App review: Millionaire

Maybe you were inspired by Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe you just wanted to see Regis. In any case, you’re intrigued by Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Well, you’re right – buying the app at $4.99 gives you higher odds of feeling like a winner than actually trying to make it on the show. Okay, they don’t have Regis, they have Meredith. But the heart of the game’s appeal is the questions. The testing of your knowledge. The chance you’ll make it far. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire satisfies that curiosity, and is pretty smartly built.



You’ve got all the levels you’d expect, and a timer that’ll make Googling every answer pretty pointless. I’m giving them bonus points for not giving you the answer when you get it wrong. Hell yeah I want to know what the answer was (especially when I got it wrong on the million dollar question), but it’s that curiosity that keeps me coming to the game. The only area of improvement would be for it to keep track of how much you’ve earned, with a worldwide billboard of some kind. Otherwise, I’m not quite sure what the motivation would be to walk away with 500,000 rather than trying to risk the million.


Whether you have two minutes at a bus stop, twenty minutes at the dentist’s office or an hour with friends while you’re waiting in line for blockbuster tickets, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire will provide entertainment well worth the $5 (heck, that doesn’t even get you a venti latte anymore). In terms of difficulty, I’d say it’s medium – I busted the million in 2 days and had 2 lifelines to spare. Nevertheless, the same question never came twice, and the entertainment never quite wore off. A great app that mirrors the show, without the burden of long commercial breaks.