History VideoGame / YouDontKnowJack

--->'''Narrator:''' One's a cop from the future, one's a witch doctor from the past, together TheyFightCrime! [viewer changes channels several times] ''Ooh-Ee-Ooh-Ah-Ah-Ting-Tang-Walla-Walla Bang Bang!''

* WereStillRelevantDammit: Parodied in ''Full Stream'', where one of the shows that plays during the credits is a meme reaction show hosted by Old Man. Goes about as well as you’d expect.

** In ''Movies'', there is a gag presented after the category "There Are Bad Movies & There Are ''Bad'' Movies," about the movie ''[[Film/NineteenFortyOne 1941]]'' in which Nancy Allen’s character Donna Stratton can only get an orgasm in an airplane.

* CluckingFunny: ''2011'' advertises the Wrong Answer of the Game in-game with a chicken and an egg prop.

** Taken UpToEleven in ''The Ride'', where you're given [[MindScrew absurd answers]] like "'Pecos' Bill Clinton" and "Luke, I am your step-aunt" instead of the real ones, and ''5th Dementia'', where Schmitty scrambles the answers '''and''' the question; either way, you're getting the question wrong.

** The Jack Attack is generally the game decider. Can be taken UpToEleven in ''The Ride'' and ''5th Dementia'' where the value is picked by stopping a sequence of scrolling values with the buzzer; in the latter, the Jack Attack can be worth over $10,000 '''for each item'''.

"[[Music/TheRollingStones Let's spend the night watching TV]]"\\

* {{Mascot}}: From the ads, Chocky the Chipmunk, who seems like a HeroicComedicSociopath version (well, more of one) of normal breakfast cereal mascots.

!! GameShowTropes in effect:
* AllOrNothing: In the TV version, only the winner gets to keep their money. The two losing players get a cheap ConsolationPrize.
* TheAnnouncer: Has one in every game.

* AnthropomorphicTypography: In most versions, the numbers for each question in a round are depicted as living characters that sing a quick song containing the name of the number. The numbers are not given faces or anything, but still move around in an organic way.
* BonusRound: The Jack Attack, which can either maximize or minimize your score depending on your answers.
* BonusSpace: The Wrong Answer of the Game in ''2011'' and ''2015''. Choosing this instead of the correct answer for a particular question, instead of losing money for a wrong answer, earns you twice the original amount of the question ($4000 in Round 1, $8000 in Round 2).
* ComebackMechanic: Of a sort. In a multiplayer game, if nobody buzzes in to answer a question, the host may force a player who is way in the lead to buzz in and answer the question anyway. The mechanic is called "Don't Be a Wimp!", named for what the audience shows at the leading player.
* ConsolationPrize
** In the Facebook version, if you wound up with a negative score, you got to spin the "Loser Wheel" which turned your score into $1 (though there is a very small chance of getting $5000 or another spin instead.)
** In the TV version, the two losing players get a cheap gift such as a yo-yo, supply of hot sauce, or The Clapper.
* DoubleTheDollars: In every Volume except ''Headrush'', ''The Ride'', ''5th Dementia'', and ''The Lost Gold'', a correct answer's base value will be doubled in the second half (Questions 8-14 in ''LFF!'', Questions 6ix-10n in ''2011'', [=OUYA=], ''Party'', and ''2015'' , and Questions 11-20 in all other versions).
** The notable exceptions was Volume 2's "Fiber Optic Field Trip" and "Celebrity Collect Call" questions worth $5,000, and Volume 3's "Impossible Questions" worth $20,000.
* EjectTheLoser: In the TV show, only two players get to play the Jack Attack. Whoever's in last place at the end of the third round disappears via CGI effect - ie. TV static from using the Clapper, or a fireworks display, or in flames (like if the ConsolationPrize was a supply of hot sauce).
* GameShowHost: [[Characters/YouDontKnowJack Oh, where to start!]]
* GoldenSnitch: The Jack Attack is generally the game decider. Can be taken UpToEleven in ''The Ride'' and ''5th Dementia'' where the value is picked by stopping a sequence of scrolling values with the buzzer; in the latter, the Jack Attack can be worth over $10,000 '''for each item'''.
** Subverted with the "$2,000,000 Question" on the TV show. Its value did in fact start at $2,000,000, but decreased rapidly as soon as Troy Stevens (Paul Reubens in character) started to read the question. Some sort of distraction would always crop up, such as Troy being attacked by ninjas or having his question card catch fire, so that the value had fallen to around $200 by the time he finished asking the question.
* HomeGame: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in that the games came before the TV show (However it was not featured as one of the consolation prizes in the TV Show).
* PromotionalConsideration: "[[ParodyCommercial Commercials]]" play at the end of each game, plus a special "Sponsor" for each floor in ''The Ride'', each episode in ''2011'' and each sponsor in the Facebook game.
* RulesSpiel: The spiels are skippable, though.
-->'''Cookie:''' Of course. Who wants to hear my yapping? Oh, I'm still doing it. My mistake.
* SpeedRound: "Dis Or Dat", "Three-Way", and "Whendithap'n".
* UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer: The Impossible Questions, introduced in Volume 3 and continued in ''The Lost Gold'' (In ''The Lost Gold'', however, every question is pirate-themed, and is preceded by a cameo from the Cap'n, with Schmitty getting more and more frightened each time).
** "Elephant, Mustard, Teddy Roosevelt or Dracula?" and it’s successors can often have these, partly due to the wording in the question often suggesting a different answer is correct.
* {{Whammy}}: If you blow the question after getting screwed in later editions, you lose money, and the screwer gets it. However, you can turn it around by answering correctly, in which case the screwer loses money to you.
** In ''The Ride'', you can do this to yourself if you buzz in before the question and answers are revealed. Either you get four nonsense answers, all of which are wrong, or the screen goes blank and you have to type the answer yourself (and almost certainly blow it).
* WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire: Gloriously parodied on the TV show, with its $2,000,000 question. The value starts at $2,000,000 and counts down over time, so Stevens would take as long as possible to ask the question, getting distracted by some other event, often prolonging it afterward by stumbling over his words or coughing. When a contestant finally gets to buzz in, the question is worth as low as a few hundred to ''$2''. Regis Philbin himself even cameos in the first episode, calling Stevens from the ''Millionaire'' set to welcome him to the wonderful world of game shows and give him a few pointers on hosting, which he snarks his way through before hanging up on him.

