“People are willing to pay money for food, entertainment and sex. We cannot offer sex. There is food anyway. What remains is entertainment. Take care of people and they will make you rich." The creators of the most popular Minsk pub quiz, BrainSlaughter, told KYKY how to make money from those who like to rack their brains.
The idea of pub quiz was born in England in the late 1970s. Teams gather in a relaxed bar setting, drink beer and answer simple and fun questions. The winner receives a prize - usually rather symbolic. Everything is simple, and, as often happens with simple things, it’s brilliant: players can feel the excitement of the fight without spoiling their mood with a bad result.
Opinion of Pavel Sverdlov, owner of the Crystal Owl of the Ukrainian TV club “What? Where? When?"
“The brain slaughterhouse is an awl. I go there because my friends invite me. The questions are rubbish, bullshit from the Internet, or even from sports games. There was a picture at the last game - people's faces were covered, you had to guess who it was. And these were Timati and Kobzon. How to take it? Know all the photos of Timati or all of Kobzon’s friends? Damn, very useful knowledge.
Another picture - a photo of Berlin from an airplane, the western and eastern ones glow with different lights. Well, this is a slaughterhouse! At the same time, many questions are formulated in such a way that it is possible to come up with three or ten equally probable answers... In the ChGK, for example, a question must contain information that unambiguously leads to the correct answer, otherwise it is not a question. But in “Brain Slaughterhouse” there are no requirements for the quality of questions, so there is no quality... I think that for the money that the authors of “Brain Slaughterhouse” collect, it would be possible to approach the package much more professionally and come up with something really witty. But why, if people are already hogging it?
From me, huge respect to the authors of the Melotrek project - they are the ones who really invest a lot of time and effort into preparation and 100% earn back the money that the participants pay for the game!”
Pub quizzes are very popular in America and Europe - in the UK alone, more than 20 thousand games are held weekly. Intellectual fun came to Belarus only a few years ago, but the public quickly fell in love with it: bar quizzes are held in Minsk almost every week, their formats are becoming more diverse, and dozens of teams gather for the games. The pioneer of the genre in the Republic of Belarus was “Brainslaughter”. For three years, the game of Sasha Khanin and Katya Maksimova has gathered an entire army of players, and not only in Minsk - “Brain Massacre” regularly takes place in different cities of Belarus, and has recently spread beyond the country’s borders. Where there are many players, there is a lot of money. The organizers of the Belarusian pub quiz told KYKY how fun for friends became a profitable business.
Where did pub quizzes come to us from?
Sasha Khanin and Katya Maksimova
Sasha: We have been living in Lithuania for quite a long time, and there we ourselves played in several similar projects. There is quite high competition among Lithuanian pub quizzes: when “MozgoBoinya” was launched in Minsk three years ago, there were already 10–15 different small projects in Vilnius. One of the games was made by our friend, and he offered us an idea that was crazy for us at that time - to hold the game in Minsk.
Kate: We laughed right away, but after a few months we decided. We translated a couple of packets of questions from Lithuanian into Russian - and started playing.
Was your pub quiz the first in Minsk?
Sasha: To be honest, I have not studied the history of pub quizzes in Belarus - but it seems that nothing like this existed before us.
Kate: Perhaps they had their own private parties. The sports movement “What? Where? When?”, many teams play here. CHGK members probably gathered in a more informal atmosphere and played something similar. But we have not seen such a format.
Who came to your first games?
Kate: For the first game we gathered 60 people - all friends and relatives. This was one of the reasons for launching the game: we spent most of our time in Vilnius, we saw our Minsk friends much less often than we would like - the game allowed us to change this. Then word of mouth worked. It started with 10 teams, and now almost two and a half hundred are playing with us, and with each subsequent game they are increasing.
At what point did you receive your first income?
Sasha: In the first year there was no income at all, everything went to zero. After all, our friends played with us - and we gave them gifts, bought tangerines for the New Year. We just tried to create a friendly atmosphere: so that people would be interested, so that they could laugh. Everything grew gradually: 60 people, 70, 80... If someone had said 3 years ago that I would host events for 400 people 6 times a month, I would probably have twirled my finger at my temple. It's not that I'm a very shy person with no experience in public speaking - but 400 people are!
