AppReviewCentral Rating

Test your trivia wits against your friends and family on Who Wants To Be  a Millionaire and Friends, Ludia’s newest social-friendly version of the game based on the long-running syndicated U.S. game show. In this game, you will be engaged in a head-to-head matchup against a Facebook friend or a random opponent. Each new game will cost you 30 coins and new users will be credited with a starter pack of 80 coins. The game uses the show’s current “Shuffle” format. However, the TV version’s first round is divided into five-question rounds with dollar amounts ranging from $100 up to $25,000. Like on the show, the ten categorized questions and dollar amounts in the first two rounds are randomized. You are only allowed to use one lifeline per round. The lifeline options include “Double Dip”, which gives you two chances to answer a question; the ever-present “Ask The Audience” and “Jump The Question”, which automatically provides you with the correct answer. Each lifeline is respectively worth 5, 10 and 15…

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Test your general knowledge trivia against your friends and a gauntlet of 14 questions and find out who has what it takes to win the elusive Million-Dollar grand prize in this social game based on the popular U.S. syndicated game show, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

 

4.5

Test your trivia wits against your friends and family on Who Wants To Be  a Millionaire and Friends, Ludia’s newest social-friendly version of the game based on the long-running syndicated U.S. game show. In this game, you will be engaged in a head-to-head matchup against a Facebook friend or a random opponent. Each new game will cost you 30 coins and new users will be credited with a starter pack of 80 coins. The game uses the show’s current “Shuffle” format. However, the TV version’s first round is divided into five-question rounds with dollar amounts ranging from $100 up to $25,000.

Like on the show, the ten categorized questions and dollar amounts in the first two rounds are randomized. You are only allowed to use one lifeline per round. The lifeline options include “Double Dip”, which gives you two chances to answer a question; the ever-present “Ask The Audience” and “Jump The Question”, which automatically provides you with the correct answer. Each lifeline is respectively worth 5, 10 and 15 coins.

On each question, you will have 20 seconds to lock-in your answer. Correct answers win you cash while incorrect answers will not reward you with any money and the game continues. You can also gain a slight edge on your opponent and win bonus money by accruing a streak of up to five correct answers in a row and answering questions quickly. The player with the most cash at the end of the two rounds will advanced to the “Classic Millionaire” round for a shot at answering the final four questions progressing in difficulty leading up to the Million Dollar Question.

Play smartly because there are no lifelines available in the third round and you can’t walk away with your winnings without answering at least one question in the third round correctly. As with most Ludia games, you can earn more coins by collecting items every time you answer a question correctly in the “Classic Millionaire” round to complete theme collections.

This is another great ‘game-show based’ game created by Ludia. This game is equally as impressive as the developer’s Facebook version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. This app maintains the same question structure and cash distribution as on the television version, the same brain-bending trivia questions, made slight upgrades where needed including the in-game bonuses and category collector items and even make users a little nostalgic by reintroducing the “Double Dip” lifeline. Dividing the first round into two turn-by-turn based rounds was a nice touch by Ludia to enable faster and shorter gameplay.

Another interesting observation I have taken note of while playing this game is how the app automatically selects a random opponent for you each time you return the main menu screen upon completing your turn or finishing a game. This is the first time I have ever seen any game with this feature and it is a useful one to keep you interested in the game.

There are a couple of disadvantages that lie within the app’s overall performance and within the actual gameplay. The first is its long ‘connecting’ times, despite the fact that you might have a strong Wi-Fi signal, and its instability. This app will have a tendency to unexpectedly shutdown, even if you are in the middle of a game. Should this happen, just simply reopen the app and resume your game, as your progress will not be affected. The second is the absence of the “Walk Away” option in the early portion of Round 3. Once you enter the final round, you are forced to answer the $100,000 question without any chance of quitting the game with the cash you have won in the first two rounds. This essentially makes the first round pointless to play considering there is a 75% chance that you will lose your front game winnings with no lifeline to assist you. I hope this problem will be fixed in a future update.

Nevertheless, Millionaire and Friends is an excellent and challenge game for trivia fans and fans of the original show, now hosted by Cedric The Entertainer. This app is available for free for Android and iOS devices. You can also play the game for free on Facebook. 

App Name: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire and Friends

Developer: Ludia Inc.

Market: Google Play, iTunes

Cost: Free