Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2010 > November > 16 > Entry
Omar’s guide to scoring more points in ‘Qrank’
Since it launched in March with a roster of geek celebrities playing during South by Southwest Interactive, the Austin-developed quiz game “Qrank” has become a distracting (and sometimes maddening) daily habit for many of us who play it on our iPhones or on Facebook
Tuesday (tonight), the American-Statesman will host a “Qrank Live” event at Cedar Door where you can compete for prizes. Some Statesman staffers wrote questions for the event, but not me, because I am hungry for trivia blood and I plan to compete and to crush and dominate all who stand in my path to glory.
In a friendly way, of course.
I think I’m a pretty good player; I tend to crack 5,000 points most days and I’ve been cursed at on Twitter and mocked on days I’ve gotten beaten. The point is that the game is very competitive. You can import your Twitter and Facebook contacts and see how you rank, who got what questions wrong and where you stand on a local, state, national or world level.
In the interest in making up for the pool of entrails I plan to leave in my wake tonight, I offer up a few strategy tips for those who are new to “Qrank” (or those who are playing and are frustrated by missed questions and low scores).
Here’s how I tend to play, plus some advice from other players at the end of this post.
The basics
First off, go read the “Qrank” FAQ from Ricochet Labs. It’ll explain the rules, what the categories are and other information you may not have bothered to familiarize yourself with.
A few things to keep in mind as you play: the categories change from day to day, so you’re not always assured you’ll get entertainment questions (my strongest category) or that you’ll avoid your weakest (science & nature).
On a typical day, half the questions are current-events based, so it helps to keep up with headlines. Since “Qrank” is based in Austin, they tend to skew toward Texas/Austin news (so read your Statesman), but many of the questions also seem to come from popular news sites like CNN, NPR, Wired, especially for science and current events literature or entertainment questions.
It helps to play after you’ve just skimmed some of your RSS news feeds or browsed a few websites for the last day or two’s headlines. The quirkier the news item, the more likely it is to be a Qrank question.
The current events questions are all marked with a little leaf on the bottom right of each icon on the quiz board. I usually answer those questions first even if it means bouncing around the board.
Points
The game board features two rows of 200-point questions, two rows of 400-point questions and one row of 1,000-point questions (not counting 2x and 3x bonuses that multiply their value). As the clock counts down you lose points, so it’s best to answer as fast as you can; try to formulate the answer in your head before the four choices slide onto the screen if you think you know the answer without help.
Out of the 20 questions on the board, you only answer 15 per game. It’s in your best interest to maximize your points by not answering some of the 200-point questions and answering all the 400- and 1,000-point ones.
Apart from answering questions quickly, the other way to maximize points is to make sure you get the 2x and 3x questions right; you’ll want to save your power-ups for those questions or at least for the 1,000-point ones. (More on power-ups in a bit)
You’d be surprised how many players don’t know what the two icons on the bottom of the above image. The magnifying glass on the left will reveal the categories on a row of questions. The page icon reveals 2x or 3x bonuses on a row. If they’re powered-up (they recharge over time), use them right away. If I’ve got these available, I usually start the game by revealing categories and bonuses on one of the top two rows since I won’t be answering all those questions.
When those recharge later in the game, I’ll reveal the other 200-point row. That’s to make sure I’m not missing any 2x or 3x opportunities up there. The questions are usually very easy and an easy question that can earn you 400 or 600 points is likely to boost your points.
If no bonuses are available on the top two rows, at least I can score on the 200-point questions for my strongest categories. Remember, you’ll be leaving five 200-point questions unanswered, so choose those carefully to make sure you’ll not missing out on those 600 points.
Once I’ve done that, I usually start in the middle of the board, answering 400-point questions until I’ve got power-ups to tackle the 1,000-point or bonus-point questions.
The other area I’m surprised some players aren’t more versed in is the in-question power-ups. They are a snowflake (which freezes the timer on a question), a percentage sign (which tells you how other people answered the question) and a list icon that will eliminate two of the four answers.
First off, the percentage power-up is almost completely useless. Typically what it reveals is an answer that’s often wrong. More than a few times it’s steered me wrong and I only use the option if the question is one in an area I’m completely unfamiliar with and where I have no guess.
For the big bonus questions (say a 2x or 3x 1,000 point question), you’ll want to use that snowflake, especially if you immediately know the answer before the choices appear. If you can freeze the countdown in time and get all 2,000 or 3,000 points, you’ll boost your score better than in almost any other way in the game.
If you have to guess at a 1,000-point question (or a 3x 400-point question), use the list icon to eliminate two choices. 50/50 guessing is better than 1 in 4.
Other strategy
Pay close attention to the wording of the questions themselves. You can often figure out the answer to a question you have no answer for by parsing some clever clue or wordplay. If the question has the word “Sudsy” in it you can bet that the answer has something to do with “soap” or “bubbles.” Keep an eye out for unusual words or expressions in the questions.
That’s all for my advice. You think I’m going to tell you everything I know about playing “Qrank?” Luckily, some other players pitched in with suggestions. Add your own in the comments or check out this great strategy guide from Christopher Holland.
I’ve heard that “Qrank” posts clues to some questions on Facebook and on Twitter, but I purposely avoid them because I don’t want any clues at all going into easy game session (call me a purist). You’re not obligated to follow suit.
Anyway, here’s more advice. See you at the Live event tonight!
- “I save powerups for 2x 3x bonus ?s & always check Facebook/Twitter first for Qranks tips.”
- “I like to be mentally prepared for which category the high pts will be. Not to trust that using the %age tool will help u get the answer. 1/2 the time it seems the high %age of people choose the wrong one.”
- “A new #qrank strategy? You mean kidnapping Ken Jennings and making him play didn’t work for you?”
- “My main strategy: I always use the ‘category reveal’ power-up on the 1000 point ?s before I start playing.”
- “Use reveal to find multipliers and wait until u have clues powered up to answer those q’s, esp 3x.”
- “Scan the day’s headlines. Also if its a holiday, there will be related questions.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment Categories: Applications, Austin, Videogames
Comments
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By Ben
June 28, 2011 11:51 PM | Link to this
The % powerup seems to be more accurate later in the day - as more people play the poll is more accurate. I used to play between 12 and 2 am as I go to bed, but since I switched to playing afternoon games, the % powerup has been correct more often.
By Bobman
June 10, 2011 6:37 AM | Link to this
Completely disagree with the % powerup. It's steered me wrong once or twice, but I use it at least every other game so that's still a pretty good batting average.
By adam807
November 16, 2010 1:55 PM | Link to this
This is intense! You've inspired me to start playing again.