Kate: We never counted money; we initially had a different motivation. When you finish university and start working, you realize that your memory slows down and your brain starts to grow dull. What to do? Read books. And in order to read more, you need something to push you and motivate you.
Sasha: At first we wanted to solve Scanavi problems, but we couldn’t find a textbook.
Kate: So we decided to do something that would make people’s brains move and their gears work. That is, initially we did everything for ourselves - and until recently we didn’t even notice how much we had expanded.
Sasha: What people are willing to pay money for is food, entertainment and sex. We can’t offer sex - except that he always skips the questions. We have food. What remains is entertainment. Take care of people and they will make you rich. Now everyone who wants to play “Brain Slaughter” cannot fit into one bar, and the games take place for several days in a row, at different sites.
Kate: This is a precedent-setting decision. Many teams have gathered - what to do? We decided to play in two days, and then in three. “BrainSlaughter” is being developed not so much by us as by people: a lot of players have gathered - we are looking for a large room, people wanted a cultural component - we organize musical breaks. People wanted to carry out “Brain Massacre” in other cities - we opened a franchise.
Sasha: At first there was a dilemma: ask the same questions on the second day - or make a new game. Due to natural laziness, we leaned towards the first option. After all, we initially positioned the game as leisure, entertainment, and not a sport. It seems that teams can leak the correct answers - but who needs that? What to fight for - a bottle of champagne? (prize for winning the game - editor's note) We have no sponsors, no big prizes, no ratings. People come to relax!
What part of the profits goes to organizing games?
Kate: We pay everyone who helps us: from the sound engineer to the guys who run around the hall and collect pieces of paper with answers. We don’t chase anyone for thanks!
Rusya and Dmitry Shepelevich
Sasha: We have a DJ who is responsible for the atmosphere of the game - I think he does half the job.
Kate: There is a person from whom we rent projectors - Pavel Turonchik, aka Plaha. We pay him for delivery, installation and connection of projectors. Everything is complicated there, there are whole heaps of wires - it is necessary for the projectors to work, and the TVs around the hall, and the sound to be synchronous with the picture...
Sasha: There is also a person who helps us on social networks, with accounting, office work, printing tickets, and takes the proceeds to the bank - Dima Shepelevich.
Kate: And the guys who help us on the spot: they collect sheets with answers, help check them and assign points.
Do clubs ask for a specific amount for rent - or is it all for mutual benefit?
Kate: Differently. Some clubs approve a fixed rate, others ask for a percentage of the proceeds: sometimes 10, sometimes 30. Different establishments have completely different conditions.
Sasha: On average, about 45% of profits go to the organization.
Suma performance
Kate: Sometimes we have a band perform - at the opening of the season, for example, Šuma played. Fees, rental of equipment, work of a sound engineer - and in the end the game turns out to be zero, an image one. But, I want to believe, everyone likes it.
How “Brainslaughter” conquers cities
Over the course of three game days, more than 200 teams come to MozgoSlaughter, with an average of 6 people playing in each team. Participation in the game costs 40,000 - it is not difficult to calculate the total profit. Every month there are 2-3 games. This, however, is not the entire income of the organizers - “Brain Slaughter” was distributed as a franchise throughout Belarus.
How did the geographical spread begin - the takeover of “Brainslaughterhouse” in Belarus?
Kate: We didn't capture anyone! There were no advertisements in newspapers.
Sasha: But the media played an important role in this. The first person who contacted us - Vitebsk guy Rinat Karimov - read an article in KP. Previously, only in my worst dreams could I see what Komsomolskaya Pravda would write about us! Apparently, the stereotypes worked in my head.
Kate: Now we have two teams from Komsomolskaya Pravda playing: editors and journalists. Both some and others are amazing.
Sasha: So, when a man from Vitebsk came to us and said that he wanted to make a game in his city, for us it was a signal that income could be converted into passive. Then everything started rolling like a snowball. They announced it a couple of times at the game - and offers started pouring in: “I want to spend it there, I want to do it there...” But in reality, income is not passive in the classical sense: it takes a lot of energy to make “Brain Slaughter” for other cities.
Do you have any questions about regional games?
Kate: Yes. Mainly on questions that we wrote for BrainBoyen two years ago.
