Science Fiction Quizzes Wanted

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Subject: Science Fiction Quizzes Wanted

Posted by: StarStruck60
Date: Jul 31 10

I started a topic on Forums about the lack of general Science Fiction quizzes. All the authors are categorised in the A-Z sections of Lit. not in Science Fiction, and Agony has quite rightly pointed out the impossibility of moving these an the categorisation nightmares it would bring. However, at the moment if there is an SF expert or Team Heroes it is mainly Star Wars and Dragonlance and little else, which those of us who love SF find very frustrating. The only way round this is to write more SF general quizzes to boost the question pool. Agony herself has said she will do a batch and I have promised to make my next 3 quizzes (after the Beatles Challenge) SF ones. So, this is an appeal for SF general knowledge quizzes please. We're a talented group here and between us we can help redress the situation - chocolate bribes are available if that will help.

Titles Released:
Cellardoor -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Fly-Me-to-the-Moon-322926.html
Starstruck60 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Do-You-Know-Where-Youre-Going-To-328594.html
Rowena8482 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Nowhere-Man-328898.html
Agony -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Classic-SF---Novellas-328902.html
Rowena8482 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Sci-Fi-but-Not-in-Space-328944.html
Starstruck60 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/A-Stroke-of-Genius-328934.html
Rowena8482 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Ticket-to-Ride-328979.html
Rowena8482 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/The-Walls-Are-Alive-329082.html
Christinap -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/First-Contact-329141.html
Agony -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Hugo-Runners-up-328960.html
Julia103 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/She-Blinded-Me-with-Science-Fiction-329000.html
Christinap -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/The-Martians-Are-Coming-329313.html
Flamis -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Judging-More-SF-Books-by-Their-Covers-329446.html
Rowena8482 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Lets-Hear-it-for-the-Girls-329569.html
Christinap -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Heinlein-Herbert-and-Aldiss-329468.html
Starstruck60 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Classic-Sci-Fi-Series-329743.html
Rowena8482 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Science-Metafiction-329549.html
Cellardoor -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Let-Me-Play-Among-the-Stars-329450.html
Starstruck60 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/I-Know-What-Youre-Thinking-329765.html
Julia103 -

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/What-Planet-am-I-from-329782.html

131 replies. On page 1 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

looney_tunes

I would love to see more quizzes on classic authors such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and even Douglas Adams. But I am afraid that if I start thinking about quizzes, I will get distracted by rereading the books (I can see them inviting me as I type this!) and take absolutely AGES to get around to the quiz. It's definitely on my 'when there's nothing else that needs writing' list, though.

Reply #1. Jul 31 10, 6:29 AM

Rowena8482

I have written several Heinlein quizzes already, and have another one under construction now. I've done several other sci-fi quizzes too, and my last one ended up in Fantasy subcategory.

Reply #2. Jul 31 10, 7:03 AM

agony

I was kicking my son (Bashzog) a bit last night to get him to contribute a couple - it's been years since he's written a quiz. He's currently reading a whole whack of Philip Jose Farmer, and listening to the Malazan series on audiobooks. He said he could probably come up with a quiz, but if it were to be based on what he's reading most of lately, it would be Fantasy rather than SF - Malazan, Song of Ice and Fire; even Riverworld is more F than SF, really.

It might be possible, at some point, for Expert and Team Hero quizzes to have F and SF together as one category. Problem with that is that we'd be overflowing with vampires. Something to think about, anyway, and ask Terry if it's possible.

Reply #3. Jul 31 10, 8:52 AM

trident

Hm. I'm currently at the library, I'll look around for some anthologies or something to contribute myself.

Reply #4. Jul 31 10, 9:37 AM

Rowena8482

Authors H-K already is a bit heavily weighted towards Laurell K Hamilton, much like Stephen King used to be dominted by the Gunslinger books and SK dominated horror or wherever he was. It's like Star Wars, there are many more Anita quizzes than anything else in H-K. Is there a case for making some of these into "sub categories in their own right" perhaps? Since some of them have over 50 quizzes (or 30 or whatever number suits). So Star Wars, Laurell K Hamilton, maybe Twilight, Dragon Lance and so on would just be subcats without being included in Fantasty or Sci-Fi or Author's Initial. Then they could be Expert hours and Team Heroes and let some of the other quizzes in the categories they currently dominate, shine a bit.
I don't mind lol, because I read Anita Blake, but it must be terribly frustrating for players who don't read them. (I did once post a "beginner's guide to Anita" on my team boards to give them a chance when it came up in Heroes for about the third time, and that let us score about 4 or 5 more per player than we otherwise would have :-D)
I'm not sure I've explained this particularly clearly, I hope it makes sense and you all know what I'm getting at :-)

Reply #5. Jul 31 10, 10:49 AM

kyleisalive

Re: "much like Stephen King used to be dominted by the Gunslinger books and SK dominated horror or wherever he was."

My bad. Sorry. :D

Reply #6. Jul 31 10, 10:59 AM

agony

Row - We can take this up with Terry, it might be possible. I don't know how much cherry picking is possible in the design of Heroes/Expert.

