New Scaratings

Does every area have phone app cheats? There are a couple personalities under several handles in my area that have gotten gold and filled the leaderboard of lagging neighboring locations by using the phone app . I guesss I should be thankful they are so dumb they don't get gold everytime with the 15-30 second advantage.

Yep. Many locations are cracking the top 20 in premium games that couldn't normally break an egg. Yet most remain blissfully unaware this is happening.

I could name locations, but the blissful wouldn't believe me anyway.

BO

I wish they would put the range limit back on the wifi of 1/4 mile to solve the problem.

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Tiffany

Occassional Haunt - Jax Tavern, Forest Park, OH

And the answer is......4?? 42....the answer to life, the universe and everything

Yes, in the Morgantown area.

And it is only going to get worse!

Slight detour of topic if I may. Having recently gotten an Android phone I searched for this app and yrt despite the BT screen telling me to search for Buzztime, no matching apps were found when I did; tried BT, other variants - nada. Can find oodles of trivia apps, but not BTs. Radio and news apps no problem - found those. Known problem? My phone? Me (you'd think I coukld type "Buzztime" into a search window though....)?

Oh BTW not intending to cheat (doubt I could anyway).

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Please forgive any strange typos or grammar errors. I am typically using voice recognition software to enter text, and sometimes editing works differently from how I expect.

I think I found mine by searching for "Buzztime Playmaker" on the Marketplace.

-- RWM

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

I think you mean "searching", got to watch that spelling:)

Also, "found", not "fund".

Not that I care. I have to decipher creative spelling all day long.

I don't know about the Android version, but typing "Mobile Playmaker" into the Apple App Store brings it up for me.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

Hey he was just being nice and going along with my own typos. Coukld...yrt....

And nope - none of the above variants find anything either...

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Please forgive any strange typos or grammar errors. I am typically using voice recognition software to enter text, and sometimes editing works differently from how I expect.

Well, I do care. That's why I corrected my post. It's not the end of the world if and when I goof up, but I do try not to.

I probably should search for an Android spellchecker. Anyone know of any that can be recommended?

-- RWM

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

Just tried it again. Clicked "Applications", then "Market". Did search for "Buzztime" and only one app showed up - the "Mobile Playmaker" that I had previously installed. But I have a tablet, not an actual phone, so my results may vary from Rhino's.

-- RWM

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to these new hand-held computers and phones. Can someone explain how this cheat works? Is it preventable? Will it potentially affect the upcoming Smartest Bar competition? Thanks, in advance!

You are sitting in a bar, playing BT. You use the phone app for bars around you that also have BT, but are either running a little faster or slower (20-30 seconds).

Thus, you are seeing the correct answer at one site before the q comes up at the other site. Simply push the correct answer at the slower site...you should have a perfect game.

And YES, the cheat will affect the Smartest Bar contest, and/or any game being played.

When I first acquired my IPhone, I tested that a couple of times, but never played the complete game. I could have racked up a ton of golds, but chose not to. There is a significant lag between some sites.

Now I usually use the IPhone to check BT's questions and answers on the internet.

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Middle age is when a broad mind and a slim waist exchange places.

Eh, SIX is one of the most difficult premium games to abuse this cheat. If you look at the locations that occasionally/frequently use the iPhone hack, they never scratch the top 10 in Six and SIQ simply because of game design.

The hack sites do well in games with final questions such as SD, SL, and PB. They can also do well in STC because they will ace the final round. Since SD three rounds that aren't times, it helps.

It's kind of funny to watch the Tuesday night scores. Just find a site that cracks the top 50 in SD and see how they do in the other specialty games, especially if all the handles are there. I've seen locations that can't garner half the points in BB, then turn around in SD and finish top 20 with the exact same handles. And then suck in Speed. If you research those handles they rarely take a negative on Final Tragedy.

BO

Thanks, all. Can't Buzztime prevent this by limiting the effective radius for the phone apps? I mean, I guess that wouldn't help if there are bars right next to or across the street from each other, but isn't it possible?

I'm probalby wrong, but I think you are confusing using the Iphone to find answers, compared to using a phone to find a site nearby that is lagging and just punching in the right answer at the slower site.

If the site playing in the contest is a little slower on the feed than one close by, I have no doubt that some people would go to the faster site and send the answers to the competing site.

But I'm an optimist!

We know that BT doesn't really care who wins this contest, as long as the right demographic group is playing. By cutting the app radius, they might loose some twentysomethings.

And it can also add to the number of people playing, maybe upping what BT can charge for advertising.

BT doesn't care about Borging, so why should this cheat really bother them?

Just some thoughts.

Borging is not cheating. Using the lag gambit is manipulation of the system and most certainly is cheating. BT opened up this can of worms, if they don't close it, it proves their ignorance of the situation.

BO

EGADS!!!

I completely forgot your stance on Borging. My apologies.

But we can agree that the phone lag is definitely cheating.

Alright BO for those of us who don't follow SD scores who are the offending hack bars? Or at least the cities they hail from if you don't want to name names?

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BUD - Stained Glass Pub Silver Spring MD
OC BUD - Grotto Pizza DE near Ocean City MD

LET'S GO ....Orioles and the 9 and 5!!

No worries. I was just defining both by the rules BT has laid down.

BO

People playing the system with the phone app aren't at the bar where their score is reported. It's frustrating playing against somebody logged in where you are and the other person is sitting at another location getting a 20 second advantage. These people seem to take great pride in topping leader boards at locations where they aren't playing. It's sad Buzztime seems to have forgotten the integrity of the game. Ten years ago bars were filled on Sunday and Monday nights with QB1 players until people found out how a few bars were cheating and now it's hard to find a bar in this area that has QB1 programmed.

Below is the game history of a player. The three bars listed are 20-30 minutes apart. It puzzles me how this person could get to all three locations so quickly and it makes me wonder if they were sitting at a fourth.

Playback May 28, 2011, 6:00 pm d Dooleys 026 Grill Fenton, MO 67,245 1st of 1 13th of 5996

Tuned In May 28, 2011, 5:45 pm Buffalo Wild Wings Kirkwood Saint Louis, MO 10,000 1st of 7 1st of 5091

Buzztime Trivia May 28, 2011, 5:30 pm Buffalo Wild Wings Kirkwood Saint Louis, MO 6,146 1st of 6 1033rd of 4978

Buzztime Trivia May 28, 2011, 4:45 pm Indigo Joes Wildwood Wildwood, MO 1,000 5th of 6 3915th of 4568

If you notice this going on, you could always reboot the server half way through the game. That might deter them from cheating through your location.

For a long-term fix, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to have all the servers synchronize their times every day with the NIST, or similar Internet Time Server. That way all the questions should be simultaneous at all sites, unless there's some other reason for time randomness within the system.