Sasha: But we have to comb through the database of questions, and this is very cool: we discard the not very successful or not very funny questions. We have a round of questions about the latest news - and the latest news is sent to all regions. People love it when they are taken care of, when it is clear that the game was made especially for them. It's great to have local questions - and we encourage local organizers to include at least one question about their city in each game.
In how many cities does BrainSlaughter take place?
Kate: Besides Minsk, back at 9. Of the Belarusian ones - Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Brest, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, plus Mogilev will start soon. There is also Bryansk, and in two weeks St. Petersburg will be launched.
Sasha: We have special conditions for Belarus, and we would like to be evenly distributed throughout the country, so the plans include Orsha, Soligorsk, Novopolotsk, Pinsk and Lida.
There are more and more pub quizzes in Minsk. How serious is the competition?
Sasha: Due to the fact that we now play for several days, teams have a choice. Even if our date coincides with another pub quiz, teams can register with us on a different day.
Kate: 90% of teams that play in alternative projects also play BrainSlaughter. You open the list of commands - all the names are familiar. In addition, we have already developed a recognizable “brainbreaker” format of questions.
Sasha: We manage to make questions so that it is interesting, so that people have fun, so that they laugh at their own answers - both correct and incorrect. I have participated in many pub quizzes, not only in Lithuania and Belarus - and it seems to me that we are the best at asking questions. I don’t know how correct it is to evaluate this on our part, but it seems to me that we have become a trendsetter that people look up to. Alternative projects are often compared to “Brainslaughterhouse”; the organizers themselves usually either go against us or try to copy the “Brainslaughterhouse” format. And everyone has their own audience. In general, competition keeps us on our toes, spurs us on - so we are very grateful to other Minsk pub quizzes for the fact that they exist.
Seasoned players “What? Where? When?" “Brainslaughter” is often criticized: they say your wording is not so clear, and the score is much softer...
Kate: The rigidity of the test is important when the result is important, when there is a rating, when defending the issue is a matter of honor. But we play for fun, and if the team explains its logic very close to the correct one, we will count the answer to them.
We want 12-year-olds to be able to play with us, and grandparents too. Why do they need questions from “What? Where? When?"!
Sasha:"Brainslaughterhouse" has a human face. Ideal formulations and strict rules for scoring questions are not the goal. People pay for entertainment, for a good evening, for keeping them awake during the break.
Will there come a time when you can enter a “brain-killing” retirement, receiving only passive income from the franchise?
Sasha: We really hope never! Minsk will probably remain ours until we lose the ability to think or speak. As for the rest of the cities, we will give them more autonomy over time so that it will be a classic franchise.
Kate: We take a very small percentage - 10% of revenue, plus 30 euros for a package of questions. To receive a serious commission, we need to cover 200 cities! Therefore, we are not talking about any pension. We don't even see it as a business. We were told from the outside a couple of times that we are businessmen, but we look at ourselves and think - is it true, or what?
Sasha: We already have plans for other countries - the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland. They have already arrived in Russia. For other countries there will be different conditions, more stringent: people’s ability to pay is different, the scale is different, plus the costs of translating and adapting games will be required.
Are there pub quizzes that are common all over the world?
Kate: To be honest, we haven't studied the market. Perhaps something has grown like “Brain Slaughterhouse” - in America, for example. But there are no analogues to McDonald's in pub quizzes.
Sasha: I hope that in five years we will be able to discuss this topic from a different perspective!
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"BRAIN ASSHOLE": PUB QUIZ
RULES OF THE GAME
7 rounds, each with 7 questions. Everyone is different: somewhere you need to guess who the author of the “Mona Lisa” is, in another - in which film the main hit of the 80s was played, the song Sweet Dreams by the Eurhythmics group, in the third - in what sequence the vehicle should pass on a typical traffic police exam picture. The answers of the team (5 - 8 people) are written down on a form, taken to the presenters, who enter the results into a table and display it on the screen.
The pub quiz genre is widespread in America. There, people sitting at the same table are considered a team, the host reads the questions into the microphone, and these same “teams” show him the answers written on tablets. The winners receive a prize. For more than a year now, at least 200 people have been having fun with something similar in Belarus.
