Homogenius
$34.99
Ten percent of proceeds go to GLAAD. In June, the game will be discounted to $24.95 in recognition of Gay Pride Month.
http://www.homogeniusthegame.com
Uncle Chuck's closet became the muse for Homogenius – a tricky trivia gay-geared game. Inside the messy nook, Allison and Chris Trani's uncle stored chaps and motorcycle hats.
"It was a little messy," Chris recalls.
So, it's only fitting that the obstacle of the game – getting out of the closet – isn't just appropriate, but considering the clutter, it's a bit challenging to find a way out. Even for Chuck.
"When we play the game with Uncle Chuck, usually he doesn't win," Chris laughs.
Well, of course. Uncle Chuck (whose real name is Charles Cardillo) didn't write the questions. Instead, his sister, Marianne Trani, stayed up to the wee hours soaking in TV programs, reading magazines and scribing questions on tiny sheets of paper. Allison says her mother had a helluva time forming questions. She wanted to keep the two-or-more player game challenging, but amusing.
"Gay people are so accomplished and we wanted to kind of show that," she says. "But a lot of people are kind of obscure and a lot of people wouldn't necessarily know the answers."
Marianne's New York-based daughters, Chris and Allison, were in charge of transferring their mother's 355 questions onto the computer. "She was totally consumed by this for 15 years," Chris recalls. "She would say, 'Oh, in the middle of the night I saw this thing on whatever cable show.' She watches crazy TV. She's just nuts."
So nuts that she's already working on a second set of questions.
"She's already up in the middle of the night doing it," Chris laughs.
The initial project has been locked up in a closet – and covered in Uncle Chuck's collectables – for too long. Homogenius sparked from family gatherings, during which everyone would group around the dining room table to play trivia board games like Trivial Pursuit. Chris and Allison, now both married with children, would often toss in gay-oriented questions to the festivity for Uncle Chuck's sake.
"My mother one day said: 'You know this would make a great game,'" Allison says.
Allison developed a prototype and the family played it at their next get-together. Marianne demanded they pursue a more professional version. After researching for similar gay board games, they discovered zilch – except for a lame homemade one and a more-serious family one.
Chris insists, "Anyone can play our game."
Except those eternal closet-cases, right?
