TV Mania is so much more than a Totally Television based board game.

 

TV Mania is also a comprehensive encyclopedia of Television History and a culmination of 17 years research featuring questions on more than 300 TV Stars and over 500 Cartoon & TV shows from the Lone Ranger (1949) and Superman (1951) to classics like The Honeymooners, Dragnet, Dallas, Fawlty Towers, The Two Ronnies and Batman through to today with Desperate Housewives, Rove Live, Friends, Frasier, Neighbours, Smallville, Charmed, The O.C. and Blue Heelers.

 

TV Mania is a celebration of television featuring Television¹s all-time greatest TV shows in five major question categories - Comedy, Drama/Soaps, TV Stars, Cartoons/Kid¹s shows and Television History, including the worlds most watched TV show, the longest running Sci-Fi series, the longest running TV Western series, the longest serving actor in a TV series and history¹s highest paid TV personalities over the past 5 decades, from Dean Martin in 1964 through to Peter Falk, Tim Allen, Kelsey Grammer and Ray Romano in 2005.

 

TV Mania also includes celebrity bios, celebrity births & deaths ­ with day, month and year as well as the cause of death and achievements and awards made in their TV career, celebrity and TV show photos, information, news & trivia on artists, television shows and interesting facts contributing to their life, their shows and our television history.

TV Mania features Television's all-time greatest TV shows in five major categories - Comedy, Drama & TV Soaps, TV Stars, Cartoons & Kid's shows, and an encyclopaedia of Television History since The Lone Ranger back in 1949.

 

TV Mania is a celebration of television, with hundreds of celebrity bios, celebrity births & deaths, photos, information, news & trivia from the Lone Ranger (1949) and Superman (1951) through to today with Desperate Housewives, Rove Live, Friends, Frasier, Neighbours and Blue Heelers, and
also includes history's highest paid TV personalities over the past 5 decades, from Dean Martin in 1964 through to Ray Romano in 2005.

 

The only criteria for television shows being included in the game, is they must have run for at least 2 seasons.

 

The object of TV Mania is to move around the play board by correctly answering questions to obtain four TV Awards in the race for the Gold TV Mania Award.

 

Before the game begins, each player selects one game piece and determines who will be the Network Bank manager. Each player is a TV Mania Actor or Actress and starts the game with $5,000 from the Network Bank.

Network and Who Am I? cards must be placed face down on the play board. Play starts and finishes in the TV Mania Centre in the middle of the play board. The highest roll of the die moves first in any direction the Actor chooses. After you have completed your roll, the next turn passes to the Actor on your left. An Actor can move in either direction along the squares, clockwise or counter clockwise.

 

Whichever coloured Square is landed on, the Actor to your right asks a question in that category, the only exception is the Who Am I? card as this is to be read out by the Actor who lands on the Square. The first card is drawn from either one of the card boxes and the question is read corresponding to the category landed on. When the question is finished, the card is placed in the back of its box behind the other cards. If the Actor correctly answers their question, they continue their turn by rolling the die again and moving the corresponding number of squares.

Each Actor is awarded a salary of $500 from the Network Bank for each correct answer.

 

Play may proceed into the centre of the board but the Gold TV Mania Award may not be collected until the end of the game. If an Actor lands on the centre TV Mania Square a history question is to be answered.

 

When an Actor lands on a square that is already occupied by another Actor they must answer the question as normal. If the answer is wrong they must pay the first person on the square $500, if they answer the question correctly then the first person on the square must pay them $500. This square infringement rule is in place of any payment from The Network Bank.

 

When you land on a coloured Corner Award square, answer the question corresponding to the category you have landed on. There are 4 Award Corners, a Green Comedy Award, a Blue Drama Award, a Red Stars Award and a Purple Kids and Cartoons Award. If you answer the question correctly you have the option to BUY the Award for $5,000. If you land on an Award Corner you have already collected, answer the question as normal and receive a salary of $1,000 paid to you by the Network Bank.

 

During the game if an Actor incorrectly answers the question on the coloured Corner Award, the Actor has the option to purchase a second question for $2,000 on their next turn. This option is available to all Actors ONCE only during the game and only on the coloured Corner Award Squares.

 

You are deemed bankrupt if your debt is larger than you can pay either to another Actor or to the Network Bank. If your debt is to another Actor you must hand over 1 Corner Award that you have. If the Actor already has collected the same Award the Network Bank will exchange the bankrupt players Award to the value of $1,000. Should you owe the Network Bank each Corner Award is to be exchanged for $2,000.

If you are unable to avoid bankruptcy your career as an Actor is over and you are forced to an early retirement - remembered only in re-runs.

 

Who Am I? questions are the only questions asked where all Actors compete against each other for the correct answer. The Actor that lands on the Who Am I? square is the only cast member not to participate and must pick up and read the question to the other Actors. An incorrect answer by any Actor eliminates them from the remainder of that Who Am I? question. The actor who is first with the correct answer receives $1,000 and takes the next turn. In the event that no Actor gives a correct answer, the Actor who initially received the Who Am I? question receives the $1,000 and continues their turn.

 

A Network card is broken into two types of Cards, Past or Present, and chance cards.

Past or Present cards give a detailed biography of a TV Star and asks weather this TV personality is either alive or dead. A correct answer receives $1,000 from the Network Bank. The Chance cards are based on possible fortunes or misfortunes present throughout the career of a TV Star. On landing on a Network Card Square the actor to your right must pick up the top card on the Network stack and read it to you.

The current Actor must comply with what the Chance Card asks. In most cases it will result in receiving a payment by the Network or Paying the Network.

 

When an Actor lands on the DVD square use questions from the DVD. The DVD uses its own game concepts for each round giving Actors a chance to win up to $6,000. When no DVD player is available, play the game using the cards in the same category as the closest Corner Award.

 

The Gold TV Mania Award is won if an Actor has collected 4 different Corner Awards and if they correctly answer the final history question. Actors must roll the exact number required to enter the TV Mania Centre. The Actor to receive all Corner Awards and answers the last History question is the winner of TV Mania.