We came across the restaurant format of the game in Lithuania,” say the organizers of “BrainSlaughter” Sasha Khanin and Katya Maksimova. - My colleague organized the game Protmūšis (from Lithuanian - “Brain Massacre”) and invited me to play. I played, got involved, and together we began to think about how to organize the game in Minsk. And although we made the first few games in collaboration with colleagues, the Belarusian “Brain Massacre” is still not a tracing paper, but an author’s project. Each game has its own peculiarity: in the way questions are selected, in who makes it, in how it works with the public, and even in the kind of music played between rounds. In Lithuania, for example, there are a lot of questions on pure knowledge (this complicates the task and creates a certain contingent of participants), in our country almost all questions are taken by pure logic. For encyclopedic knowledge there is “What? Where? When?". By the way, players from the club come to us precisely to relax and drink beer in the company of friends.
- How long does it take to prepare a game?
14 hours. 90% of questions are thought up, found and collected a day before the game. We don’t specifically read reference books and encyclopedias: about half of the questions are from the Internet, some are from databases (you can only take logic tasks from there, because it works fine for almost everyone). And sometimes we read some cool article that contains three interesting facts at once! When you are preparing for a game, you are in intellectual tone: you read, memorize, notice... For example, in the last game there was a question: “How does a trolleybus move the arrow to the left?” It seems that we encounter trolleybuses every day, but how this happens is unclear. Actually, the authorship of the game is not to come up with something (everything was invented a long time ago!), but to select questions that would be possible and interesting to solve. So that the thought flashes through your head, “Oh, it’s so simple!”, and when the answer is uttered, there is a “wow!” effect. But it depends on the attitude towards the game: some come for fun, others for sport and self-affirmation.
- How did you agree with the cafe?
The first few games were played in a different location, then 45 people participated. But the number of participants began to grow, now there are 170 of them. We were advised to the cafe where we are playing now: “There is a lot of space and huge screens - that’s what we need!” Once we came here to drink coffee - and after 5 minutes we agreed: Why not: on a weekday at 19.00 there is almost no one in a cafe located not in the city center (unless they are showing football or Eurovision). No one gathers more people in this restaurant than us, not even corporate parties! By the way, we were also invited to corporate events with MozgoSlaughterhouse, but this is still primarily a hobby. In addition to playing, we have a normal job (Sasha is a business coach, Katya is his assistant. - Ed.). The best things always come from a hobby.
CHECK YOURSELF
Would you answer the questions from BrainSlaughter?
1. What penguins live in Atlantis?
2. Say “fallen tree” in German.
3. Continue with the Wayne Gretzky quote: “Good players are where the puck is. The great ones are where...”
4. When does the summer solstice occur in Australia?
5. From which work is this quote: “God forbid we see a Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless”?
See the answers at the end of the article.
"MELOTRACK": SONGS REVERSE
RULES OF THE GAME
7 rounds, 12 questions in each: somewhere you need to guess a song by its introduction, somewhere - played in the opposite direction, somewhere - music from advertising, cartoons or movies, somewhere - songs with names of cities, women's names etc. A team consists of up to 4 people.
If we go into history, first we appeared - “Good People,” recalls Anya Kosolapova, one of the organizers of “Melotrek”. - Last winter we wanted warmth and positivity, so we created a community on the social network, where we began to post various positive pictures (this will come in handy later). At the same time, we were closely seated at MozgoBoyne (though we didn’t really like the musical tour). At some point we thought: why not organize an informal competition so that everyone would come, drink, play and listen to good music? We held a competition for friends, everyone liked it. Then we found a place (a club where we used to go to play Krokodil, Mafia, and concerts), invited people from the online community created in the winter - and now for 10 weeks on weekends 60 people are playing enthusiastically in Melotrek.
Preparing one game takes a whole week, continues Katya Ivashchenko, another member of Good People. - Each of us spends 15-20 hours on this (and we also work as programmers, lawyers...). We need to listen to the material, weed out the unnecessary, test the tasks on each other (are they too primitive or, on the contrary, complex?). After screening, you need to cut the songs into pieces, prepare two versions: one for questions, the other for answers. And then our friend Lyosha sits down and makes a presentation out of it all for about five hours...
