One of the last times I went out was to a local thrift store in town, and while there I was absentmindedly searching the board games, looking for things my girlfriend and I could do together to kill time at home since all we have to do otherwise is game or watch TV or read, and after a while those options become rather monotonous. Anyway, while there my eyes landed on something I couldn't believe...a near pristine, complete in tin edition of the Wonderful World of Disney Trivia. This was a game that I actually owned growing up, and I had honestly forgotten about entirely until seeing it there. See, my family took yearly vacations to Disneyland (I admit, I grew up in a fairly well off household, which doesn't make the trauma I endured any less horrifying but still), and we usually got souvenirs, One time that consisted of a rather pricey board game titled The Wonderful World of Disney Trivia.
We must've played this game a billion times, and it was something I was particularly excellent at, because I'm a huge geek and specifically know a ton about pop culture and film, so this was very easy for me. I think this was the biggest reason I gravitated so immediately towards it upon seeing it there on the shelf in the thrift store, was because it was something I had in my childhood, so the nostalgia factor was off the damn charts. It was only like 3 dollars too, which was a steal for a cool collectible item such as this. Now sure, we can make all the arguments we want that a trivia game isn't a board game, but you are in fact still playing on a board, and what a board it is!
The design of this thing was really what made it so memorable, I think. Much like the Haunted Mansion game I featured here last year, this design seems to make the argument of Disney taking their theming seriously, even when it comes to something as simplistic as a board game. As someone who took film classes and made film and loves film, I can attest to the fact that part of me adores this game solely because of how it's designed. It's just such a beautiful visual, taking Mickey and turning his ears into film reels. Brilliant across the board, honestly (not to be cute or anything). It's a simple enough concept that I feel I shouldn't have to explain how its played, but I will give a brief rundown anyway. You go around the board, starting from one ear and ending in another, answering various questions of varying difficulty in regards to Disney trivia across the years, be it film or television, and for each category you collect a little colored token associated with the card color on your Mickey shaped totem.
But everything about this, simplistic as it is, is so beautifully done that I can't help but respect it so deeply. I shouldn't be surprised, honestly, as Disney is one of the few companies to really go to the nth degree when it comes to going above and beyond for theming no matter what the thing they're theming is. Released in 1997, it's played exactly like a board game, but you answer trivia questions instead of opening community chests or catching people in poorly designed traps. The tokens you collect are color coded to a specific thing, for example yellow is animation, while green is song and purple is film. You have to answer correctly, collect all 5 colored tabs on your totem and then move onto the end piece of the game board. The smaller blue set of cards are meant primarily for the younger players, while the larger red and purple cards are geared towards older players.
It's quite literally a board game designed for a family of all ages, and I think that's neat.
The designer of this magnificent board was Jim Keifer, who, in 2004 along with his team, won the Toy of the Year award from the Toy Industry Association for the "Scene It?" DVD game, another one I only know by name but remember being excessively popular for a while. He was also head of game design for interactive and youth electronic toys for Mattel, a design manager for Parker Brothers and a game designer for Milton Bradley. He's also designed games for - aside from the Disney company - Spin Master, Warner Brothers, Universal and Nickelodeon. He and his team created over 20 games for the Harry Potter brand, and even established UNO as the #1 family games brand. The man has a resume that speaks for itself, quite frankly, and I think the design of this board says that in spades. It's simplistic but not boring, and it's coherent despite its odd structuring. It even pays honor to Mickey Mouse, which is just the cherry on top.
Does my nostalgia taint my overall rating? Perhaps, I'll admit to that, sure. But even I - who can recognize when her rose tinted glasses are getting in the way and still manage to be rather subjective - have to die on the hill that I stood up and truly state that I honestly believe this is one of the most beautiful board games ever designed. It isn't exactly fair, though, admittedly, because it's not an "original" concept in any way. First off, it's Trivial Pursuit, and secondly it's based on pre-existing IP, so it's a bit of a shame that one of the most beautiful board games of all times isn't an exclusively original concept, but I have to give credit where credit is due. In fact, it almost makes me wish Disney (among other companies, including video game companies) would delve deeper into the board game market, because I think there's a ton of untapped potential waiting to be utilized by companies who know how to properly theme and design things. If Nintendo can finally get into the theme park market, and from what I've seen it looks magnificent, then what's stopping them from creating wholly original board games based on totally new ideas?
I guess the fact that the board game market isn't anywhere near as lucrative as the video game or theme park market, but still, a gal can dream can't she?
Either way, however you boil it down and however you feel about it, there's no denying that this board is spectacularly designed and beautifully put together. So what if it's a run of the mill trivia game, and so what if it comes from one of the biggest brands this side of the galaxy, and so what if it isn't something totally original or unique? Sometimes you get lucky and get something really awesome from even the most creatively sterile places. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means not a Disney fan (I'm also not a huge one for that matter, I really couldn't care one way or the other about them in all honesty), but I do wish original games with original ideas got the same treatment and care that stuff from giant companies get. Perhaps if they did, the board game industry wouldn't be a shell of what it once was.
Wonderful World of Disney Trivia, though, stands as a testament to how perfect something can be when it's done by the right people, with the right amount of experience and, probably, the right amount of money poured into R&D. Even with all its glaring issues that aren't part of the board itself, it's a truly fantastic piece of work.
Now if only I had any friends to play my copy with.
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