Introducing Triviathon, It's Simply Irresistible!
One of the most "unusual" products ever to be with
inducted into The Toy Man® Product Guide is this crazy game called Triviathon. Nothing special
in the title of this game but you had better be ready because this game is
a guaranteed barrel of laughs...err no, I would rather say a truckload of laughs!
A barrel isn't large enough to contain the volume of hilarious activity, and
excitement, and just plain fun that's hiding inside the Triviathon game box, just waiting to escape.
Triviathon is a fast paced game where like any other game you are in a rush to the finish, yet as you will see shortly, it also adds personality to each of the playing pieces. It draws people together who generally may not tend to be sociable, with a level of FunFactor™ which draws the emotions in a person out to play, no matter how reticent they may be.
Many companies make the claim their games are simple yet Triviathon may now have set the bar for defining simple. Even "stupid people" can play it! Hey! Wait a minute! Before you start getting your feathers ruffled about my using the term "stupid people", put the brakes on.  That is one of the key factors which caused so many people to find the game so irresistible. They just had to open the box and investigate what the game is all about.
 WARNING! Triviathon Can Be Highly Addictive!
Who would ever have imagined two crazy nuts who are famous for making a Doritos commercial for the Super Bowl, developing a board game that creates an "instant addiction". These gents have created a game that everywhere we have taken the game, people can't resist opening the box and playing the game.
I have queried many of our consumer evaluation participants trying to discover what is it about Triviathon that entices them to play again, and again, and again! The variety of responses was enormous yet we found they all had one thing in common; they found Triviathon to be "addictive" and had an innate desire to play repeatedly. In virtually every consumer product evaluation form, the word "addictive" appeared!
One of our independent evaluators had a very powerful statement in his report which so succinctly defines what makes Triviathon so popular and addictive. "Triviathon has a multiple answer based creative agenda with essentially, no 'wrong' answers per se'. The answer is either correct or close to correct. Regardless of the answer selected, points are awarded for the player to progress further in the game. This encourages a player to develop a narrative progression structured to complete the task of winning the game. The 'addictive' challenge posed of even a 'stupid person' can play the game, stimulates the players even further in the narrative development and evolution of same from repetitive play.
 Independent Evaluator Reports - Their Own Perspective
Obtaining An Independent Perspective...
In this section we will cover the evaluation of "Triviathon" from the
perspectives of qualified professionals in the specific field associated with
the product being evaluated. To accomplish that task we have called upon the
assistance of two top industry professionals who know their stuff and have the
credentials to prove it.
Our professional and independent evaluators have formed their own opinions
from extensive analysis and produced detailed, in-depth reports connected with
their study and evaluation of "Triviathon".
The information to follow is comprised of excerpts from those same reports with
some which have been paraphrased and others verbatim, in order to encapsulate
the primary points being conveyed in each report. This approach provides completely
independent perspectives in the evaluation of "Triviathon".
PLEASE NOTE: The names of our independent evaluators are not disclosed
to protect the privacy of these individuals upon their request. Their labors
are provided at no charge to assist us in providing a well-balanced and qualified
product evaluation summary. Their title is provided to clarify for our readers
the specific type of specialist from which the information provided has been
included in each product evaluation summary. All opinions and or statements
from the independent evaluator(s) featured here do not represent the opinion
of The Toy Man® Product Guide, any other division of GreyWolf Corp, or GreyWolf
Corp itself.
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PRODUCT: Triviathon
MEDIA PLATFORM: Board Game
MEDIA CONTENT: Recreational Strategy
Professor of Psychology B.A., M.A., & Ph.D. - Educational
Theory Specialist
"Triviathon delivers a champion piece of work in game design by
stepping outside of what the norm. Every game played is short, simple
and eliminates the necessity for long-term progressive strategy development." |
"Triviathon has a multiple answer based creative agenda with a foundation
base of no 'wrong' answers per se'. No such things as a wrong answer and each
player can learn new information from the trivia questions and answers. Regardless
of the answer selected, points are awarded for the player to progress further
in the game. This encourages a player to develop a narrative progression
structured to complete the task of winning the game.
"One of the most significant contributions from the game is the inevitable
development of psycho-social interaction. Regardless of if a player tends to
be more reserved in their game interest and communication with others, the
game play writes new rules in the behavioral traits of all players. Triviathon
crosses multiple boundaries in the personal augmentation to skill development
for the target age range specified on the box."
"Triviathon makes it more than a high probability for an individual
to develop or polish their social skills response mechanisms in their playing
experience. A meaningful psycho-social improvement is created from the game
play along with an abundance of influence to skill development and/or improvement."
