Quiz machine
A quiz machine is a type of slot machine in which the player must answer questions in addition to, or instead of, matching symbols. See also itbox. They are common in UK pubs, where they are often based on board games or game shows. In the UK these are "technically" termed "Skill with prizes" (SWP) as opposed to normal slot machines which are termed "Amusement with prizes" (AWP).
In the UK the history of the quiz machine can be divided into three phases. In the first phase (1980s to 1995) the machines were dedicated to a single game, often based on a TV show, with the maximum prize being £5 for a 50p stake.
Between 1995 and 1999 the number of formats expanded greatly and most public houses hosted a unit.
From 1999 to the present day the trend has been to develop the 'multi-quiz machine', a single unit in which a wide range of games is available. Many machines now offer in excess of thirty games and the earlier six-game multi-quizzes have become obsolete.
A source of great frustration for quiz machine players is the programming of anti-payout scripts within the machine code. Thus in the Cluedo game, for example, the machine will ensure that the player never throws the requisite number on the automated (fixed) die. This legally dubious practice has proliferated to counter the success of professional quiz machine players who are adept at learning the majority of questions in the bank. Nonetheless, good players can gain a slight advantage over the machine using this method until a new question module is installed.
An arcane patois is associated with the playing of quiz machines. A selected glossary could be: 'noog' (pound coin); 'armoury' (bonus features prolonging the game in the event of not knowing the answer); 'to whack' (to invest a noog in a quiz game); 'mofo' (member of a team of players who presses the wrong answer before thinking about the question properly); 'to village' (to lose a jackpot through mofo behaviour); 'to stainer' (to win a jackpot in a business like fashion); 'gag' (a machine that is gag is loaded with noogs that it wishes to pay out to a quizocrat). When older machines (pre-2000) awarded a win the unit would shudder as it spewed the coins out. This action and its associated sound is known as 'noogal chuggage'.
Well received quiz games such as 'Big Break', 'Guinness Book of Records' and 'London Underground', have been taken out of circulation in favour of other games like 'Matrix', 'Eyes Down', 'Goldenballs', 'Nail the Snail' and 'Total Film Quiz'.
There is currently a trend towards the hosting of non-quiz games alongside traditional quiz favourites. Such games include Word Up, Sum Up, Bookworm and Spot The Difference.