Computer Facts in Five

A computer version of Avalon Hill's board game, Facts in Five, this game challenges players to recall trivia by category and initial letter. The computer generates five categories (e.g. "Living Statesmen"), some with subcategories (e.g. "State Governors"), along with five letters. Players then try to recall names beginning with each letter which fit in the category and subcategory. After five minutes, brain-racking ends and scoring begins, weighted toward completing rows and columns.

The conversion to microprocessor enables over a thousand combinations of categories and subcategories, and many variations on the traditional board game play. Besides humbling solitaire, two players can compete for higher scores, taking turns between five-minute rounds and typing blind if desired. Even more can compete simultaneously in "party mode," using included score sheets to record their answers.

The playing screen comprises simply the list of categories and an accompanying grid of letters, which may be the same or different within each category. Players can navigate among the letters or be prompted randomly to enter each answer at the bottom. A game is made up of five rounds of five minutes, each with new choices, so you can recover from a particularly damaging set of categories or letters. Variations allow the categories to be pre-selected or even created by players. Since verification of correct answers (by vote or reference) is left to the players, the game is virtually unlimited by content.