"The player's main enjoyment
comes from the quality of the narrative produced as a result of the character
they have selected and the challenge to get to the end of the game first.
With lack of emotional need for comparison of skills between players developing
as the game progresses, the player relaxes and allows themselves to enjoy
the game. This stimulates the desire of the player to play the game repeatedly."
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Curriculum Content Specialist / Board Game Evaluator
"Triviathon possesses all of the elemental components which
comprise the basic structure of a well designed board game,, (Some
more so than others..) The player's role and options of play are clear
and easily assimilated. The game board is colorful, quite striking
as a mater of fact, and is visibly appealing."
"Triviathon has a well defined outline of the player's role
and method of game play. A valuable point to consider is how that the players are already laughing
just from reading the instructions. The game is well structured, fast-paced, and mutually beneficial to all
players, drawing players to play from start to finish without hesitation." |
"The game box content is easily accessed, and the character playing cards are
monumental in their level of visual appeal, much like the game board, box,
and question cards. The game board was exceptional in quality and design.
The game run itself could not possibly be more simple to see and understand
for a player."
"The learning curve
is short and simple to grasp for virtually anyone within the target age group.
This assists in avoiding disparagement and loss of motivation to play being
caused for any players. The 'addictive' challenge posed
of even a 'stupid person' can play the game, stimulates the players even further
in their narrative development and evolution of same from repetitive play.
Despite the short-term game play, narrative development still occurs and is
continually improved upon."
 Consumer Hands-On Evaluation
Nothing is more powerful than hands-on experience by a consumer with a product
when it is being evaluated. Based upon that fact we put every single product
we evaluate at the mercy of consumers in a hands-on evaluation where anything
goes. Shall we see how "Triviathon" was seen with consumers?
Prospect Park - Brooklyn, NY - We decided to try a more unique
location this time for our first consumer evaluation location to perform spontaneous
evaluations of products. When we say spontaneous we are talking spontaneous!
This means no prior notice, just show up, setup, pack-up and move on
to the next location. From a personal standpoint, I wish our readers
could have seen the look on subway riders faces as well as the taxi driver when
we were riding the subway and using a taxi with a gang load of games, toys, and
baby products!
Within minutes of our arrival at the park, we had a number of people gathering
to inquire what we were doing and how to participate. From that point on it
was not like our usual controlled environment, it was a literal riot of kids
and parents inquiring if the products were being given away along with the
participants having a plethora of questions about the various products and
how to use them.
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Before we we even arrived, those who could see the Triviathon box
on the subway or as we were entering the park as we left the cab,
were quite prompt to ask about the Triviathon box and/or make comments
about great it looked! Kids were completely enthralled by it.
Despite the vast array of products we were carrying, Triviathon was
the first and primary one that people were inquiring about.
This captured our own attention immediately.
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Popularity is a key factor in judgment of the marketability of a product
although it is not the only factor considered. There is no doubt in our
minds that Triviathon was on the "A" List for popularity in our spontaneous
consumer hands-on evaluation. Even long before this event, we had Triviathon
at the GAMA 2010 trade show in Las Vegas. The same level of popularity
was clearly dominant.
In the images below you can see a straightforward view of the impact of Play
with Triviathon. The couple was curious about the game and what it was
all about. Obviously from the imagery, you can see that the game is the
perfect catalyst for a lot of smiles and laughter. That's the addictive
result of playing Triviathon. Like they say, "A picture is worth
a thousand words."
In our compilation of the consumer evaluation sheets from the GAMA
2010 show
and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, we discovered that Triviathon is probably one
of the most popular games we have evaluated to date. A strong contribution
to learning and skill development, and game not soon forgotten when played,
and so much more.
There are so many details about Triviathon to
learn about it would take forever to cover it all properly. For
the full picture and plenty of new surprises, we suggest that you do as so
many other consumers have, go to http://www.triviathon.com and discover
why
in our consumer evaluation reports that Triviathon was the rage!
The Final Results
The final results from not just Prospect Park, but a variety of other locations
in Queens and at a shopping mall in the Bronx, were undeniable validation of
Triviathon being one of the final few products which had what it
takes to make it to the final stage of our evaluation procedures.
Triviathon established a solid and productive response with our spontaneous
hands-on consumer evaluation participants and passed this section of our
evaluation on top of the ball.
 A Sampling Of Our Many Evaluation Category Ratings
A small sampling of the individual category titles & rating
scores from the complete product review itself for
this product are featured here. The categories which have been selected to be
featured in this product evaluation summary for public view, specify some of
the primary points of how and why that specific rating score was reached.