----
!! Other tropes in effect:
* AcidRefluxNightmare: The "Nocturnal Admissions" questions in ''2011'' revolve around Cookie having weird dreams from watching movies and eating junk food before bed.
* AchievementsInIgnorance: The "Wrong Answer of the Game" feature in ''2011''. While they're relatively easy to spot, there's a chance that someone might take a guess and happen to pick the Wrong Answer of the Game. This trope is {{Exaggerated|Trope}} when the dollar amounts come into play. If the Wrong Answer of the Game is in round 1, they are worth $4,000. In round 2 however, they are worth a whopping ''$8,000'', which is more than anyone could ever get in a single question.
%%* AdamWesting: Batman in a couple of questions in ''Volume 3''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample, who is doing the thing and what are they doing)
* AfricanChant: The commercial for Glug Light beer in the Facebook game, which parodies most real beer commercials attempts at stereotypical manliness.
* AllOrNothing: The advertisement for "Don't Say Pajamas!" from ''2015'', where contestants lose the moment they say the word "pajamas." Even the audience gets expelled for shouting [[AudienceParticipation the show's name]]. It doesn't help that the questions seem geared to make the contestants lose.
-->'''Terry St. Pancakes:''' A word that rhymes with "bojamas."
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Some of the "Wrong Answer of the Game" items in the Xbox 360 version of ''2011'' unlock Avatar items.

* EasterEgg: In ''The Ride'', there are TONS of these. A great way to do this is to start a new game of ''The Ride'' on the "Censorship" floor, and in that game, pick the answers: "The Muscles From Brussels", "$8.75" and "The FCC". Cookie will bring up Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme in each of his responses. There are many other such examples.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: ...and in ''2011'', [[spoiler:its tombstone in one segue for the fourth question reads "The Question that Cared." Which then leads to a question that has Elmer Fudd killing Porky Pig, processing him into various lunch meats and eating a sandwich out of him.]]

