1 vs. 100

As a general rule, you either know the answers or you don't - there are no clues hidden in the questions and it's hard to make educated guesses. I got knocked out of one round because I didn't know which team plays at the Reebok Stadium, for example. I am not ashamed to admit that. However, I am ashamed to admit I lasted longer than the blokes in the following round because I know a fact about the progeny of Geri Halliwell.

It's worth remembering these questions were specially selected for our playtest session, so there could be more variation with regard to subject matter in the finished game. Plus, you'll be able to take part in pan-European Shows where there will be fewer questions about the name of the pub in Emmerdale and so on. (There's no crossover with North America, however, so you won't ever end up trying to guess who won the 1983 Superbowl.) Different questions are promised every week, and there will be topical ones based around current events.

Back to the Canadian beta. The rounds are interspersed with chatter from James ("It's coming up to 5pm on the Friday of this bank holiday weekend!") and Olivia Lee, the pre-recorded host who appears in every game. There are breaks of around a minute between rounds where nothing happens. The chap from Microsoft explains that in the finished game, adverts will be played here. So that's how they can afford to give it away for free. The ads might be for games, or they could be for soft drinks, breakfast cereal, Gay Xchange. Maybe not the last one, seeing as it's Microsoft. Although...

On the one hand, this shouldn't prove too irritating - we're used to sitting through ad breaks when watching gameshows on the telly, and these ones are shorter. On the other hand, we're not accustomed to having our gameplay sessions interrupted by ads. And the fact they're so short means there's not enough time to flick channels or make a cup of tea - there's nothing for it but to sit there and wait.

A more important question, and one that can't be answered until the game goes live, is how 1 vs. 100 will work when there are thousands of people playing. There appear to be less than a hundred players taking part in the Canadian beta, so all of us are selected to be in The Mob for each round. Were we playing for real prizes, I'd be walking away with a free Arcade game and 80 Microsoft Points at the end of the hour. Not a bad reward for knowing about the life and work of Geri Halliwell.

But in the real game, with thousands of people trying to get in the Live Show, I'd be statistically more likely to end up in The Crowd - which means no chance of winning actual prizes. And only The One is in with a chance of nabbing those holidays, HDTVs and the like.

So how is The One chosen, anyway? "It's a complex algorithm," says Microsoft's Tania Chee, "but to put it in a nutshell, it's based on how much you play, how quick you answer the questions and whether you get them right." In other words, the game chooses smart, fast players; slow thickos who take half an hour to answer and keep getting knocked out would make things dull for everyone.

You can increase your probability of being The One by investing time in the game. The more rounds you play, the higher your chance of being chosen. Those who are really keen will want to play the game every night to maximise their chances. However, the stats are wiped every seven days, so if you don't make it you'll have to start from scratch the following week.

Again, it's hard to see how all these probabilities and complex algorithms will work without playing the full-scale live game. It'll certainly be worth finding out, especially since 1 vs. 100 will be free to download for all Xbox Live Gold subscribers. It'll also be "free to play in season one", says Chee. Does that mean you'll have to pay to play in the future? "The business model, post-season beta, is yet to be decided." Hmm.