Through the halls of Middletown High School, students are glued to their phones playing a game as addictive as its name: Trivia Crack.
With the spin of a colorful wheel similar to that of Trivial Pursuit, users land on different categories and compete against friends and even strangers to see who has the most trivia knowledge. The categories range from sports and entertainment to more educational ones like history, art, science, and geography. Users have 30 seconds to answer each question, written and submitted by other users, to eventually earn characters and defeat their opponents.
For many MHS students, this application has become a normal part of their daily routines. Students can be seen playing before the morning bell rings, during free class time, in between classes, and even at the lunch table. MHS senior Morgan Cregan plays multiple times a day during her free time; however, the game isn’t important enough to make her lose sleep.
“I think Trivia Crack is really fun and I’m learning while playing, but I don’t stay up late playing it. Sleep is very important to me,” said Cregan.
However, of the many trivia applications, Cregan prefers QuizUp, a similar application in which users compete against other users during seven rounds of timed question on more specific topics. Though not as popular, QuizUp covers a wide variety of categories from General Knowledge and Basic Math to very specific categories like Cregan’s favorites, Disney Movies and the TV drama Grey’s Anatomy.
“I think all of the trivia games are becoming really popular because people are so competitive and like to win and prove that they know more than their friends,” said Cregan.
Robbie Rockwell, also a senior at MHS, thinks people play trivia games to prove that they are smarter than their friends.
“When you beat one of your friends, it’s like instant bragging rights,” said Rockwell.
MHS senior Jenny Stollar agrees that trivia is very competitive. However, to her, it’s not only about the competition. In addition to using many trivia applications, Stollar participates in a trivia competition with a group of her friends at the Valley Grill every Wednesday night. Stollar’s team, the Mountain Misfits, is composed of mostly teenagers and young adults. The team competes against adults from around the county and even some MHS teachers.
“It’s a great atmosphere; there’s good music, good people and good food, and although there is a lot of arguing, when we work together and get the right answer, it’s a great feeling,” said Stollar.
Although the team is young, each member contributes knowledge of different categories, so they are able to thrive in subjects ranging from music and celebrities to history and even anatomy.
“I love going to trivia because I get to spend time with my friends and put some of the random facts I know to use in a competitive environment,” said Stollar.
For Stollar, Trivia Crack and QuizUp come in handy all the time, especially at trivia night.
“A lot of the questions from the applications are similar to the questions asked at trivia night so it helps us to get the questions right,” said Stollar.
For others, random facts learned from trivia games also come in handy in daily conversation.
“It gives me random facts to talk about and start conversations with when I run out of things to say,” said Cregan.
MHS freshman Sydney Frigm likes trivia because it keeps her up to date and exposes her to events happening all over the world.
“It makes you smarter and more aware and it helps you to know more of the world than what you are usually around,” said Frigm.
MHS sophomore Alex Keen uses trivia in the classroom when asked to draw from prior knowledge to answer a question or write an essay.
“I think it mostly helps with academics,” said Keen.
Many MHS teachers also incorporate trivia into their daily schedules. MHS senior Brittany Conyers said, “We play trivia in class when we’re finished with the lesson; my team is called Charlie’s Angles.”
MHS senior Mary Kate Frey’s journalism class competes against each other every Friday to see who has been keeping up with local and national news.
“It definitely helps us to stay on top of current events and news which is essential to write accurate stories,” said Frey.
Similarly, Cregan plays Trivia Crack in class, and as long as she is finished with her work, most of her teachers don’t seem to mind. She even plays against some of her teachers.
“I think teachers like it because it’s fun and instead of playing dumb, mindless games. It actually improves our intelligence,” said Cregan.
