Ah, politics — can’t live with it, can’t live without it. That, in a nutshell, best describes my view of the political machine. As someone who grew up overseas before moving to the United States, I’ve seen firsthand just how ugly politics can be across both sides of the Pacific. Let’s just say that all the breath mints and deodorant in the world won’t nearly be enough to mask the stink from some of the political shenanigans I’ve seen and heard about.
As much as I hate the seamier side of politics, however, I’m a voracious consumer of political news and information. It might even be accurate to describe me as a political junkie — I just can’t get enough of the stuff. I’m especially fond of the more comical takes on politics, which helps balance out some of the angst I feel from the subject’s more grimy and icky permutations. So when I heard about the Comedy Central Indecision Game app from 2K Play, well, I just had to give it a shot.
In essence, the Indecision Game is a political trivia exercise with a humorous twist that pits people against other players. Let’s just say that if you love The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report, then you’re gonna eat this whole thing up. Right off the bat, the game tries to stir up trouble by asking the question about who is smarter: Democrats or Republicans? To find out the answer, every player must indicate their party preference when starting the game. Based on how people perform, each group gets ranked overall. I opted for Independent, which is apparently second-best overall as of this writing (sorry, conservatives, but the tree-hugging donkeys are apparently treading all over your elephant behind).
Once you get all dressed up and find an opponent, you will be taken to an Electoral College-type map that shows every state grouped by region. The goal is to win as many states as you can by getting as many answers right on the quiz portion. This earns you points, which you can use to place voters on the map. Questions range from straight-out trivia such as which event is traditionally held on the White House lawn to more goofy queries such as naming New Jersey’s “rotund” governor. Then you’ve got some pretty hardcore questions that even self-professed political junkies may have a hard time answering. I remember flubbing the question about the material in George Washington’s dentures, for example. Basically, if you answer more questions than your opponent or get the same amount but answer faster, then you win a round and get several points. Meanwhile, losers get one “Pity Point,” which just cracks me up for some reason. The game also has a couple of lifelines that can be used per certain number of rounds, including reducing your answer choices from the standard four to two or outright having the question answered for you.