We are very glad that thanks to us people are starting to listen to good music. For example, before the rock “Melotrek”, my colleague listened to Led Zeppelin for three hours straight. When I asked her why, I heard: “We are getting ready! We know modern rock, but not so much classical rock. It turned out that they are so cool - we still listen to them!” The same thing happened on the tour with poets (we asked whose poems were featured in popular songs): despite the fact that there were about 50% correct answers, people liked it. In the process of preparation, we become enlightened, and during the game, we enjoy the fact that a pleasant company is gathering. People come who are nice to see, with whom it’s nice to play and sing: oh, how together they sang along to Lyapisov’s “Evpatoria” or “Vladivostok -2000” “Mumiy Troll”!
CHECK YOURSELF
Before you is a song, every word in which is, if possible, replaced by an antonym. The task is to guess what kind of song it is.
1. Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah, they brought the pale-faced man to life!
They brought the pale-faced man to life, they brought him to life!
On purpose, for merit
Good people came to life.
2. Ibrahim, Ibrahim, let's go bury the cacti!
Ibrahim, Ibrahim, let's go bury the cacti!
Ag-wah-lb-wah! Ag-wah-lb-wah! You taught this, this was entrusted to you!
3. Banzai! Sadder, bourgeois stratum.
Banzai! Stop, girls, hate boys.
Banzai! Stop, they will forget you later.
Pineapple is a banzai fruit!
Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!
See the answers at the end of the article.
BY THE WAY
Also in Minsk there is a literary sect “Evenings of Perverted Readings”, where you won’t be allowed in without a book in your hand (vk.com/club43844896), and “Evenings of Forced Poetry” are held: people write impromptu poems, participate in a bad poetry competition and have poetic fun (vk .com/club40736053).
ANSWERS TO “BRAIN MANAGEMENT”: 1. None, Atlantis does not exist. 2. Barrier (schlagbaum). 3. “...where SHE WILL BE.” 4. December 21st (22nd). 5. "The Captain's Daughter."
ANSWERS TO THE “MELOTRACK”: 1. Banned drummers - “They killed a black man.” 2. Song from the cartoon “Antoshka”. 3. Lyube - “Atas”.
WHAT ENTERTAINMENT DO YOU MISS?
Seven months ago, the capital's game finally came to our regional center. Not even a year has passed, and it already has a permanent platform (one of the local bars), its own features, the number of subscribers of the group on the social network is approaching 850, and registering to participate is becoming more and more difficult each time due to the number of people interested. So you have to play for two days (in Minsk there are institutions that can accommodate 60 teams, but Gomel was unlucky in this regard). Quite recently, a kind of Champions League took place - the winners of all previous games competed for the title of the best. The team “Yes, it’s possible!” turned out to be the coolest of all.The rules of BrainSlaughter are simple: seven rounds of seven questions, to which you must give a written answer on a special form within a limited time. For a correct answer - one point. At the same time, the tours are varied: one musical, one news, one based on pictures, three rounds of fairly simple questions on ingenuity, school knowledge and erudition, as well as one blitz tour.
The insidiousness and value of the latter is that you can get 2 points for the solution, but only if you are willing to take a risk and put a tick next to your answer. But it’s not worth throwing around ticks in vain, because if you answer incorrectly, you lose 2 points. During the last round you can score from -14 to 14 points. So for 49 questions you can actually get 56 points.
The best result for seven months was achieved by the “Plasticine Hugi” team – 53 points. “Da Vinci’s Cat”, who became the winner 9 times, almost caught up with them. In total, 95 teams took part in the Gomel “MozgoBoyna”.
Cactus and glass eye
The questions are chosen in such a way that both a humanist and a techie can prove themselves: continue the poem and name its author, solve the chemical formula, determine the country by its contour. I don’t know about the rest, but now I’m studying geography and every week I look at news sites, including the most frivolous ones, so as not to lose face on the news tour.A pleasant surprise for the participants are questions on Gomel themes: for example, what cities are written on the suitcase of the bronze traveler at the railway station? The musical tour is often accompanied by choral singing of the brain killers.
The organizers sometimes pamper the players with pleasant little things: they are given a refrigerator magnet, eco-pen pens, video congratulations on social networks, and photos of the group members are projected onto the screen before the game.
