HQ Trivia "experiment" replaces cash with points

HQ Trivia players are complaining on Reddit (via The Verge) about a change that has taken place with the trivia contest. Over the last few days, instead of giving away cash to winners, players answering questions correctly received points for each correct response. The company was quick to note that this was simply an experiment and not the result of financial problems.

But HQ Trivia has lost the momentum that made it a top ten app in the App Store last year. In fact, the latest data from App Annie has HQ Trivia as the 802nd most popular iOS app overall last week.

HQ is now dividing games by seasons, noting that the second season started last Monday. According to HQ's SVP of programming and partnerships Brandon Teitel, HQ will give away more cash during the newly started season than it did during the first season. HQ is hoping that by giving out points for correct answers, it will help those who have yet to answer all 12 questions correctly collect some points, giving them an incentive to return to play every day.

At the end of the season, HQ will play one game on February 28th at 9pm ET with a grand prize starting at $25,000. The value of the Grand Prize will be higher for each individual player depending on the number of points amassed during the season. After the Grand Prize game is over, all point counts will be reset to zero.

Last month, HQ added its Wheel of Fortune-like HQ Words game, which is part of both the iOS and Android app. Those games, which are still played for cash, stream every night at 9:30pm ET.