Horrible Histories: Gory Games
| Horrible Histories: Gory Games | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Children's Game show |
| Presented by | Dave Lamb |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 66 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | Citrus Television and Lion Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBBC |
| Release | 30 May 2011 – 26 January 2018 |
| Related | |
| Horrible Histories (2009) Horrible Histories (2015) | |
Horrible Histories: Gory Games is a children's game show, co-produced by Citrus Television and Lion Television for CBBC, that debuted in 2011. It is a spin-off of hit children's sketch comedy Horrible Histories and is a product of the same creative team.
History
The show featured music by Matt Katz and Richie Webb, produced at Noisegate.[1] The gameshow's participants are aged between 8 and 12.[2]
The gameshow was adapted into an iOS/Android app, allowing players to play along with the contestants. It was available at Google Play or the Apple App Store. The premiere app by the creative tea, SyncScreen was in charge of app design and user experience, and they used their proprietary SyncScreen Framework API technology. The app also used Civolution’s SyncNow Automatic Content Recognition, which increased the synchronicity of the experience.[3] It was the "first mainstream "second screen" apps for kids", and was designed to be used by children while they were watching the show.[4]
The app was launched in 2014 when Series 3 (2013) was re-edited under the new format. Series 1 (2011) went the same way in 2016. New episodes were made under the play-along format in Series 4 (2016), but by Series 5 (2018) the app had been removed from the App Store. After Series 5 (2018) completed broadcast, Series 4 (2016) shown again, but was re-edited to remove the play-along function.
Gameplay
Gory Games is co-hosted by comedian Dave Lamb and Rattus Rattus, the rat puppet who also "hosts" the parent series. The show revolves around "horrible facts".[5] Gameplay involves three child contestants (called "Horrible Historians") trying to obtain "Year Spheres" by completing either a historically-themed physical challenge or a quiz. Each Year Sphere contains a year which is either A.D. or B.C.. If it is A.D., the year is added to the player's score at the end of the show; if B.C., it is subtracted from it. The player with the highest overall score after three rounds is the winner.
The games are divided into six categories: "Brainy", "Messy", "Scary", "Silly", "Gory" and "Death" (hosted by Death himself). Quiz questions manifest as either multiple-choice or true-or-false questions and may be asked either by Dave, Rattus, a live-action or animated character from that period, or—in Series 3—Death. "Prop questions" are also asked.
Similarly to its parent series, the games are grouped under randomly selected historical eras or civilizations based on Terry Deary's original books. To date the eras used in Gory Games are:
- Awful Egyptians
- Rotten Romans
- Measly Middle Ages
- Terrible Tudors
- Vile Victorians
- Vicious Vikings (Series 1–4)
- Groovy Greeks (Series 4 onwards)
- Savage Stone Age (Series 4 onwards)
- Slimy Stuarts (Series 3–4)
- Nasty Knights (Series 3)
- Putrid Pirates (Series 1–2)
- Gorgeous Georgians (Series 1–2)
- Frightful First World War (Series 2–3) (Note: This category was part of the Gory Grid in series 1, but it was never chosen in any of the rounds)
- Awesome USA (Series 5)
- Incredible Incas (Series 5)
As from series 3, at the end of the show, the two runners up ended up having to go home through the Time Sewer which was a slide leading to a tank of thick brown gunge. The kids were barefoot when they got gunged.
