Back in mid-to-late 90s I was addicted to an online trivia game called Cosmo's Conundrum. It was a Java applet that had a large core of players, chat capabilities and cash prizes. The game went through some iterations and the parent company eventually folded, but many of the players stayed in touch, attempted migrations to different trivia platforms, and are still connected via Facebook. Many friendships and marriages came out of this simple game.
I've always wanted to rebuild it, but never quite had the time for it. Was even able to snag the original domain name years later, but even that went nowhere. In a few years my own kids will be the same age I was when I played it, it is an odd thought.
"It is not hyperbole to suggest that it changed my life. Even today, writing in 2015, over a decade after this game vanished forever, it's still a huge part of my life. I met my wife through it. I made many lifelong friends there. I've been to Cosmonaut weddings and visited Cosmonaut graves. I've met a couple of hundred players in person. It still resonates as a community today."
Ten-question trivia rounds separated by ten-minute breaks. I think that the chat combined with the breaks was the secret sauce - short enough to convince yourself to stick around, long enough to have meaningful conversations with fellow players. Early on a culture of sharing answers quickly developed. Some elements of randomness were thrown in, like the scoreboard getting scrambled so you wouldn't know who's winning, etc. It wasn't much TBH, but an opportunity to meet interesting people from all walks of life.
Nothing that would stand out these days, but back in '97 the web felt a lot more individualistic/solitary and this game had the social aspect at the forefront. There were obviously other chat apps (IRC/ICQ), but this one did a good job of collecting like-minded people from across the world in one place in large enough numbers to keep us engaged. Right place at the right time, I suppose. We came for the money prizes, but stayed for the people.
I've always wanted to rebuild it, but never quite had the time for it. Was even able to snag the original domain name years later, but even that went nowhere. In a few years my own kids will be the same age I was when I played it, it is an odd thought.