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About This Quiz
Director David Fincher kept audiences guessing with this paranoid thriller starring Michael Douglas. Test your wits with our quiz on this riveting classic!
In what year was "The Game" released?
1996
1997
"The Game" was released in 1997. Its "you can't trust anyone" tone might have been influenced by turn-of-the-millennium paranoia, which was also reflected in TV shows like "The X-Files."
1998
1999
When director David Fincher made "The Game," he was coming off a big success with which movie?
Fight Club
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Se7en
The writer of "Se7en," Andrew Kevin Walker, also worked on "The Game." Walker and Fincher spent weeks playing with the tone of the film and the character of its lead, Nicholas Van Orton.
Zodiac
In what city is "The Game" set?
Boston
New York
San Diego
San Francisco
Boston probably would have been a good choice, as well. Walker and Fincher wanted a city with a classy old-money vibe, less in-your-face than Manhattan and less freewheeling than Los Angeles.
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Who played Nicholas' younger brother, Conrad?
David Arquette
Andrew McCarthy
Sean Penn
The role of Conrad was initially supposed to be that of a sister. Jodie Foster was cast in the role. After she and Fincher couldn't agree on whether the role should be Nicholas' sister or his daughter (Foster preferred the latter), the role was re-written as a brother.
Mark Wahlberg
What childhood event haunts Nicholas Van Orton?
the drowning of his childhood dog
the death of his mother
being locked in a crypt
the suicide of his father
The suicide is particularly relevant because the birthday Nicholas is celebrating is his 48th. His father killed himself at age 48.
When Conrad calls Nicholas' office, what name does he use?
Seymour Butts
As well as a failure-to-launch type, Conrad is a trickster figure. In that way, it's appropriate that he gives Nichols the gift of The Game.
I.P. Freeley
Heywood Jablowme
Conrad Van Orton
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What is the name of the company that runs The Game?
Barnum, LLC
Consumer Recreation Services
In days to come, van Orton will be haunted by sightings of the initials "CRS." This fuels his paranoia about the malevolent organization stalking him.
The Game, Inc.
Games-R-Us
What does Conrad say that calling CRS will do for Nicholas?
"It'll give you something to do with the long winter evenings."
"It'll f--- you up, in mostly the right ways."
"It'll help you forget about Elizabeth."
"It'll make your life fun."
Conrad then needles Nicholas about his dull life, saying that "fun" is that thing Nicholas has seen other people having. He also says that The Game is the best thing "that ever happened to me."
Why does Nicholas agree to play The Game?
he's bored
there's a substantial cash prize
it's a gift from Conrad
technically, he doesn't
both #3 and #4
Nicholas does agree to visit The Game's offices and take their tests. However, he believes his application was rejected -- meaning he doesn't really know he's playing The Game when it begins.
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Of which branch of CRS was Conrad a client?
Ibiza
London
Feingold, the man who runs Nicholas' tests, looks up Conrad's "numbers" and calls them excellent, explaining that CRS does "a kind of informal scoring." He is, of course, setting Nicholas up to be nettled when he's supposedly rejected.
Mexico City
Singapore
Where does Nicholas overhear men talking about The Game?
at his club
The two men are talking about CRS in the locker room. Nicholas finds them in the bar and presses for details, but they are unwilling to spoil the surprise. It's possible that these two men are CRS plants, but we can't be sure -- the encounter is innocent enough to be real.
on the train
in an alleyway
in the lobby of his office building
The day after he takes the tests, Nicholas gets a phone call saying what?
his game is about to begin
his application to play was rejected
The CRS employee tells him "You shouldn't feel this reflects negatively on you." It's exactly the same thing she was saying to an unknown caller when Nicholas first walked into the CRS office.
he has insufficient funds to afford The Game
his brother Conrad has gone missing
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Everyone remembers the clown in the driveway. But what was significant about the spot in which it was lying?
it's where Nicholas would normally park his car
it's where Nicholas had his first kiss
it's where his mother waved goodbye to him for the last time
it's where his father's body landed when he leaped from the roof
Even for a game based on psychology, this seems in poor taste. Nicholas takes it in stride, though, pulling the clown into the house for further examination.