Cast members from the parent show make frequent cameo appearances as the historical questioners, as does Horrible Histories author Terry Deary.[6]
Year Sphere Dates
- 2.5 Million B.C. - Man begins to use tools
- 1.5 Million B.C. - Man discovers fire
- 1 Million B.C. - Man arrives in Britain
- 150,000 B.C. - Neanderthals make the first cave paintings
- 110,000 B.C. - Neanderthals came to Britain
- 16,000 B.C. - Man creates pots and bowls
- 10,500 B.C. - The end of the last Ice Age
- 10,000 B.C. - Man domesticates dogs
- 9,000 B.C. - Man started using bow and arrow
- 8,000 B.C. - Woolly Mammoths became extinct
- 3150 B.C. - The start of Ancient Egypt
- 2532 B.C. - The Great Sphinx was completed
- 2184 B.C. - The death of Pepi II
- 1213 B.C. - The death of Ramesses II
- 776 B.C. - The first Ancient Olympics
- 753 B.C. - Rome is founded
- 490 B.C. - The Battle of Marathon
- 449 B.C. - The Battle of Salamis
- 405 B.C. - The Peloponnesian War ended
- 305 B.C. - Alexander the Great conquers Egypt
- 264 B.C. - The first Roman Gladiator games
- 60 B.C. - Boudica rebels against the Romans
- 30 B.C. - The death of Queen Cleopatra
- 37 A.D. - Caligula becomes Emperor of Rome
- 64 A.D. - Great Fire of Rome
- 78 A.D. - The Romans conquer Whales
- 79 A.D. - The destruction of Pompeii and the Roman Colosseum opened
- 122 A.D. - Hadrian's Wall began to be built
- 476 A.D. - The fall of the Roman Empire
- 793 A.D. - Vikings attack the Lindisfarne Monastery
- 978 A.D. -Æthelred the Unready becomes the King of England
- 991 A.D. - Vikings win the Battle of Maldon
- 1042 A.D. - Edward the Confessor becomes King of England
- 1086 A.D. - The Doomsday Book is completed
- 1135 A.D. - The death of King Henry I of England
- 1199 A.D. - The death of Richard the Lionheart
- 1305 A.D. - The execution of William Wallace
- 1337 A.D. - The beginning of the Hundred Years' War
- 1348 A.D. - The Black Death hits Europe
- 1415 A.D. - The Battle of Agincourt
- 1438 A.D. - The Incan Empire begins
- 1453 A.D. - The end of the Hundred Years' War
- 1455 A.D. - The War of the Roses begins
- 1485 A.D. - King Richard III dies in battle
- 1492 A.D. - Christopher Columbus discovers America
- 1533 A.D. - Henry the VIII marries Anne Boleyn & the Incan Empire falls to Spain
- 1542 A.D. - Mary, Queen of Scots becomes Queen of Scotland
- 1587 A.D. - Mary, Queen of Scots gets executed
- 1588 A.D. - The Spanish Armada destroyed
- 1603 A.D. - The death of Queen Elizabeth I
- 1607 A.D. - Jamestown Colony is founded
- 1665 A.D. - The Plague of London starts
- 1666 A.D. - The Great Fire of London
- 1702 A.D. - The death of King William III
- 1776 A.D. - The signing of The Declaration of Independence
- 1788 A.D. - The first European settlement in Australia
- 1792 A.D. - Gas lighting is invented
- 1805 A.D. - The Battle of Trafalgar
- 1815 A.D. - The Battle of Waterloo
- 1840 A.D. - Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert & the Penny Black stamp gets used for the first time
- 1851 A.D. - The Great Exhibition
- 1852 A.D. - London's first public flushing toilet opened
- 1854 A.D. - The Crimean War begins
- 1867 A.D. - Antiseptic is invented
- 1901 A.D. - Queen Victoria died
- 1914 A.D. - The beginning of World War I
- 1918 A.D. - The end of World War I
- 1945 A.D. - The end of World War II
- 1991 A.D. - The end of the Soviet Union
Episodes
Series 1
| Episode | Contestants | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lukas, Zoe & TJ | TJ |
| 2 | Ashley, Rowan & Zeke | Zeke |
| 3 | Jeevan, Kate & Billy | Billy |
| 4 | Emily, Ross & India | Emily |
| 5 | Joel, Holly & Ayanda | Holly |
| 6 | Dionne, Melissa & Lloyd | Dionne |
| 7 | Ciorstaidh, Oliver & Hannah | Hannah |
| 8 | Joanne, James & Ty | Joanne |
| 9 | Jasmine, Greg & Monica | Greg |
| 10 | Kelly, Jonah & Zofia | Jonah |
| 11 | Erin, David & Rebecca | Erin |
| 12 | Mia, Lucas & Emily | Lucas |
| 13 | Jack, Maisy & Okechukwu | Okechukwu |
Series 2
