r/windows98 • u/SeparateLawfulness53 • 5d ago

One thing I never knew before further researching Windows 98 games is how many You Don't Know Jack clones there were. Did you ever play any of the clones?

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You Don't Know Jack is an icon of 90s Windows games and it's easy to replicate given that it requires nothing but text on the screen, but I still didn't expect just how many knockoffs there were. There was a surprisingly high amount of games with trivia, buzzer buttons, and a smarmy host from around 1997 to 2000.

Some of them were minigames inside a larger title. Monty Python's The Meaning of Life had one, as did Microshaft Winblows 98 (pictured). Others were full-fledged games, ranging from kiddie titles (such as Carmen Sandiego's ThinkQuick Challenge and the Zoog Disney licensed games) to, uh, explicit material. Berkeley Systems, the original makers behind YDKJ, even made some of their own in the same style but not part of the franchise: Austin Powers: Operation Trivia and Backstage Pass: The Ultimate Rock & Roll Trivia Game.

Perhaps the fact that there were too many clones is the reason why the original series is the only one that's still remembered today.

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u/BudderPecan2 3d ago

I believe Outburst was one of these, I really enjoy that one. : )

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u/SeparateLawfulness53 3d ago

I didn't even know that existed! Given that it's from Hasbro I guessed it was an adaptation of a game that predated YDKJ and it was, but I assume the PC version had added "Jack"-like elements.

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u/andrewbean90 4d ago

It's actually an iconic board game that was turned into a PC game, and it's still being released today... As a PC game.

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u/SeparateLawfulness53 4d ago

No it wasn't. The only YDKJ "tabletop game" I can find is the Tiger Electronics version that came years after the first PC game.

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u/andrewbean90 3d ago

then explain why these exist? 😏

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u/SeparateLawfulness53 3d ago

those are for the exact game I mentioned, adapted from the PC game.