The Quiz
What's going on?I'm giving you the chance to see how your knowledge of Buffy compares to that of other fans. Every day in December (well, the first 24, anyway), there will be 10 new questions for you to answer. You can also check out the top players from the previous day's quiz, and the overall results for the entire quiz so far.
Neat. So, where do I start?
Well, this year's quiz has drawn to an end, but you can still play any of the days by following the Play link on the left.
Also, the previous year's quiz can be played by following the 1998 link.
That's 480 questions -- more than enough, methinks.
Hmmmm. I was here last year, and something's changed...
Yeah, as well as the site getting a redesign I've rewritten the Java code. It's a little prettier now -- I hope you like the changes.
So what does the winner get?
Nothing but a big congratulations and the satisfaction that comes with knowing that they're the best. Isn't that enough?
When does the quiz get updated?
Daily thoughout December. I can't say for certain what time the day's quiz (and previous day's results) will be put up at the moment -- if I manage to get the updating process down to half an hour, then I'll probably do it at 6:30am GMT. In any case, as long as you come back at the same time each day, you shouldn't have any problems.
What if I miss a quiz?
As long as it isn't the last day, you'll be okay. You can play the quiz from any previous day by selecting the 'Old Games' button in the quiz. The final results will be up at some time on the 25th, though, so make sure you're finished by then.
Be warned, though, that people joining the quiz very late or regularly playing games late will probably not be allowed on the scoreboard, to keep cheating to a minimum.
How does the scoring work?
Very simply, one point per correct answer. In the event of players being tied on points, the time taken to answer the questions is used to determine the winner, so answer quickly!
Replays, Cheating and Other Problems
Boy, I was awful today -- can I replay the quiz to see if I can do better?Please, don't. You just give me more work at this end sorting through the results. Bottom line is, you'll probably just be given zero for the day.
If you really want to try a quiz again, wait until Christmas. You can play to your heart's content then, secure in the knowledge that you're not flooding my mailbox.
Mind if I cheat?
Don't bother. You can't play under two different names - I can tell. And don't even think about reading the questions, quickly shutting down the browser and restarting. I see all.
Anyway, it's only a game. If you want to put any real effort into cheating, I'm sure you could manage it. But while you're at it, I suggest you ask Santa for a life for Christmas.
But there really are two of us want to play!
Sorry, but there's not a lot I can do about that one. Obviously I can't tell if it's really two different attempts or someone trying to cheat the system. If there's more than one of you there then you'll have to play as a team, I'm afraid.
If you really want to compete against each other, don't forget that the quiz will be here after Christmas for you to play as much as you want.
The Future
Will the quiz return in December 2000?I expect so, unless I've developed a life by then.
Are there any plans to run the quiz the rest of the year?
Not at the moment, I'm afraid. As well as taking a fair amount of time to run, it's not easy to come up with all of these questions. Even if I were to host a weekly or monthly quiz, I'd only end up repeating myself.
How about an Angel quiz?
That's certainly a possibility. Sky have bought the show, so maybe I'll run an Angel quiz once Season One has aired here in the UK. If I do run a separate Angel quiz it probably won't be in Advent -- two at once would be a bit much to operate, I think. Then again, I could just do a joint Buffy & Angel quiz next December. We'll see.
Misc
How does it all work?It's all very crude. The Java applet sends your name and results to a CGI script, which in turn sends them to me. A C program then takes these results and formats them in a lovely Excel spreadsheet, and I check it for repeated games, cheating, etc. Then another C program takes this spreadsheet and generates the HTML you see on the results page.
Last year I did it all myself, without the C code to help, but it was a lot of effort. This year I've had more time to prepare, so I'm ready for it.
Who are you, anyway?
Me? I'm just your average 22 year old Buffy fanatic who had far too much time to waste in his last year of uni, so decided to run the quiz. I've now got a job, and thus less time to spend on the quiz, but I reckon I can manage it for a few weeks.
That's jolly decent of you. Here, have some money...
Why, thank you. But please, send all cash to the Jubilee 2000 campaign. Or at least go sign the petition.
On the other hand, if you've got Season Three trading card number 49 spare, feel free to send it my way.