- If a product is inducted, a product evaluation summary of the
complete review is published for public view.
- When a score has been assigned to a category rating, it has been through
a thorough validation process to ensure accuracy and no inflection of bias.
- If a product scores an overall category evaluation
rating average of [2] Two Stars or lower from the complete review results,
it fails the evaluation and is not inducted.
- Information for products which do not pass our evaluation is confidential
and is shared only with the company submitting the product.
The Featured Category Ratings Sample for this Product
Evaluation Summary are listed below.
CREATIVE AGENDA: Rating Level - [5] 
Creative Agenda is undoubtedly a vital factor in the evaluation of a good
quality board game When it comes to Triviathon, the scoring in this category
was #1 in the top 3 games
in our evaluation. Having the solid creative agenda that Triviathon
can boast of, it inspires a person to create a narrative to win based upon
desire, not skill comparison.
To understand the full value of the Creative Agenda, the following
information is a brief definition of what the Creative Agenda is. The Creative
Agenda of a player represents what the player hopes to achieve by way of exploration
in their game experience; in this case being applicable to Triviathon game (See
RPGNet Wiki).
With Triviathon, the player's
main enjoyment comes from a different perspective of Play. By the authors
of the game using the phrase, "Even stupid people can play.", they trigger
a psychological
mechanism which stimulates a desire to prove they are not one of those "stupid
people" and
are now inspired to win the game.
FUNFACTOR™: Rating Level - [5]
Triviathon literally wrote the book it would seem when it comes to FunFactor™.
In reviewing all of our video tapes of game play with Triviathon during all phases
of its evaluation, it was clearly demonstrated FunFactor™ joined with plenty
of hilarious excitement creates a prolonged response with a player.
I am not just talking about a little giggle here and there. Rather I
am speaking of flat out hilarious entertainment that goes viral!
The design of
Triviathon allows for strategy and FunFactor™ to co-exist, still
retaining their full value in the game structure. This was an important
factor in the final evaluation of the game. Triviathon steps
to complete this portion of our evalaution with a perfect score of [5]
Stars in this category for FunFactor™.
NARRATIVE PROGRESSION: Rating Level - [5]
Triviathon found NARRATIVE PROGRESSION and development to be a simple challenge.
Narrative progression is a vital part of the game play for a player with Triviathon
which provides and maintains the challenge of retaining the attention of the
player throughout the game. A player will desire to come back for more upon completion
of a game whether they win or lose.
Triviathon has unquestionably pulled the stops out and moves in
smoothly with a perfect score of [5] Stars in this category for NARRATIVE PROGRESSION.
RESPONSE LEVEL: Rating Level - [5]
In reviewing all segments of our evaluation process on videotapes, Triviathon
blew the doors off when it comes to response level from the players. The game
pulls a player completely into the game play and encourages, no, more like guarantees
development of stronger social interaction with the players. The players see
Triviathon as a game which has enough challenge to draw them back for more while
retaining more and more knowledge with each time they play.
With each game play of Triviathon, in our video tapes
we found that every player was quite active in their response levels during
each game. There was no hesitation by anyone with a significant growth in
the level of response with each player each time they played.
The strong response level of Triviathon also changes and creates
a whole new experience for a player to enjoy and gain even further cognitive
and critical skill development/improvement. Triviathon blasts the doors off
with a perfect score of [5] Stars in this category for RESPONSE LEVEL.
SKILL IMPROVEMENT: Rating Level - [4] 
The level of skill improvement with a player with Triviathon is well
above average. When you factor in the entire content of this product evaluation
summary,
it is so simple to see why the level of skill improvement for Triviathon is so
strong. Triviathon play a vital part in a child's' skill development which is
unquestionably well above average.
Skill improvement is vital and Triviathon provides a substantial contribution
to a furtherance of each player's cognitive, physical, and social skills yet
just not enough of a measurable level to meet our tough standards for a perfect
score in this category. Triviathon comes in falling
short of a perfect score by a single digit with a score of [4] Stars in
this category for SKILL IMPROVEMENT.
VISUAL APPEAL: Rating Level - [5]
The visual appeal for Triviathon was beyond impressive! It was literally
shooting for the moon in the force of impact from VISUAL APPEAL. The packaging
alone was magnificent in its level of visual appeal with the contents of the
game box matching perfectly if not better. Triviathon met the challenge to
meet our stough standards and passed with a perfect score of [5] Stars in this
evaluation category for VISUAL APPEAL.
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