Game Lab 1 — Wits and Wagers

Wits and Wagers was not a board game I had ever played before, but it was remarkably simple for a newcomer to play and that was reason enough to recommend it. This was a trivia game, but the sort of game that did not require its players to actually know the answers. All the players had to do was write down their guess and if their was the closest (but could not actually go over the exact number), the player would win a few chips for that round.

Each player was given a whiteboard, two betting chips (one 100 and one 200), and a marker. They would listen to the question and answer it to the best of their abilities. Then they would arrange their answers from least to greatest and start betting on which one they believed was closest to the correct answer. Then the correct answer would be given and those who had bet on the right whiteboard would receive a poker chip in accordance to their bets (one chip for 100 and 2 chips for 200). This would repeat for six rounds, until the final round where everyone could bet their poker chips for a bigger prize. For the winner, if there was a tie, the youngest one would win.

My experience was pretty fun! Our guesses were pretty ridiculous, either underestimating or overestimating things, but that was all part of the experience, the mutual not-knowing. Who knew a certain state had over two thousand nuclear waste sites? Why did that state have so many sites? Some answers were just so surprisingly random.

Session Report:

Dawson(1), Catherine(2), Nathaniel(3), Dexter(4), Julee(5), Byron(6)

Q1: How many hazardous waste sites are located in New Jersey?
(5–2) (10–3) (12–4) (26–2) (86–0)
Answer: 222
Player 3 answered correctly but didn’t bet on themselves. Won payout.

Q2: What % of US dollar bills are contaminated with disease causing bacteria?
(55% — 0)(70% — 0)(82% — 1)(84% — 4) (88% — 5) (99% — 2)
Answer: 94%
Player 6, 4, 2, 3 won the payout

Q3: How high is the tallest mountain in CO in feet?
(420–0)(1500–2)(4800–5)(6000–2)(6000–2)(8000–3)
Answer: 14,000 ft
Player 1, 2, 4 won the payout

Q4: What % of US presidents have served in the military?
(15% — 1)(30% — 3)(30% — 3)(65% — 3)(78% — 4)(95% — 1)
Answer: 72%
Player 2, 5 won the payout

Q5: In what year was the first frozen pizza served in the US?
(1955–3)(1960–3)(1965–3)(1965–2)(1975–2)(1995–2)
Answer: 1957
Player 6, 4 won the payout

Q6: In years, how old was the old MLB player to hit a home run?
(35–1)(36–2)(40–2)(52–4)(60–3)(60–3)
Answer: 48
Players 1, 4 won the payout

Q7 (final question): What’s the world record for the most amount of hot dogs eaten in 10 mins?
(70–0)(72–0)(100–1)(124–3(all in))(140–4, (3 are all in))(300–0)
Answer: 68 (everyone just lost so much money)
Player 6 and 4 tied with only 2 chips each, did age tie breaker, player 6 wins cause they’re younger