HQ Trivia launches live online quiz in Australia, but there’s a catch
A CONTROVERSIAL quiz app offering players money for correct answers is launching in Australia tonight. But there’s a few things you need to know before you play.
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THE CASHED-UP and controversial live trivia app letting contestants share in daily jackpots will launch an Australian version of its quiz tonight, potentially ending mass frustration with its America-centric questions.
The new quiz, which will be held on weekdays at 9pm, will see Australia become just the third country outside the US to get its own HQ quiz, and will be hosted by Australian former MTV VJ Lyndsey Rodrigues.
But there’s a catch to the new quiz: now all players will be warned that it’s coming.
HQ Trivia, created by Vine developers Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll, is held like a live TV quiz show, with players tuning in to live streaming broadcasts to answer 12 multiple-choice questions for a share of a daily prize pool.
The quizzes have previously featured Australian questions that baffled its largely American audience, including one asking players to name the capital of the country, and another asking about what type of shirts Aussies call “skivvies”.
READ MORE: Can you win HQ Trivia? Take this test
The local questions will now feature in the nightly Australian quiz, with an initial nightly prize pool of $600.
“Australia is home to some of HQ’s biggest and most loyal fans and players,” the company said in a statement.
“Following the success of the original HQ Trivia, Plus HQ UK, HQ Sports, and HQ Germany, we feel ready to test out a game made specifically for Australia, including showtimes, the host, and the content of our questions.”
The show’s host, Ms Rodrigues, is a former Sydneysider who has previously hosted MTV’s Total Request Live in the US, and Channel 9 lifestyle show What’s Good For You.
But there will be an initial hurdle for keen Australian “HQties”: alerts about the game will only be “pushed to a small number of users at first” to test the system, before all Australian players are notified.
Any Australian player can tune into the game, however, by opening the HQ Trivia app when the game begins at 9pm.
Despite its popularity, with more than 2 million players tuning in during special events, HQ Trivia has suffered several controversies since its launch in August last year.
Some players were eliminated from the app for breaking its terms of service in March, reportedly after using broken iPhones to cheat.
The app also received criticism for not allowing winners to cash-out prizes under $US20 — a policy it has since reversed — and for occasional technical glitches, one of which saw players lose “extra lives” last week.