MishM*A*S*H 33: Golden Trivia Game: M*A*S*H Edition

After last month’s post reviewing the M*A*S*H board game created by Milton Bradley, I decided to continue the game theme this week with the Golden Trivia Game: M*A*S*H Edition. This game is another licensed product in the collection, and it was part of the Golden Trivia Games that included editions for sports and other entertainment titles. Players of the game earn points for correctly answering trivia questions and lose points when they get them wrong. Golden trivia games are similar to the popular Trivial Pursuit series of games today. For M*A*S*H, Golden not only released the full trivia game, but they also released just the cards so someone who already had a previous version of the game could adapt their game setup for M*A*S*H. I have both versions of the game, so let’s take a look.

The Full Game

The Golden Trivia Game: M*A*S*H Edition was released in 1984, which means that the game’s creators had time to vet the questions and ensure that questions about the full series were included since the M*A*S*H finale aired in February 1983. The game box featured an image of the final cast, but there are questions for the early seasons of M*A*S*H as well. The game contained the game box, instructions, the game tray, a die, four point value cards (with values of 5, 10, 15, and 20 points), and 216 cards featuring 1,296 questions! There are a lot of questions about M*A*S*H, but the questions weren’t randomized. There are six questions on each card, and the cards are split into the following categories:

• Early Episodes
• Closing Seasons
• M*A*S*H Quotes
• Love and War
• Personnel Files
• Mish M*A*S*H

I have played this game, and it is challenging! You don’t know which of the categories will be at the top of the decks because the 216 cards are shuffled together, divided into four equal piles, and then placed in the game tray. The point value cards are placed over the top of each pile so that only the category of the next card on the stack shows. You then choose a card based on the point value and category. Once you’ve selected the category/card from which you will get a question, the player to your left takes the card from the pile without showing you the questions or answers. You roll the die, and the number you roll (between one and six) determines the question you are asked.

If you answer the question correctly, you get the points based on the point card at the top of the pile! If you don’t answer correctly, you lose the points based on the value of the card, and the next player to the left of the person asking the question gets a chance to answer. If they get it correct, they get five points. If not, they lose five points and the next person can attempt to answer. You are not required to answer the question, however, and the question gets passed around until it is either answered correctly or it gets back to the original player. Once the card is complete, it is discarded in the center of the game tray.

The total point value needed to win is determined by the players before game play starts, and then a scorekeeper tracks the points of each player as questions are answered correctly or incorrectly. The first person to reach the agreed to point value wins the game. I have learned playing this game that you might want to start off with a lower amount of points depending on the number of players. If you have six players, for example, you may want to set the point value needed to win to 200 points. But if you are only playing against one other person, then you can set a higher point value as game play will go much more quickly.

Game Cards Only

For M*A*S*H fans who already owned a version of the Golden Trivia Game, Golden released a stand-alone set of the cards. This only included the 216 trivia cards, so it came with much smaller packaging. This could be used with the game trays from other Golden Trivia Games or players could use the cards without the tray and save some money. Either way, I really like that the top and bottom of the box clearly states that the cards are the same as the ones found in the full M*A*S*H edition of the game. That prevented fans of show from buying both versions only to find out that they were the same. This version of the game did include a set of instructions and discard tray, but it did not include the die. Had they included the die, someone could have bought this version of the game and not needed the tray.

This is a really fun way to learn more about M*A*S*H or show how much you knew about the show. Golden released several other trivia games for other topics including Star Trek, the NFL, Major League Baseball, and Disney. I cannot find much about the company, so I am not sure how long they produced games after M*A*S*H. This game is a fun item to own for the M*A*S*H collector as it is something you can play! There are plenty of sets of this game available online, however, be careful to ensure that you are receiving a complete set of cards when buying.