itboxes!
They are the spawn of the devil. They suck you in like fruit machines*, wanting you to keep winning. You never win more than a couple of quid, and they make you look stupid. Something I REALLY have trouble with.

There's two ways these are better, but in many ways worse, than fruit machines.

1. The games last longer. It's a good thing because you physically cannot lose as much money. However, because the game takes longer, you spend less time drinking, socialising or trying to get laid (surprise surprise, I'm single).

And woe betide ANYBODY being on the itbox when I walk in the pub, I pace up and down behind them like a caged lion, waiting to pounce on their usually lost bounty (tip: NEVER play Deal or No Deal. It's an arse rape curteosy of Noel Edmonds).

2. They are more sociable than things like fruit machines. Yes, unlike Fruit machines that require you to press an intricate series of buttons to get £25 out, everybody can play this. So, instead of being a grunting loner hunched over a one armed bandit, there's usually about 3 or 4.

The issue is that some people really have no business being near an itbox. They reach over pressing the screen (my mate's girlfriend did think that the capital of Italy was Nice - "Well it is nice!" she laughed it off with. It was my quid, bitch), and then when it goes to the game over, they demand you to play again. With your quid, as they had fun.

And, it is exclusively itboxes. On some of the other quiz machines, there's a games called "Pints Win Prizes", a hangman variant based on drinking. They have easy (Days of the Week or Football Teams), medium (Football Players, Celebrities or Colours) and hard (Pharaohs or Terrorist Groups) categories. One of the hard categories is Commodore 64 Games. I always get them, if that category comes up, and I must've won more money than I've gambled on it.

Click I like this if you believe any game based on a TV show are designed only to take your money.

* I did put a large amount of my student loan in fruit machines in Liverpool, so I consider them my cigarettes, and itboxes are my nicorette patches.
(rhyswynne - on every social network mullarkey known to man, Thu 18 Dec 2008, 20:23, 7 replies)

itboxes...
...are evil. I've certain they've got some sort of learning algorithim in them, cos they start fairly easy and once you've won, oooh, a pound or so, they go stupidly difficult or you have to answer 50questions correctly in a row to win anything.

Still put loads of cash in the bastards though when I'm out with my sister...my enabler.
(inflateable, Thu 18 Dec 2008, 21:06, closed)

The learning algorithm is required by law
Basically, as to be seen to be doing things against gambling, the government say that it must pay out a minimum percentage of it's takings. With fruit machines, the payout level is minimum 75%. Keep on pressing start on a fruit machine, and you will win back eventually 75% of the money you put in.

itboxes are much lower, around 25-30%. But it's usually down to "skill". So your 50 questions in a row to win fuck all means that the machine is screwing you over. If it wants you to win, it'd usually give you a prize very quickly (like in a mystery box etc.), as even the easy questions can still confuse people.

My advice is to go for a quiz where a finite number of questions will get you jackpot. The best for this is Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, or Deals on Wheels (though that doesn't win you jackpot, but usually a nice amount).

Yes, I play them far too much.
(rhyswynne - on every social network mullarkey known to man, Thu 18 Dec 2008, 22:05, closed)

I also play them far too much
But they can be demonically hard when they want to be. My entire uni pub quiz team (which has won quite a lot over this term) is lucky if we get up to £3...
( MatJ LOOK, Fri 19 Dec 2008, 2:13, closed)

I've always found
that South Park is the easiest game to win on. One person (my friend) to do the skill games, and another (me) on the questions. You get to choose your category with none of this arsey 'stop the wheel as it goes round' bollocks, and the questions seem easier than your average.
(Ellinikos contains a source of phenylalanine, Fri 19 Dec 2008, 3:18, closed)

Monies
Best game is the simple Pub Quiz. No reflexes, no stopping wheels, no 'random' rolls of the dice. Just answer enough questions and you get money. Yeah, it does get stupidly hard near the end, but at least you get a 1/3 chance of answering the question right.
(calamarain just invented dehydrated water, Fri 19 Dec 2008, 7:27, closed)

I'm a fan of Pub Quiz
My mate swears by pub quiz too as well. It is our choice once we're bored with pints win prizes

Another good one is Ceasers Palace. It's bloody easy to get to the cash round, and they have the jackpot on every board (if you keep your "Open Next Levels" right until the end). Though some skill games are impossible!
(rhyswynne - on every social network mullarkey known to man, Fri 19 Dec 2008, 8:25, closed)

There is only one advantage to those things
You get to poke Noel Edmonds and Chris Tarrant in the face for a pound.
( Iki I think my camel is dead., Thu 25 Dec 2008, 2:35, closed)