‘…I Should Have Known That’ Takes Trivia Back To The Basics

During the pandemic, trivia has been an escape of sorts for my family. We watch “Jeopardy” every night, a hint at a normal routine even without the soothing presence of Alex Trebek. And we’ve played countless trivia board games, including “Trivillenial” and Ken Jennings’ “Half Truth,” both of which I have reviewed on this website.

Amid all the uncertainty in the world today, there is something especially appealing about the timelessness of trivia. In a time when things can get “canceled” or memory-holed without prior notice, it can be especially rewarding to remember facts and figures from the past. For example: He may lose his reputation and even his national holiday, but no amount of historical revision can change the fact that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

When a trivia game called “…I Should Have Known That” shot up Amazon’s bestseller list last month, I had to buy it.For a time, this game became the single most popular product not simply among its competitors in the trivia space, but among the entirety of Amazon’s vast Toys & Games category.

…I should have known that! Trivia Game — $20

Sadly, I was not particularly impressed. I have no idea what caused this particular trivia game’s popularity to spike in April, but after playing it I can find little to distinguish it from the many other trivia games available on The Everything Store. The questions are easy, which itself is not a problem; after all, it styles itself as a game of questions that everybody should know. The inconsistency arises from the game’s point value system. Each question is assigned a point value, and instead of gaining points for every one answered correctly, a player loses points for each one he or she gets wrong. Questions that everyone should know are worth as many as eight points, while missing trickier ones is not as detrimental to a player’s score.

In theory, this conceit might seem a welcome twist to a tired system. But the point values are so inconsistent, you almost have to wonder if they were randomly distributed. A parochial question about British soccer, for example, is given the maximum number of points, indicating a must-know, whereas the first name of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini is considered a tricky one.

Ultimately, “…I Should Have Known That” features a nifty idea, and it is a shame it could not execute a bit better. However, if you are always on the lookout for more trivia questions, you could do worse than this set, especially for just $20. It can certainly provide a few decent hours of entertainment before it is time to move on to the next one.