I got my first cell phone when I was in fifth grade. Over the next two years, I upgraded from a flip phone to a slider phone with a keyboard and eventually an iPhone when I was in seventh grade.
When I got my first iPhone, social media wasn't really a thing so I had a ton of games like Temple Run and Froggy Jump on my phone. As I grew up, I traded games for social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. It wasn't until recently that I downloaded my first game in years.
I was at dinner with my family a few weeks ago when my uncle and cousin pulled out their phones at exactly 9 p.m. and said "It's HQ time!" After asking a few questions about the game, I downloaded it myself and played along. I was instantly hooked.
For those who don't know, HQ is a trivia game app that was released in 2017. The host, usually Scott Rogowsky, asks a series of questions, typically ranging from eight to fifteen questions in a session, and players have ten seconds to answer each question. The questions start out easy and get harder as the host gets further into the list of questions. Hundreds of thousands of people and sometimes millions of people play during each session, 3 p.m. during the week and 9 p.m. every day.
You're probably wondering why so many people play this trivia game every day, right? They play for money! People play HQ for free and whoever answers every question right splits the money, with the total ranging from $3,000 to its highest at $400,000. A majority of the time, so many people win that each person only receives like $0.12, but other times they split hundreds of dollars! I'm still vying for my $0.12 share but I'm obsessed with this game for so many reasons.
1. You learn a lot of random things you never knew you needed to know
Did you know that Mario and Luigi live in Mushroom Kingdom? How about Omar Bradley being the last U.S. military officer to receive a ranking of Five-Star General? If you played HQ on Feb. 15, you would have learned that China's official currency is Renminbi. Did you know that Mick Jagger is one of the founding members of the legendary rock band The Rolling Stones? If you played HQ every day, you would learn all of these random facts and more.
2. It's a free way to make money
Unless you're a genius and know the answer to every random question asked or you're really good at multiple-choice guessing, you're probably still waiting for your $0.12 share of the winning prize like I am. However, you have just as much a chance to win as everyone else and it's great because you can get paid from the comfort of your couch!
3. You can bond with your family and friends
My mom and I play this game all the time and it's fun because we can help each other answer the questions. I've even gotten some of my friends hooked on this game because who doesn't love free money?
4. Scott Rogowsky is hilarious
HQ has random hosts from time to time but Scott Rogowsky is my favorite. He is full of energy and he always brings a smile to my face with his jokes and enthusiasm.
5. Playing HQ gives you a goal every day
Whether you play once a week, every other day or every session, every time you play HQ, you have one goal: win! You want to answer every question correctly so you can split the money, even if it means winning less than $1. Winning HQ might not be the biggest goal of all time or one of life's greatest achievements like graduating from college or buying a house, but it's still a goal, and that's what matters. I feel like life is more meaningful if you have at least one goal every day, whether it's giving someone a hug, telling someone you love them, making someone smile, getting an A on a math test, reading a chapter in a book, praying to God, taking your dog for a walk etc. Winning HQ might not be the grandest of goals, but it's still a goal and that's what truly matters.
If you're looking for something to do in your free time, want to learn random things you never knew you needed to know, want to win money or just want to have a laugh with Scott Rogowsky, download HQ. You won't regret it.
As Scott Rogowsky would say, play on HQ-ties!
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