Recently Science Channel debuted a brand new game show. Called Head Games, the show is a fast paced trivia program hosted by comedian Greg Proops. You may know Greg from the season premiere episode of Flight of the Conchords earlier this year or from both versions of Whose Line is it Anyway? The point is, the guy is funny, which makes a trivia show about science funny by proxy.
The questions on the show range from the obscure to the stuff of general trivia focusing on the natural and scientific world. Frankly, it's not all genius level material. The hard part comes from the pressure of time and Greg cracking jokes. Every question is easy if you have time to think about it. Probably still sounds pretty easy to you doesn't it? I know it did to me. Well, The Science Channel figured we might think it was easy. So they created an online game based on the show.
You have to log in to Facebook to play the game, which I found a little bit odd at first. But really, it's the perfect use of current Social Media trends. Why not create a circle of competition within your social networks? Some people will resist the urge to invite their friends to play, but most won't. This guarantees that the game (and by proxy, the show) will travel via word of mouth across the social sphere. You have no choice but to tell your friends because you can't play alone. Not exactly marketing 101, but smart all the same.
Make sure you have your pop-up blockers turned off as well. Like all Facebook applications, it'll ask for access to your data: i.e., your friends list. No big deal there, as the game wants you to challenge your friends. I challenged a friend of mine, Shane Taylor, to a brain duel.
There are three rounds in the online game. They fit into a pretty stereotypical trivia game format. Honestly (and you can tell I have women in my house) the format reminded me of Disney's Think Fast for the Wii. Except the questions in Head Games aren't Disney related. Thankfully. There is only so much Disney I can take. Here's how my first game went with Shane.
Round 1: "Head Case"
10 multiple choice questions, each worth 15 points. The player is presented with a question and three pictures with text underneath for the answer. As it happens, 15 seconds isn't a long time to ponder the answer. Shane took a commanding lead in this round, as he was guessing right more often than I was.
Round 2: "Head Trip"
Capture (click on) the picture that answers the question - quicker than your opponent. This was probably the hardest round for me. There is a question at the top, then before your opponent you have to click on the picture that represents the answer. The trick is, the pictures are moving at a nice clip horizontally across the screen in several rows. I was able to get a couple correct, but Shane must have been jacked up on Dew because he held his lead.
Round 3: "Head Bang"
Speed round. How many questions can you answer correct in 50 seconds? This round presents you with a picture and the question, with three multiple choice answers. This is the round that I caught up and won the day. And then the game offers you the chance to post your victory to Facebook. Social Media at it's best! All it needs now is a Twitter option for further bragging.
Wired: It's an interesting idea to limit the games players to those in your social network. Roots up some good competition among friends. The game is about science, so no worries about any of those pesky pop culture questions.
Tired: On the flip side, it's not a good idea to limit the game. Because of that, and no two player option I wasn't able to play it with the kids. If you play the game three times, you are pretty much done. The questions start to repeat and you can do it from memory. Hopefully, they'll add more content because it's nice to have a well done game about science. I doubt this however, as it seemed to be more of a marketing ploy, and based on this post - it worked. I don't mind being a shill for the Science Channel though - because it's science!
Head Games airs on Saturday nights at 9pm EST on the Science Channel. Click here for a preview of the show. Follow the Science Channel on Twitter @ScienceChannel Play the online game here.
