the die and moves the number shown to either a blank square or a starred square. If the player lands on a blank square one of the other reads a 'rumor' card question to them. If the player lands on a starred square one of the other players reads them a 'potpourri' card question. Whomever (sic) gets out of the closet first wins."
That's it. And that ain't black or white. What happens if you answer the question correctly? Or don't? Do you get to move forward, backward or jump ahead? No clue. So, before we got started we had to make up some of our own rules. Not a good way to start a "friendly" game among "family." Especially when copious amounts of vodka and beer are involved.
And then there are the questions. There are two different piles of cards, "Rumor" and "Potpourri." Samples of the "Rumor" card questions:
What openly gay singer and songwriter posed naked with her girlfriend in a PETA ad?
This out of the closet fashion photographer captured the essence of the world's most beautiful women.
Truman Streckfus Persons was the real name of this famous author? (sic)
Rumors? These sound like facts to me. And for your own amusement, the answers are, respectively, Melissa Etheridge, Francesco Scavullo (you didn't know that?), and Truman Capote (duh). These questions have at least some obvious connection to "gay and lesbian culture." But others don't. It would have been informative, entertaining and downright nice had they given some background information on the answers.
The "Potpourri" questions aren't any better.
What color handkerchief is a gay man most likely to have in his jeans pocket?
What does this acronym stand for? B.L.G.
A 25-year-old British man died of a mysterious disease in Manchester. It is now believed that he was the first recorded person to die of AIDS. What year was it?
Feeling stupid? Or did you know the answers are red, bilesbiangay, and 1959? If you got any of them right you get to ... whatever you decide because the rules of the game aren't going to tell you.
Overall, this game isn't worth the $34.99 being charged. Get a group of friends together, a stack of old People magazines and turn on Logo - you'll come up with your own "rumors" and "potpourri" and learn a lot about each other as you're doing it.
Bob Bolyard is a peer outreach worker at R.U.1.2? and writes the What's Up!!! online calendar for community events. He can be reached at bob@ru12.org.