Reply #7. Jul 31 10, 11:20 AM

Rowena8482

I have a feeling that Terry once said (though this may well be just my wishful thinking lol) that it was technically possible to make every single subcategory into an Expert/Heroes category, but that it wasn't worth it as some of them have too few (or even just one quiz) in there.
There are random sci-fi quizzes scattered throughout Literature under the authors names, (in addition to the orange arrowed ones I am about to mention, for example C J Cherryh who has 4 in the subcat, and James White)
I would be happy to go through and "spot" them and make a list, with a view to moving them over to Sci-Fi (although again I have no idea if it's technically worth it) so they could be like the Heinlein et al that are in there now, with the little orange arrows to direct players to them. That would mean them being subcategories of single quizzes in a lot of cases. Would it be possible to make those orange arrowed authors "point the other way"? with the quizzes in Sci-Fi and the arrows leading from the author's names TO Sci-Fi, rather than the other way round as they are now? (Again I have no idea what is technically feasible, we need Terry lol)

Reply #8. Jul 31 10, 11:53 AM

Rowena8482

Another idea I just had - I suspect Terry will be the only person who will know though - would it be possible to have a "Question Quest" arrangement for single questions into specific categories? Like Sci-Fi since that's the one we're currently concerned with. Either a new "thingy" to do them, or is it possible to cherry-pick the QQ pool so that if we got together and submitted a load of Sci-Fi Qs via the current Question Quest they could be siphoned off into the Sci-fi question pool rather than just being Literature? I guess fixing the exisiting QQ to allow selection of a subcategory rather than just one of the 20 main categories would do it... (OK now someone tell me I just anticipated the technology by 20 years and come back in 2020 :-D) I do get quite ah, impassioned about sci-fi lol... and would LOVE to see the category expanded and loved by more players.

Reply #9. Jul 31 10, 11:59 AM

StarStruck60

You and me both Rowena. I read SF all the time, and apart from the 3 I have told Agony I'll do I'm going to try and do a lot more SF quizzes to try and get the category loved a bit more. I'm nagging my Mum to do some as well, she has the most massive library of SF you have ever seen, an entire wall of one room, floor to ceiling, nothing but SF and Fantasy (but no Dragon Lance or Twilight you'll be pleased to know, lots of Anita) Mind you, her other books take up the other 3 walls - it's like living in a library. We were just lucky she left the door free and didn't build shelves into that as well!

Reply #10. Jul 31 10, 4:24 PM

Rowena8482

Ooo she has shelves! I have the books, just not enough shelves lol. Every flat surface in the house has books piled on it. Once upon a time I knew where every single book was too, and then my 3 youngest kids arrived... now I only know that the book will NOT be where I think it is when I want it!

Reply #11. Jul 31 10, 5:01 PM

Christinap

Yes, I have shelves, doesn't seem to stop books spilling over to other rooms though. Not quite sure how the big pile in the bedroom got there, the couple in the loo are a bit of a mystery as well, and let us not even mention the loft! Once I get my darling daughter's wedding done (only 10 days to go, no panic setting in yet - honestly) then I'll see what I can do on quizzes.

Reply #12. Jul 31 10, 5:37 PM

leith90

I have books, books, and books everywhere as well, but no SF. Unless you count my daughter's Twilghlight and Anne Rice collections. I have Inkheart though, does that count?

Reply #13. Jul 31 10, 7:25 PM

leith90

I forgot about Harry Potter, is that children's or fantasy?

Reply #14. Jul 31 10, 7:26 PM

looney_tunes

Harry Potter is For Children.

Reply #15. Jul 31 10, 7:42 PM

salami_swami

Haha, Leith, we have over 750 books, and only 20 or so are sci/fi/fantasy. ;-)

Reply #16. Jul 31 10, 8:32 PM

Rowena8482

Harry Potter is one of the great works of fantasy of its time. (If only an editor had dared to "tell her stuff" for volumes 5 and 6 lol...) I will always maintain that the final book of HP is one of *the* defining books of any time. Which is a whole other debate lol.
Inkheart... hmm.. not sci-fi. Fantasy I guess.
And I feel a quiz coming on, in honour of the approaching nuptials... "sci-fi weddings" :-D I can think of a couple immediately that would do, let me see if I can come up with 10. I'd prefer 10 different authors if I can. I took "Nowhere Man" from Kyle's Beatles Cascade thing for a sci-fi one too.

Reply #17. Aug 01 10, 2:37 AM

C30

Rowena/Christinap...........there are books on wall to wall shelving, books on the table, books on the floor, books on window ledges, books on mantlepieces..............80% Science-Fiction and/or Fantasy. MY books fit into one small bookcase in spare room.........the rest are what my librarian wife has accumulated.
I like some Science-Fiction (Simon Hawke's "Time Wars" really gripped me, as did Pillip Jose Farmer's "Riverworld"), but a quiz about them probably beyond me.

Reply #18. Aug 01 10, 4:16 AM

Rowena8482

I love Time Wars too :-D I just wish I could get my hands on the last two - for some reason copies of those two are very hard to find :-S. I have a question or two about them in quizzes here somewhere though, I remember writing them lol. I'm trying not to think sci-fi thoughts just now, my mind is going blank on me and I need ideas. If I think about other stuff they'll pop into my head hopefully.

Reply #19. Aug 01 10, 5:21 AM

Christinap

The Harry Potter series is one of the great Fantasy series. It may be nominally for children, but the whole thing appeals on so many different levels, and I agree with Row, the final book is just brilliant and is one of those all time "defining" books.

Reply #20. Aug 01 10, 5:59 AM

131 replies. On page 1 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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