Pictures are a completely separate issue. After almost every game there is a photo report. In addition, competitions are held not only of an intellectual nature. One day they were choosing the coolest team mascot. And almost every team has one: soft and hard toys, indoor plants, “Something Raccoon With Us” has cute paper raccoons. The guys from “Grandfather’s Glass Eye” went the furthest, they placed... a glass eye on the table! In general, everyone is weird in their own way. Someone invents enchanting names (“For all the persimmons”, “Smart moose”, “Wow sheep”), but the “Lemonade for Nepal” team comes every time in a new role - either in the costume of gopniks, or in the national clothes of the state Nepal.
The most important thing is that teams come not for first place (and the prize is serious - the winner does not pay the bill), but for communication with interesting people, drive and a good mood.
A stack of phones as an example
Organizer Alexey Trunov spoke about the features of the Gomel “BrainSlaughter”.Did you manage to interest Gomel residents in this game and why?
The number of players speaks for itself. The point is that anyone can take part. You can spend an evening here with friends, parents, teachers, coaches... A little excitement, humor, struggle, logic and knowledge - all this creates a good mood. “Brainslaughter” does not distract, but unites colleagues, family, friends...
What is the difference between the Gomel “Brainslaughterhouse” and the Minsk and others?
Gomel has one of the best venues in terms of atmosphere, very helpful people. One team somehow put all the phones on the table, thereby confirming fair play (thus making it clear that they would not access Internet search resources - author's note), we photographed this, showed it as an example, and other cities picked it up.
Can you remember any funny incidents?
We once invited a cover band to an anniversary game. The guys did their best and shook the walls of the pub with high-quality sound. But there was a performance in the next room, and, as it turned out, our sound was louder. We apologize to the theater.
P.S. I think the popularity of BrainSlaughter lies in the fact that it is absolutely democratic and voluntary, the organizers are always on the move, use social networks wisely, quickly post information, organize sweepstakes and surprises, keep in touch with each player, manage to maintain a good atmosphere and make everyone have fun, and participants receive something new - new knowledge, new acquaintances, new impressions. It seems to me that this experience would be very useful to many youth organizations.
Questions provided by the organizers of “Brain Slaughterhouse”
1. Victor Hugo, while on vacation in 1862, wanted to know about the reaction of readers to the newly published novel and sent a one-character telegram to his publisher. He sent a telegram in response, also from one sign. Play both.
2. Which Belarusian city surpasses Moscow, New York, Singapore and London in terms of population density?
4. Four are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belarus: Mir Castle, Radziwill Palace in Nesvizh, Struve geodetic arc. Name the fourth one.
5. Which part of the world has the most states?
6. What is the name of the science that studies cats?
7. What is highlighted in color?
Answers: 1.?! 2. Soligorsk (11226 people/sq. km). 3. Sweater. 4. Belovezhskaya Pushcha. 5. In Africa. 6. Felinology. 7. Countries with left-hand traffic.
Intellectual and entertaining shows, held in the form of a quiz in a cafe or bar, and therefore called pub quizes, first appeared in the UK several decades ago and over time gained enormous popularity around the world. This type of recreation reached Mogilev on March 15, 2015, when the first game under the “MozgoBoinya” brand was organized. Then 21 teams with a total of about 130 people took part in the game. Now there are about 40 teams and more than 200 players playing it. To introduce our readers to this game in more detail, we infiltrated “Brain Slaughterhouse” and found out all its secrets.
Where to start and how to register a team to participate in the game
First of all, you should collect intelligence by visiting the group " BrainSlaughterhouse in Mogilev" In it you can not only see some general information, rules and photos from past games, but also find out when and at what time the next game will be. Typically, new games are announced a few days before registration, and registration itself is announced a couple of days before the game.
On the appointed day, usually at exactly noon, a post appears from the organizers, announcing the start of registration.
The first minutes are reminiscent of real cowboy duels. The fastest, most dexterous, and most importantly, the most responsible representatives of the teams leave applications to participate in the game. So within a few minutes the main part of the teams already appears on the wall, the rest arrive a little later. Logically, such efficiency is justified, because the number of seats in the restaurant is limited, but is it really possible to miss out on the game if you don’t have time to register before everyone else? Our special agent James Mozgobond asked this question to the organizer of the game in Mogilev - Alexey Trunov. The information obtained read:
Yes, sure. If the number of teams upon registration exceeds the number of tables in the establishment, then the teams that were last placed in the reserve. Although we usually try to accommodate everyone.
Therefore, it is better not to miss registration time. The application for participation must indicate the name of the team and the number of players.
