An addictive trivia app has surged to more than one million players in the span of just three months.
HQ Trivia, an app that also bears similarity to a game show, surpassed the milestone on Sunday when 1.2 million players tuned in to play at the same time.
The game, which is available for players to join remotely every day at 9pm ET as well as 3pm on weekdays, offers real cash prizes for players.
Going big: Trivia game app HQ Trivia has surpassed one million users after offering up a massive $10,000 cash prize
Getting going: The addictive app sees users log on to answer multiple-choice questions
Hitting the mark: The app, created by the founders of Vine, was only launched in October, enjoying a meteoric rise
During normal days, the cash prize is around $2,000, but on Sunday night this haul was bumped up to $10,000, which undoubtedly helped the app attract more than a million people to give it a go.
HQ Trivia was created by the founders of the now-defunct six-second video platform Vine and was only launched in October, quickly picking up fans thanks to its old-school-style game show format and tempting cash prizes.
It has maintained a spot in the top 20 list of most popular games on Apple’s App Store since December 24.
However, Sunday marked a huge leap in attendance for the game as venture capitalist Jay Kapoor reports that the next top-played game was on December 17, which saw a comparatively small group of 681,000 people logging on to play.
The growth of the game is startling; two months before its second most popular day, the app boasted just 14,000 players.
Some of this massive growth could be attributed to the app launching on Android in recent weeks, having previously only been available on iOS devices..
During games, players are encouraged to share their thoughts about the questions and the results on social media, with thousands of tweets being shared throughout the short sessions every day.
Players of the game click through 12 multiple choice questions in the game, with each challenge being read by TV-style game show host.
After the question is read and the players have made their choices, the host reveals the answer and users can see how the rest of the crowd answered, and whether they have managed to make it through to the next round – or if they have been eliminated.
On the rise: The game app usually offers prizes of around $2,000, with its last best-attended game being on December 17, with 681,000 logging on
Starring role: The show’s host Scott Rogowsky has earned something of a celebrity status among its most dedicated players
He’s single! The 33-year-old New Yorker recently revealed he is ‘dating’ but admitted that his love life has been hampered by working late nights on the quiz show
For many, it seems the dramatic suspense involved in playing the game is one of the biggest draws, with one woman perfectly capturing the excitement and emotion some players feel during a round in a recently-published viral video.
Lauren May, from San Francisco, won a seemingly-paltry $11.30 on the app during a particularly nail-biting round on New Year’s Day. Indeed, so astonishing were her over-the-top reactions throughout the session that her friends began recording her on video, capturing the close-to-tears moment when she thought she had missed the last question – and the incredible elation she experienced after realizing she had won.
As the result was announced, Lauren went nuts, throwing herself off her chair onto the ground, screaming, yelling and crying – and all over a tiny monetary sum.
But it’s not just the questions – and the thrill of winning money – that have viewers hooked.
The app’s original host Scott Rogowsky has become somewhat of a cult celebrity figure since HQ Trivia’s launch; the 33-year-old New Yorker has racked up an impressive fan base of loyal followers, many of whom have hailed him as ‘the new Alex Trebek’.
His popularity further soared after Rus Yusupov, the CEO, sparked huge controversy by suggesting that he was going to axe Scott from the show simply because he had mentioned his love of Sweetgreen in a media interview.
Rus, complaining that HQ Trivia has no ‘brand deal’ with the restaurant, threatened to fire the host over his comments, which he made during a chat with the Daily Beast.
Popular: Many users regularly share their thoughts about the game online, with one woman, Lauren May (pictured) going viral with her astonishing reaction to winning just $11.30
Horrified at the thought of losing their beloved host, thousands of fans took to social media to call for Rus to change his mind – and the app received such a huge influx of new players that evening, many of whom were desperate to see if Scott had survived, that it crashed, and the game had to be rescheduled.
The pair eventually made up, with Rus issuing an apology on Twitter for ‘being a jerk’ along with a photo of himself with Scott at a Sweetgreen.
‘It’s a thrill to be recognized,’ he said.
‘I don’t know, if it gets to the point like Tom Cruise, who can’t walk down the street. I don’t ever want to get to that point.
‘It doesn’t seem fun when you can’t function in society … when you can’t go to Sweetgreen. I’m very comfortable with the level of fame right now. I would say let’s try to keep it at that.’
As for his dating life, however, the show is taking its toll.
‘The truth is, I’m dating, let’s put it that way,’ he added.
‘Not taking anyone home to meet mom just yet, but truthfully it’s hard, especially because I’m not living in the city right now and I have the show at night.
‘If someone is willing to meet up for a drink at 10pm, great, but for most people it’s a little too late.’
But while Scott is the most popular of the game’s hosts, he wasn’t leading the show during its record-setting run on Sunday. Actress and comedian Sarah Pribis hosted the game while Scott was away on vacation.