Quick! Time’s running out. No, the answer is not A, it’s C. Not only do you have to know the answer to every question, you need to be quick with your answers to win this quiz. And your opponent could be anyone across the world, interested in the same things you are. Welcome to QuizUp, the new viral quizzing app that has everyone hooked on their tablets and smartphones.
The app allows people to answer a quiz on any topic of their interest. The quizzes are categorised into different genres and specialisations such as Television, Literature, Movies, Nature and History. And once the topic is chosen, the quiz can be played either with a random opponent that the app chooses or with a friend (you will have to challenge them first). “What's great about QuizUp is that you compete anonymously with people from practically every continent and learn. It's a fun way to interact with friends and it goes everywhere you go,” says Anusha Shankar, a PhD student based in New York. “It is also a time sucker but you can always postpone the game and accept the challenge later.”
Once the quiz begins, each competitor is given ten seconds to answer it. And the more time they take, the lesser points they get. One can also answer a quiz on the same topic repeatedly. “A friend taught me everything I know about animals and nature. And when I got on QuizUp, he challenged me to an animals quiz. The irony is that I ended up beating him at his game just by fluke and he has since been asking for a rematch. But I have so far refused. He has even created fake accounts to challenge me to this quiz,” laughs Aravind Subramanian, a popular stand-up comedian in the city. “I’m also one of those people who exhaust a particular topic. So you can find me playing the English Premier League quiz all the time. The problem with QuizUp is some questions are repetitive and you do end up getting bored,” he adds.
Social networkingThe other thing about QuizUp is it serves as a potential social networking site and a place to find friends with similar interests. “It’s also a great place for banter among friends,” says Aravind. “When we meet, we often discuss the questions.” Says Chartered Accountant Srikar Venkatesan: “QuizUp is fun because of the trivia that flows. There are good fields to learn, and one is always left learning more about what they already know. In a way, it is another social media platform. The only grouse I have against it is that the app lacks diversity. The questions on General Knowledge or Business are U.S.-centric and that is a put off. Also, the app is slow and sometimes, even finding an opponent or downloading the images for the quiz takes more time than the quiz itself!”
And like all social media, it is addictive. “If I open the app on my own accord, it's around once a day. But mostly play the game based on invites from friends on Twitter,” says Srikar. Aravind admits he spends at least 15 minutes a day playing QuizUp or he plays ten matches.