What does Nicholas find in the clown's mouth?
a coin
a key
The key is attached to a long red handkerchief, the kind magicians use in their acts. Moments later, the news anchor on the TV tells him that he'll receive more keys from CRS, and he'll have to keep his eyes open for situations that require him to use them.
a photo
a razor blade
What happens in the publishing-house office that ruins Nicholas' meeting with its chief?
a pen leaks ink all over his shirt
he can't open his briefcase
The leaky-pen mishap does happen, but earlier, at the airport. It's when Nicholas arrives at his meeting with Anson Baer, the head of a publishing house, that he can't get his briefcase to open. This gives the publisher a reprieve from being forced out, as Nicholas can't give him the severance paperwork.
he has an anxiety attack about CRS and his Game
his briefcase is filled with pornography instead of the severance-package paperwork
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Why does Nicholas pursue Christine, the waitress?
he feels bad about getting her fired
he sees she's wearing a pendant necklace with the CRS triangle on it
he thinks she's stolen his wallet
another waiter gives him a note reading "Don't let her get away"
Christine had spilled wine on Nicholas, which leads to her getting fired. Nick says that Christine nearly spilled something on him the previous week as well. That would have been before he signed up for The Game, suggesting that CRS started laying groundwork even before he agreed to play.
What does the CRS key eventually open?
a safe
an abandoned car
a stairwell door
it doesn't open anything -- it starts the elevator near the fake ER
Nicholas tried the key in the briefcase, but it didn't work there. He uses it successfully when he and Christine are trying to get out of the subterranean parking garage -- well, successfully until the elevator stalls.
What does Nicholas lose that he says cost $1,000?
his watch
several hours of his time
a pair of shoes
one shoe
Nicholas loses the shoe as he and Christine are escaping CRS's attack dog. He implies the pair cost $2,000, because when Christine dubiously asks, "Your shoes cost $1,000?" he replies, "That one did."
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What color is Christine's bra?
black
blue
red
Normally, this would be a trivial detail. However, the bra becomes important when it's the only identifying detail in some salacious, maybe-incriminating photos left behind in a hotel room.
white
At what hotel did Nicholas (supposedly) leave his American Express card?
the Sir Francis Drake
the Hyatt Regency
Hotel Nikko
There really is a Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, and the phone number Nicholas dials to reach it is almost accurate (they both have the suffix "1111"). When Nicholas arrives in his room, it's a scene of total debauchery, complete with porn playing on the television.
the Mandarin Oriental
Where does Nicholas get the gun he carries in the latter part of the movie?
he always kept one in his desk
from a P.I. who was following him
Nicholas snatches it off the man who has been following him (who, naturally, turns out to be a CRS actor), but doesn't believe it's really loaded. He finds out otherwise when he shoots out a tire on the man's car.
from the incriminating hotel-room setup
Christine left it in his office
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What does Conrad find in Nicholas' glove box, that causes him to distrust his brother?
the gun
the Polaroids of his supposed night with Christine
dozens of CRS keys
Conrad finds them after Nicholas' car has a flat tire and they have to pull over. Conrad is already in a highly-agitated state, claiming that CRS is after him and ruining his life.
a life insurance policy on Conrad
How does Nicholas escape the sinking taxicab?
he kicks out the window
he uses a hand crank CRS gave him and rolls down the window
The hand crank was sent to Nicholas' office; we see him open the package while talking to his bemused lawyer. Nicholas thinks to use it after reminding himself, "It's a game. It's a game."
he swims out through the back window when water pressure breaks it
he doesn't -- he's pulled out by a good Samaritan
What happens when Nicholas takes police officers to the CRS office?