| Episode | Contestants | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehaal, George & Lydia | Nehaal |
| 2 | George, Hope & Saqlain | George |
| 3 | Lloyd, Hermione & Sam | Hermione |
| 4 | Hannah, Noah & Daisy | Hannah |
| 5 | Sonnyboy, Carrera & Aaron | Sonnyboy |
| 6 | Molly, Georgie & Josh | Molly |
| 7 | Thomas, Harriet & Dominic | Harriet |
| 8 | Phoebe, Andrew & Maisie | Andrew |
| 9 | Christian, Isabel & Harry | Isabel |
| 10 | Georgia, Paramvir & Olivia | Georgia |
| 11 | Lucy, Matty & Rhyanna | Matty |
| 12 | Oliver, Kayley & Omari | Omari |
| 13 | September, Sol & Morgan | September |
Series 3
| Episode | Contestants | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maya, Aaron & Olivia | Aaron |
| 2 | Rehab, Robbie & Charlotte | Robbie |
| 3 | Finn, Ella & Teddy | Finn |
| 4 | Ayush, Amy & Gayatri | Gayatri |
| 5 | Katie, Christopher & Eloise | Christopher |
| 6 | Remy, Mary Kate & Lucas | Lucas |
| 7 | Calla, Jay & Ellie | Calla |
| 8 | James, Ash & Callum | Ash |
| 9 | Aaron, Faye & Daniel | Faye |
| 10 | Natalie, Dray & Mimi | Dray |
| 11 | Samuel, Leah & Rohan | Rohan |
| 12 | Charlotte, Matt & Katya | Charlotte |
| 13 | Charlie, Lily & Isaac | Isaac |
| 14 | Rex, Rebecca & Kayden | Rex |
| 15 | Eden, Kiera & Jacob | Jacob |
Series 4
| Episode | Contestants | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry, Abi & Aman | Abi |
| 2 | Haryan, Kat & Arthur | Kat |
| 3 | Georgia, William & Nyobi | William |
| 4 | Theo, Yasmin & Max | Yasmin |
| 5 | Joel, Anvita & Zachary | Joel |
| 6 | Sam, Ellie & Will | Ellie |
| 7 | Mery, Haider & Holly | Holly |
| 8 | Diya, Santiago & Beth | Diya |
| 9 | George, Sofie & Tyrell | Sofie |
| 10 | Freya, Sam & Chineme | Freya |
| 11 | Bobbie, Ollie & Millie | Bobbie |
| 12 | Lewis, Amelie & Oscar | Oscar |
| 13 | Sas, Zak & Annabel | Annabel |
| 14 | Aaliyah, Freddie & Ellie | Freddie |
| 15 | Akai Osei, Karim Zeroual & Isabel Clifton | Akai Osei |
Series 5
| Episode | Contestants | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan, Eva & Shai | Dan |
| 2 | Seb, Brooke & Nathan | Seb |
| 3 | Sam, Noah & Chiedza | Chiedza |
| 4 | Edward, Inaaya & Jasmine | Inaaya |
| 5 | Danyal, Rose & Tia | Tia |
| 6 | Ruhama, Ben & Charlotte | Ben |
| 7 | Affan, John Oscar & Elisabeth | John Oscar |
| 8 | Melissa, Ella & Ashley | Melissa |
| 9 | Paris, Keaton & Zainab | Keaton |
| 10 | Leon, Ellen & Katherine | Leon |
Reception
Julia Raeside of The Guardian commented that the show has "no bleepy, flashy nonsense", and added that it "would have enthralled 20 years ago and is all the better for it."[7]
The Guardian deemed the Gory Games TV Play-along app the 25th best app for kids for 2014, deeming it impressive that the technology that allows at-home children to play along with contestants in real-time also worked with repeats.[4]
Awards and nominations
In 2013, the show was nominated for a Children's BAFTA award in the category of Entertainment.[8][9]
References
- ^ "July 7, 2011 Archives". Noisegate Media. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "CBBC Horrible Histories Gory Games Application - Brynmill Primary School". Swansea Edunet. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Hands on with Horrible Histories' Gory Games - News". Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ a b Dredge, Stuart (24 December 2014). "The best iPad apps for kids of 2014". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ Preston, John (5 June 2011). "Terry Deary interview". The Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Horrible Histories writer Terry Deary to be torchbearer". BBC News. 9 January 2012.
- ^ Raeside, Julia (30 May 2011). "Tonight's TV highlights". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ "Wolfblood leads 2013 Bafta Children's nominations - CBBC Newsround". 22 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "British Academy Children's Awards nominees revealed". Retrieved 13 September 2016.