As for the names of the teams, it becomes clear where all the Mogilev creativity went.
However, you can understand the logic behind the names of some teams from a survey that was recently conducted in the game group. Almost all the stories are original, and some are imbued with the spirit of mystical coincidences.
Having come up with a team name and registered it to participate, all that remains is to wait for the game itself.
What is our life? A game!
Many of us associate a phrase from Herman’s aria in the opera “The Queen of Spades” with the intellectual television game “What? Where? When?" For BrainSlaughter, the no less famous catchphrase would be more suitable: “Bread and circuses!” Moreover, you can actively participate in the spectacle yourself, and bread and other snacks and drinks can be ordered at the venue of the game - in the Gabrovo restaurant. Despite the large number of participants (about 200 people), our orders were processed quite quickly or we were just lucky. However, it is obvious that people come to BrainSlaughter not so much to eat as to play - so let’s look at the game itself. First of all, we present the rules of the game, which are presented by the organizers in the group with some of our comments.
The game has seven rounds of seven questions. Questions from rounds 1-6 are shown on the screen for about a minute and read out by the presenter. Then quickly read all the questions in a row again. A 100-second countdown starts, after which the answer sheet is handed in.
Rounds 1, 2, 4 and 6 are textual (guess a term, event, phenomenon, process, translate something from other languages, continue a quote, add a fact, guess what it is about based on several facts, etc.).
It should be added here that the first round is a warm-up with fairly simple questions, although there are also some that you need to really rack your brain over.
The second round is news. It presents questions regarding recent interesting events, discoveries, and absurdities.
The fourth and sixth rounds contain questions from various areas. Some of them can be guessed through erudition, if some facts are already familiar, others can be taken through logic, the rest you can simply try to guess.
Round 3 - musical (from the sound fragment you need to guess the performer, composer, and sometimes the author of the words or the event to which the composition was dedicated).
A very complex tour, since the compositions are presented from a variety of genres and eras. Pop and rock hits of the 90s and modern times, retro compositions of the mid-20th century, classical works, songs from films and much more. Belarusian rock and folk performers are common.
Round 5 - pictures (you need to guess what or who is shown, where the frame is from, what is being advertised, etc.).
Here we mainly need erudition and observation. For example, you need to guess a film from a presented frame, the title and author from a fragment of a picture, the name of a brand from an advertisement, and so on. However, in some matters, logic can also help in this round.
Try to guess who is shown in this photo? (1 minute)
A characteristic mole on the cheek helps determine that this is none other than Robert De Niro.
Round 7 - blitz. 7 simple and short questions of various types and genres appear on the screen for only 15 seconds and are read out. Questions do not remain on the screen and are not repeated. You are given another 50 seconds to think about it and write it down on a piece of paper. The team itself decides what the cost of each answer in the round will be: a mark opposite the answer means it is rated according to the +2/-2 system (correct/incorrect), and the absence of it means traditional grading (1/0). Thus, the maximum in Blitz is +14 points, the minimum is -14.
The most insidious of all tours. Even if you were confidently leading throughout the game with a good margin, the seventh round can change everything dramatically. But his cunning is manifested not only in this. The questions in this round are usually based on erudition, but they are very tricky and have many pitfalls. It can sometimes be very difficult to notice these pitfalls after a two-hour brainstorming session, and even in 15 seconds. On the other hand, this is what brings some element of intrigue into the game.
Example of a Round 7 question: Which country's flag is shown below? (15 seconds)
So we thought it was Ireland. And they even ticked it. But this is not Ireland, but the real Côte d’Ivoire! But if you guessed right, well done!
If we talk about the general quality of the questions, then in our subjective opinion they are quite consistent with this format of games. There are questions that are too easy, and forgetting that “everything and our life is simple” - you begin to look for some more sophisticated, original, but fundamentally wrong answers. There are also very complex ones that you just need to know, but mostly the game presents questions that can be thought out logically. However, there are also real masterpieces, the beauty of which you appreciate even if you gave the wrong answer.
Determination of places
In the hall, places for teams are determined by the organizers based on the number of participants in a particular team, so that everyone feels comfortable playing. At the entrance to the hall you will be directed where your team’s table is located. In the standings, places are determined based on the points scored. If they coincide, then the higher position is given to the team that gave the largest number of correct answers in the previous round. If the points match in it, the round that was before and so on is looked at.
