HQ’s rise to popularity reveals its issues

HQ Trivia is a perfect case of something being popular for a “hot sec.” There have been other trivia games that grew in popularity, such as Trivia Crack, but for some reason HQ gained popularity at West Essex overnight.

So what made this game so addictive? It might be the allure of winning money, but upon realizing the actual cash prize players typically get, much of the appeal is lost.
Those who do win are frustrated that they can not claim their prize if they do not reach the minimum prize amount ($20).

“It doesn’t always work, but it’s an intense trivia game that I’m really obsessed with,” senior Alex Apito said.

The increased popularity of the game means that the money won each game is reduced. More players means the game slows or glitches. These glitches sometimes skips a question on the players’ behalf and eliminates them from the game altogether.

“I deleted it because it’s stupid,” senior Natalie Guerra said.

The glitches coupled with the small cash prize is pushing players away. People do not want to wait around anymore for the app to load when they know it is almost inevitable that they will lose that the game is too time consuming. The notification that the game begins often precedes its true start and then after staring at a blank screen players have to wait for the countdown to finish.

The game is also inconvenient for players because it only occurs twice a day. It is live at 3p.m. and 9 p.m., so users do not choose when they can play.

“I like being able to play games on my phone whenever I am free,” junior Emily Torchia said. “HQ comes on when I am busy.”

On top of the wait times, many of the hosts delay the start by giving shout outs to certain users and making jokes.

The only time players get hyped up anymore over the game is typically on Sunday nights. On sunday nights the prize amount is increased; the largest cash prize so far was $25,000 for 15 questions correct.

While the increased prize money might seem appealing initially, it attracts more players, creating more opportunity for the game to glitch.

Despite this attempt to bring back players, West Essex students increasingly find themselves swiping up on their phones to ignore the daily notification that HQ is about to start.