HQ Trivia

What is HQ Trivia?

HQ is a live mobile trivia app that allows users to test their knowledge against an assortment of Jeopardy-esque questions.

HQ can be downloaded for free from both the App Store and the Google Play Store and is rated for users 17 years of age and older. This app does offer in-app purchases.

Much like bar trivia, which is simulcast, HQ players are all on at the same time, playing for the same pot of prize money. 

As it’s a single elimination gaming app, HQ players are out of the game after their first missed question. 

The HQ app is free to download and play, features no advertisements (at this time) or in-app purchases.

What sets HQ apart from other trivia apps is that users are unable to play on-demand. HQ is a live trivia game, more like a gameshow as users watch live-streamed host, in which [typically] 12 questions are asked in a twelve minute round. HQ goes live twice on weekdays -- at 3p.m. and 9p.m. -- and once on weekends (9p.m.); games often start late due to technical errors. 

When user’s create their HQ account, they may opt to receive notifications, which notify them when a game is about to go live.

Sign up is easy with the HQ app, although parents may be wary of the information required. After downloading the app, users are asked to enter their mobile phone number, so that a verification code can be texted to them. Once the verification code is entered, users create a username for their HQ profile, and select a photo or avatar to appear in their profile.

When an HQ game is about to begin, a countdown clock will appear on the screen, once logged into the app. After a countdown build-up, the game goes live and players see the host on their screen. The regular host is a stand-up comedian, who regales HQuties (the host’s name for HQ players) with corny quips and sometimes off-color jokes. 

After a brief intro, the host gets down to business, and then begins shooting each of the 12 questions out -- players have 10 seconds to answer, from the time the host begins to read the question. Games start out ridiculously easy, and quickly become difficult, except for those players with large banks of random knowledge.

After each questions, players can see how many players answered each question, in addition to the number of players left in the game; as HQ is a single elimination, players are knocked out of the game once they miss a question. 

With almost, and sometimes over, a million players, there’s a sense of satisfaction when an especially difficult question drops the competitor pool from 800,000 to 200,000. In the end, those players who answer all 12 questions correctly are named winners, and the cash prize is split amongst them. 

Players must have at least $20 in winnings to collect their prize winnings and cash out to their PayPal account, the only means of payment.