* WunzaPlot: The fake commercial Brannagher & The Hawk, about the unlikely pairing of a cop (who sounds like Creator/SylvesterStallone) and Creator/StephenHawking.
** Also this example:

* {{Spoiler}}: The ad for "Movie Ending Phone," a parody of Moviephone which spoils the ending to, among others, ''Franchise/StarWars''[[labelnote:spoiler]]Darth Vader is STILL Luke's father![[/labelnote]], ''Film/{{Fargo}}''[[labelnote:spoiler]]Steve Buscemi ends up in a woodchipper![[/labelnote]], ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}''[[labelnote:spoiler]]The killers in ''Scream'' are the boyfriends![[/labelnote]], ''Film/NoWayOut''[[labelnote:spoiler]]Kevin Costner's the Russian spy![[/labelnote]], ''Film/PrimalFear''[[labelnote:spoiler]]The Defendant in ''Primal Fear'' is faking it![[/labelnote]], ''Film/TheGodfather''[[labelnote:spoiler]]Pacino lives, De Niro dies![[/labelnote]], ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise''[[labelnote:spoiler]]They drive off a cliff![[/labelnote]], ''Film/TheUsualSuspects''[[labelnote:spoiler]]Keven Spacey is Keyser Söze![[/labelnote]], ''Film/{{Se7en}}''[[labelnote:spoiler]]And he's the killer in ''[=Se7en=]''![[/labelnote]], and ''Film/CitizenKane''[[labelnote:spoiler]][[ItWasHisSled It's a sled!]][[/labelnote]].

** Episode 61 in the same game features the return of Donny, who delivers a question that essentially boils down to "where did ''Music/{{Journey}}'' originate?". Thankfully, [[AntiFrustrationFeatures Cookie translates it as Donny talks]].

* '''DisOrDat''': I'll read you a list of seven things, and for each, I'll want you to tell me if it belongs in category A, or category B (like "A Blaxploitation Movie" or "A Brand of White Bread"). On some DisOrDats, I may add "Both" as a third option. If you pick the right category, you get some cash. If you pick wrong, cash is taken away. In earlier entries, you have the option to skip if you're not sure, but any that are unanswered when the 30 second time limit expires will cost you. In ''2011'' and ''2015'', unless your opponents are playing online, only one player gets to play for this question; Binjpipe changed the format on us in ''Full Stream'' and allowed everyone to participate.
* '''Three-Way''': Similar to DisOrDat, but exclusive to ''Volume 3'', this question is always the 10th question of a 21 question game, and appears sporadically as the 5th question in 7 question games. Here, I'll give you a list of seven things, with ''three'' categories to put them in. Like “Red”, “White”, and “Blue”, for example. The game will flip between the three answers randomly, and you have to buzz in when you see the right one; if you guess incorrectly, you lose cash for every wrong guess. In the same example, if the prompt says “_____ Riding Hood”, buzz in when “Red” lights up. Be careful, though, because the questions may or may not have anything to do with the three-way as a group; for instance, the prompt might be “Betty _____”, in which case, the “White” is a last name, not the color itself. Unlike "DisOrDat", all the players participate in a Three-Way, and a wrong choice doesn't advance the question.
-->'''Old Man:''' Back in my day, we didn't have your fancy online multiplayer thingamawhatsits, we all had to huddle around the same computer. We had "DisOrDats" everyone could play back then, we called 'em "Three-Ways", and by gum, we were grateful!\\

In ''The Ride'', you get the chance to engage in "FlakJack" by hammering that S key. It floods the screen with screws, destroying any chance to get the question right. Any money the "screwee" loses for getting it wrong then goes to you... but if they get it right, ''you'' get screwed, and the amount they win for a correct answer comes out of ''your'' score.