CRS has no file pertaining to Nicholas van Orton
the office is now a high-end coffee shop
the office is now broken down and vacant
The detectives tell Nicholas that there is no record that a company called CRS ever rented the space. They do promise to continue investigating the break-in at his house.
the police officers themselves are implied to be working with CRS
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In what neighborhood does Christine live?
Potrero Hill
Nicholas finds Christine through the records of the taxi company he used to send her home. He goes to her place trying to find answers.
Chinatown
Nob Hill
the Tenderloin
What gives Nicholas his first clue that Christine doesn't really live in the Potrero Hill apartment?
the water is shut off
Nicholas tries the faucet when he burns his hand on a lightbulb. Shortly after that, he opens the freezer to find it empty, but that's the second hint she doesn't live there, not the first.
there are no clothes in the closet
there is no food in the refrigerator
she can't remember the street number of her building
Which is NOT one of the aliases of Consumer Recreation Services in the movie?
California Regal Sedans
Cable Repair Specialists
Consolidated Retail Services
California Regal Sedans was the taxi that drove Nicholas into the bay. Cable Repair Specialists is the van seen outside Christine's building, from which the CRS shooters emerge.
they are all CRS aliases
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Where does Nicholas take Christine after they flee her apartment?
his house
a family cabin
While at the cabin, Christine drugs Nicholas' coffee. She tells him that his frantic attempt to check all his bank balances has allowed CRS to capture his passwords electronically -- so his game is finally over.
the hotel Nikko
a Motel 6
Where does Nicholas wake up after Christine drugs him?
Alcatraz
a Greyhound station
jail
in a crypt in Mexico
The scene is said to be a tribute to the film, "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia." Nicholas has even been dressed in the same cream-colored suit the protagonist of that film wore when he woke up in a shallow grave.
How does Nicholas get back to the States?
he is smuggled across in a truck full of chickens
he sells his gold watch
Nicholas does apparently go to the embassy. It's a low-level functionary there who tells him "a man with a watch like that doesn't necessarily have a passport problem."
he sells his fancy cream-colored suit
he goes to the U.S. Embassy, which arranges for passage home
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What book does Nicholas take from the shelf at his home?
Leaves of Grass
Red Badge of Courage
To Kill a Mockingbird
Nicholas carries the book for a while before we realize its significance. It's hollow and holds his own gun (not the one CRS let him acquire).
the phone book
Where does Nicholas locate Lionel Fisher, who "played" the man who ran his tests?
the CRS building
the movies
the Chinese restaurant from which "Feingold" ordered food
the zoo
Nicholas realizes "Feingold" is an actor when he sees him in a TV advertisement. Taking Lionel Fisher hostage, Nicholas intends to get into the CRS headquarters and "meet the wizard" behind it all.
What is the first thing Conrad says to Nicholas when he climbs off the crash pad?
"You always did have a flair for the dramatic."
"I told you it was just a game."
"Happy birthday, Nicky."
Nicholas' birthday was the 11th of October. A card in the ballroom where the post-Game party is held says guests are invited to celebrate it on the 20th, "sometime between 8:17 and 8:30." The narrow time window is a nod to how specifically CRS is controlling the final events of Nicholas' game.
"So how'd you like your birthday present?"
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What does Claire (Christine) ask Nicholas at the end of the film?
for cab fare to the airport
to have coffee with her at the airport
It's Nicholas who asks Claire if she'll have dinner with him when she gets back. She is noncommittal at first, then counter-offers with the coffee. Nicholas is still thinking about it when the screen goes dark.
to have dinner with her when she gets back from her next game
if he feels The Game has changed him
Which of the following was NOT an inspiration for "The Game"?
"A Christmas Carol"
"Reservoir Dogs"
"A Christmas Carol" might surprise people, but both stories are about of a rich, heartless man's redemption. Much of Nicholas' game was about him facing -- even re-enacting -- his father's suicide. By the end of "The Game," Nicholas has hugged his younger brother and is seen reconciling with his ex-wife.
"Mission: Impossible"
"The Sting"
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