The main host of HQ Trivia is Scott Rogowsky, a New York stand-up comedian,
who was hired through a casting call by Intermedia.
We’ve all been there. Those afternoon hours sandwiched in between lunch and quitting time, when all you want to do is take a nap. Coffee just won’t do the trick and snacking just leads to more drowsiness. But there’s a new game in town that might help you snap out of your afternoon doldrums. It’s called HQ Live Trivia (iPhone App Store, Google Play Store) or HQ Trivia for short. The smartphone app, which broadcasts the 15-minute show at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET on weekdays and at 9 p.m. ET on the weekends, allows users to participate in a live trivia game. The main host of HQ Trivia is Scott Rogowsky, a New York stand-up comedian, who was hired through a casting call by Intermedia Labs, the company behind the app. Here’s how a recent article in Time Magazine describes the action:
“Once an HQ Trivia game starts, you’ll be presented with a series of multiple choice questions. You’ll only have 10 seconds to answer each one, which essentially rules out the possibility of cheating with search engines like Google. If you answer a question incorrectly or run out of time, you’re eliminated from the game. That is, unless you have an Extra Life, which allows you to keep playing after you’ve been disqualified. You can earn Extra Lives by inviting new users to sign up for HQ Trivia with your referral code.
“After the time runs out for each question, you’ll be able to see the correct answer and how your fellow contestants fared. There’s also a live chat that occurs throughout the game, but you can swipe it away from the screen if it becomes too distracting. Players can also submit their own trivia questions for consideration.”
While HQ Trivia is free to download and play, if you make it to the end without an incorrect answer you can win money. The total prize is split between every player that answers all of the questions correctly. The current prize is set at $1,000, but it’s been as high as $8,000, and winners cash out using PayPal.
If you grew up in the 1960s like me, you cut your teeth on TV game shows like Jeopardy, Concentration and Hollywood Squares. But instead of shouting out answers in front of your television, HQ Trivia lets you participate in the game from the comfort of your smartphone. An ultimate social media connection of sorts. Sounds pretty addictive, because it is. According to Time, HQ Trivia has become one of the most popular iPhone games in the world. It comfortably sits among the App Store’s top 50 games according to analytics tool App Annie, placing above established hits such as Pokémon Go, Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga.
So who’s playing HQ Trivia? While it may have started out as a Millennial thing, the game’s popularity has grown and kids are now introducing it to their parents. Jobson’s own Marc Ferrara admits to playing HQ Trivia a few times a week (sadly, he’s never won). He was introduced to the game by his Millennial children and believes “It’s fun to be part of a big social live event, to test your obscure knowledge and to watch the numbers shrink when you’re still in it! I think it’s likely a fad but I anticipate it still has a lot of growing to do before it fizzles, though the growth may come from older folks. It definitely is starting to reach across generations but the older folks may scare the young ones away.”
Like Ferrara, Essilor’s Howard Purcell, OD said his kids initially told him about HQ because they were all playing it over the holidays. “I probably play once a day (or every other day). My kids always like to brag when they do better than me. I haven't won a cent yet but it’s a lot of fun.”
So what’s the big attraction? Purcell said, “Over 1.5 million people playing at the same time testing trivia knowledge and just taking a break from your day. It's easy to play and usually doesn't take a long time as I'm normally out by question four or five. The host makes it fun and it's in real time. I even learn a thing or two. That's one of the things that makes it unique and challenging. You have to have a very broad knowledge base.”
As for the game’s future, he feels, “As long as it doesn't become too commercial it should be around for a while. It would be fun to bring the concept to the eyecare space.”
Essilor’s Holly Gillentine found out about HQ Trivia from a colleague in a business meeting. She said, “I signed up right away, but waited a few nights to try it. After the first time, I was hooked!
“I typically play three to four nights a week. It's hard because you have to be at the ready at 8 p.m. CT every night. It's a small window of time, and if you miss it, walk away from your phone or are even a minute late, you have to wait another 24 hours. There is a 2 p.m. CT game on weekdays, but that is an impossible time for me.
For Gillentine, the appeal is all about the competition and trivia. She calls it the “Jeopardy phenomenon of today. I remember when the entire family gathered at night to watch Jeopardy and test each other, it's like that. My husband and I play against each other and my two children, who are too young to know the answers, but they like to try and get into the action. Each day is a new day and the thought of winning, becoming a few in a million to have a moment of fame, and to test your knowledge is quite fun. It doesn't hurt that you can win money too,” she said.
Gillentine knows people obsessed with HQ across all generations and she continues to try and persuade everyone in all generations to play.
The prize money is sponsored by Intermedia Labs, the company behind the app, along with some affiliates, marketers and partners. How does Intermedia Labs plans to make money from HQ Trivia’s success—co-creator Rus Yusupov told Variety that the company isn’t focusing on monetization at the moment, but it’s seeing interest from various brands and agencies.
See what’s in store for the trivia app in the video below.