{"id":57697,"date":"2018-12-24T03:08:59","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T10:08:59","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2018-12-24T03:08:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T10:08:59","slug":"hq-trivia-launches-hq-words-as-reinstalled-ceo-seeks-a-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/hq-trivia-launches-hq-words-as-reinstalled-ceo-seeks-a-game-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"HQ Trivia launches HQ Words as reinstalled CEO seeks a game-changer"},"content":{"rendered":"

HQ\u2019s expansion beyond trivia is emerging from beta, but the question is whether it\u2019s different and accessible enough to revive the startup\u2019s growth. HQ Words opens<\/a> to everyone today with games at 6:30pm PT within the HQ Trivia app after several weeks of closed beta testing of the Wheel Of Fortune-style game. The launch will be the first big move of Rus Yusupov now that he\u2019s been officially renamed CEO a week after the tragic death<\/a> of fellow co-founder and former CEO Colin Kroll, HQ confirms to TechCrunch.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIntermedia Labs introduced the world to a category defining product, HQ Trivia. Once again, with HQ Words, Intermedia Labs is poised to captivate the world with a revolutionary experience that will bring people together in new ways around live mobile video\u201d Yusupov tells us. \u201cHQ Words is the most interactive experience we\u2019ve ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kroll\u2019s passing comes at a tough time for HQ. Its daily player count has declined since it became a phenomenon a year ago. The novelty has begun to wear off, and with so many experienced trivia whizzes, cash jackpots are often split between enough people that winners only get a few bucks. Interrupting your days or nights to play at a particular time can be inconvenient compared to the legions of always-available other games. Yusupov, who was HQ\u2019s CEO until Kroll took over in September, will have to figure out what will attract casual crosswords players and those who flocked to Zynga\u2019s Words With Friends \u2014 the kind of disruptive thinking Kroll excelled at.<\/p>\n

\u201cColin and I shared many incredible life moments over the last 7 years. We embarked on an incredible journey co-founding two breakthrough companies together \u2013 and the lessons we learned at Vine and HQ will continue to have a big impact on me. Like many relationships, we\u2019ve also had our challenges \u2013 but it was during these challenging times that Colin\u2019s kind soul and big heart would truly shine\u201d Yusupov wrote in a statement about his co-founder that was originally published by Digiday<\/a> in a touching memorial post. Between building Vine and HQ together, the pair have reimagined mobile entertainment, giving millions a chance to show off their wits and creativity. \u201cHe had this incredible ability to make everyone feel special. He listened well. He thought deeply. But above all, he cared about people more than work. The driving force behind his innovations was the positive impact they would have on people and world. Colin\u2019s innovations and inventions have changed many people\u2019s lives for the better and will continue to impact the world for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

HQ Trivia\u2019s co-founder and former CEO Colin Kroll passed away earlier this month<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How To Play HQ Words<\/h2>\n

In HQ Words, players compete live to solve word puzzles by correctly choosing what letters are hidden. You can find the game inside the existing HQ Trivia iOS<\/a> and Android<\/a> apps. Host Anna Roisman pluckily provides a clue and then dispenses hints as the 25-second timer for each puzzle counts down. If the clue is \u201cgemstone\u201d and you\u2019re shown \u201c_ _ _ m _ _ _\u201d, you\u2019ll have to tap D, I, A, O, and N in any order. Choose three wrong letters or fail to fill out the words and you lose. You\u2019ll spin a wheel before the game starts to get one letter that\u2019s automatically revealed each round.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make it through ten rounds and you and other winners get a cut of the cash prize, with the three who solved the puzzles fastest scoring a bigger chunk of the jackpot. The startup earns money through selling you extra lives inside Words, though it will probably feature sponsored games and product placement like Trivia does to pull in marketing dollars. Words will go live daily at 6:30pm pacific after Trivia\u2019s 6:00 game, so you can turn it into HQ hour with family and friends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

HQ Words is much more frenetic than Trivia. Rather than picking a single answer, you have to rapidly tap letters through a combination of educated and uneducated guesses. That means it really does feel more interactive since you\u2019re not sitting for minutes with just a sole answer tap to keep you awake. And because it doesn\u2019t require deep and broad trivia knowledge, Words could appeal to a wider audience. The spinner also adds an element of pure luck, as a weaker player who gets to auto-reveal a vowel might fare better than a wiser player who gets stuck with a \u201cZ\u201d like I always seem to.<\/p>\n

Fill In The Blank<\/h2>\n

The concern is that at its core, Words is still quite similar to Trivia. They\u2019re both real-time, elimination round-based knowledge games played against everyone for money. Both at times feel like they use cheap tricks to eliminate you. A recent Words puzzle asked you to name a noisy instrument, but the answer wasn\u2019t \u201ckazoo\u201d but \u201cbuzzing kazoo\u201d \u2014 something I\u2019m not sure anyone has ever formally called it. Given the faster pace of interaction, even tiny glitches or moments of lag can be enough to make you lose a round. An HQ Words beta game earlier this week failed to show some users the keyboard, causing mass elimination. The pressure to get HQ\u2019s engineering working flawlessly has never been higher.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The phrasing of some HQ Words answers seems like a stretch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

HQ originally agreed to let TechCrunch interview Kroll about what makes Words different enough to change the startup\u2019s momentum. Yusupov was supposed to fill in after Kroll was sadly found dead last Friday of an apparent drug overdose. He later declined to talk or provide written responses. That\u2019s understandable during this time of mourning and transition. But HQ will still need to build an answer into its app. Meanwhile, Chinese clones and US competitors have begun co-opting the live video quiz idea. Facebook has even built a game show platform<\/a> for content makers to create their own.<\/p>\n

\"\"HQ could benefit from a better onboarding experience that lets people play a sample game solo to get them hooked and tide them over until the next scheduled broadcast. Mini-games or ways to play along after you\u2019re eliminated could boost total view time and the value of brand sponsorships. A \u201cquiet mode\u201d that silences the between-round chatter and distills HQ to just the questions and puzzles might make it easier to play while multi-tasking. Head-to-head versions of Trivia and Words might help HQ feel more intimate, and there\u2019s an opportunity to integrate peer-to-peer gambling like ProveIt trivia<\/a>.\u00a0 And branching out beyond knowledge games into more social or arcade-style titles would counter the idea that HQ is just for brainiacs.<\/p>\n

Around the height of HQ\u2019s popularity it raised a $15 million funding round<\/a> at a $100 million valuation. That seems justified given HQ will reportedly earn around $10 million<\/a> in revenue this year. Gamers are fickle, though, and today\u2019s Fortnite can wind up tomorrow\u2019s Pokemon Go \u2014 a flash in the pan that fizzles out. Words is a great bridge to a world outside of Trivia, but HQ must evolve not just iterate.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

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HQ\u2019s expansion beyond trivia is emerging from beta, but the question is whether it\u2019s different and accessible enough to revive the startup\u2019s growth. HQ Words opens to everyone today with games at 6:30pm PT within the HQ Trivia app after several weeks of closed beta testing of the Wheel Of Fortune-style game. The launch will… Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t