You Don't Know Jack: the Trivia Video Game

Retro Round-Up: Do You Know Jack?

As I was packing up stuff from my mom's basement to help her move, I came across a box with a bunch of old computer video games. Most of these games have been shoved in this box, in a dark part of the basement, for a reason... They were straight, bargain bin video games.

After digging through, I found some video game gems that made this discovery worth while, and gave me the brilliant idea to start this series of articles. For this article's purpose, we will be discussing the video game, You Don't Know Jack. For those of you who don't know Jack, it is a trivia game unlike any other trivia game.

Made primarily for the computer, the video game You Don't Know Jack, was released in the United States in 1995 and went on to win awards and the praise of millions of fans. The reason Jack is unlike any other trivia video game, or any other video game in general, is the set-up and humor throughout the game.

The Cast

You Don't Know Jack is set-up like a trivia game show, with all the same elements of a traditional game show. There are the hosts, and, like almost any other game show that has been around for twelve years and counting, there have been a few. The most famous and the favorite among You Don't Know Jack fans, is Cookie Masterson.

Originally featured as a sign-in host to get player's names and info in You Don't Know Jack Volume One and Volume Two, Cookie is just as loud and obnoxious as the video game itself is. As I said, the You Don't Know Jack video game has had more than its fair share of hosts; Nate Shapiro, Buzz Lippman, Guy Towers, just to name a few, but Cookie still remains THE host in the hearts of many fans.

The Game

Most versions of the You Don't Know Jack video game, and there have been many different video game versions which we will be touching on in a few minutes, run and play the same. The common bond between all the video games, no matter the game play, is that the players are on a very crude, and hilarious, TV game show.