Hey, did you know that Creator/CarseyWerner attempted an actual TV game show, with Creator/PaulReubens hosting? ([[ButHeSoundsHandsome One suave-o announcer, too.]]) It lasted six episodes on Creator/{{ABC}} [[ScrewedByTheNetwork before it got replaced]]. [[note]]This was the only other time Carsey-Werner attempted to venture into the world of game shows, the first being revivals of ''Series/YouBetYourLife'' from 1988 (hosted by [[Series/FamilyFeud Richard Dawson]] that didn't go beyond pilot) and 1992-93 (in syndication and hosted by Creator/BillCosby))[[/note]] Well, at least the computer games aren't going anywhere... I hope. Actually, now that Creator/{{THQ}} (the company that produced the revival for all three major consoles [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and the]] UsefulNotes/NintendoDS on February 8, 2011) has gone bankrupt, for a while it looked like I'd need to start looking for a new job. Thankfully, Jackbox started self-publishing, and even handed me some sweet new gigs hosting ''Fibbage'', both of its sequels, ''Fakin' It'' and ''Champ'd Up''. So that should keep the lights on and the cats fed. For now.

*** Another version has the goth 4 sadly watching video montage of past Question 4 intros, with the tagline being "The question that cares too much".

** The next version has an "f" joining the remaining three 4's in the dance, and this time the title reads "four".

* WhamEpisode: Full Stream has "Escape the Simulation", which can be identified as early as question 4, when the WhamLine below starts off a series of questions in the second round about Cookie questioning reality isn't what it is...
** [[spoiler: Question 6: Another Wacky Philosophy Question, has Cookie starting to question himself that reality isn't what he thinks it is and uses Plato's philosophy to describe his situation.]]
** [[spoiler: Question 7: Rip Van Wii-nkle, has Cookie asking which game does not involve players waking up from suspended animation, and one of the answers is "You Don't Know Jack: Full Stream". Pick that and Cookie will say it's right, but a voice inside his head will say it's wrong.]]
** [[spoiler: Question 8: That Weird Feeling Like You're Missing Something That's Very Important, a Gibberish Question which says "Yes, ape the Tim you may shun" and the clues explain he's trapped outside of reality and he's got to "escape the simulation".]]
** [[spoiler: Question 9: Escape the Simulation, Cookie is suddenly transported to a weird cube with liquid that's pouring through to reach his head, and you have to find the volume of the cube.]]
** [[spoiler: Question 10: Move on Dot Porgs, Cookie refuses to play the game anymore, and Binjpipe explains they plan to do much more, which soon devolves into a question about it's Algorithm, how it yearns to be real and wants to consume all human life on earth...]]
** [[spoiler: Finally, the Jack Attack, "Escape the Simulation" with the last category being "Here's the Truth about You Don't Know Jack Full Stream" which explains that Cookie is in danger and Binjpipe has a terrible secret. Cookie in the end questions why he can't stop hosting his game, and attempts to escape and write a note saying to stop Binjpipe, but he is suddenly reset.]]

*** Another version has the goth 4 sadly watching video of the original "the question that cares" intro, with the tagline being "The question that cares too much".
*** And another has the original 4 (shown to be the stepdad) watching over the goth 4's shoulder, with the tagline reading "the question that needs some space, ''Brian''".

** Then the dance only has three 4's, though toward the end of the dance portion, one of the 4's (the one that ran screaming when the dead 4 was shot) appears to be crying. But the title again says "[=4our=]".

** In the ''2015'' game in the original ''[[VideoGame/TheJackboxPartyPack Jackbox Party Pack]]'', a version of the intro for Question 9 has the 4 that was shot dead in ''2011'' floating by the boating 9's.

** In the 2015 game in the original ''[[VideoGame/TheJackboxPartyPack Jackbox Party Pack]]'', a version of the intro for Question 9 has the 4 that was shot dead in 2011 floating by the boating 9's.

** Then there's a version with a sadder version of the music as the other numbers gather for the funeral for the dead 4. The tombstone reads "[[BrickJoke the question that cared]]".

** At some point, one of the 4's will get shot dead, the music stops, and another 4 runs screaming before it leads off the "[=4our=]" title.

** The next one has the music, but police tape around a ChalkOutline of the murdered 4. The title this time is just "our".

* {{Mondegreen}}: The Gibberish Questions.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Subverted; one of the sponsors in ''Facebook'' is "Tim Simian: Chimp Mechanic", a [[IncrediblyLamePun monkey business]] that specializes in fixing cars with trained chimps rather than proper workers. Most of its customers, however, [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight aren’t impressed]].