Controversial issues
If a team believes that it gave the correct answer, but it was not counted fairly, it can contact the organizers in writing after the 3rd and 6th rounds with a request to consider the claim. Although it should be noted that, unlike other intellectual games, BrainBoyne is very loyal to the wording of answers and they can be counted, even if they are not indicated entirely correctly, but correspond to the logic of the question. It should also be noted that there were cases when the team approached the organizers with a request not to count the answer. Such actions in the spirit of Fair Play honor the team and improve the quality of the game.
Prizes and gifts
Unlike the banal prizes of some “Superlotto” in the form of a three-room apartment or a useless SUV, MozgoBoinya offers something more valuable:
Emotions are the main prize and absolutely everyone gets it. Both we and the players themselves strive for this. The team that answers more questions than others also receives a large champagne as a cup) Sometimes there are incentive prizes, gifts for everyone, and souvenirs.
Indeed, at the last game, additional gifts in the form of delicious (for sure) cakes went to the teams that took the first three places in the poll on the history of the names. All other participants were in for a surprise in the form of a live performance by the band. Point 6 Band during breaks between rounds. And at the previous game, we wrote wishes to ourselves on postcards, which the organizers promised to send as a surprise after an indefinite period of time.
The professor is a mug, but he has the equipment
Since the game has a competitive component, the issue of honesty is one of the most pressing. It's no secret that, if desired, many questions can be Googled and compositions determined using the Shazam application. Therefore, we decided to use the services of Mozgobond again, asking the organizers the following question: “is there any control over compliance with fair play and what severe punishment awaits insidious cheaters?”
Therefore, we will not go into everyone’s phone; there are different situations in which you need to answer an SMS or a call. But someone is always in the hall and makes sure that people do not openly use gadgets. This can be seen when someone is hiding or Shazam's blue screen is on. There are such cases in almost every game, then we offer to play honestly, and if they come across it a second time, we take away the answer sheet or deduct a few points.
Champions League
There are legends that there is a certain mysterious Brain Slaughter Champions League, in which the winners of previous games play. Unfortunately, we cannot yet highlight our own experience of being at such a tournament due to a number of ridiculous formalities;) Therefore, we present the data that we were able to find out from reliable sources.
There are also additional indicators. It happens that a team has taken second place many times, and many Champions League participants themselves ask to give these guys a chance. The more participants there are in the final, the more interesting it is for everyone to fight for victory and the sweeter it is. The Champions League is the final game of the season, its closing, so we always prepare something special for this game, and the winner receives a real cup!
Out of the game
Question database for the quiz- the largest collection of game tasks of intellectual games, which are collected from various sources. Including such well-known games as the game “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, “Oh Lucky Man”, “Brainring”, the game “Taxi” TNT, “Own Game”, “Weak Link”, “Erudite”, Test Game, and also a base of questions "What? Where? When?"
The question database is constantly updated and currently contains more than 900 thousand questions (unique). Players can add tasks to the question database independently, as well as distribute them by topic.
The questions can be very simple, but sometimes they can be very complex, so both children and schoolchildren, as well as adults, can play the Wikviz quiz. Difficult tasks usually earn more game points.
Each time you receive a variety of tips. They usually come in the form of anagrams and open letters (as in "Field of Miracles").
Varieties
In the database of online quiz questions you will find many types of questions for every taste, from riddles, tests, to words and chronological questions. All questions may have different approaches to guessing and some nuances in how the presenter receives answers.
Categories and types
We divide the database of questions for the Wikviz quiz by question category, type, difficulty and user rating. This allows you to further determine the preferences of players, their area of expertise and deservedly award points.
Download
We offer those who wish to partially download the database of questions for the quiz with answers. Most often, this is necessary for those who want to conduct their own quizzes.
Anyone can add their tasks to our database of questions for the quiz. The authorship of questions is retained, and at the request of the authors they can be excluded from the database. Added questions are post-moderated and can be slightly rephrased without losing their meaning. You can read how to add questions for the quiz to the question database in the sections *link*. Everyone who added tasks to the question database and worked with it will be posted on the honor board.
Play
You can try to answer questions in the quiz database without registering to clearly understand how it works.
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