On Friday, March 25, Rowan After Hours held ThinkFast Game Show Night, a thrilling event inspired by various popular game shows such as “Jeopardy!,” “Minute to Win It” and “Family Feud.” Guests competed either alone or in teams against other contestants and played through several different types of question-and-answer games, all of which required fast thinking and even faster reflexes to buzz in the correct answers.  

Game topics ranged from standard, general-knowledge trivia to pop culture and sports etiquette, and from simple brain-teasers to complex logic puzzles. These games were made all the more exhilarating by the mere seconds allotted to answer each one. 

Unlike most game shows, where full points are awarded to whoever picks the correct answer first and the other contestants lose the round, ThinkFast is played with a unique timing system that makes each round anyone’s game. 

When the round begins, the question and all available answers appear on the screen. As the timer ticks down, incorrect answers are removed one-by-one, until only the correct answer remains. At any point before the timer hits zero, a player or team can change their answer to potentially the correct one. However, as the timer ticks down, so too does the number of points available. This allows a potentially struggling team to gain a sudden lead over the others and ensures someone with a substantial lead can’t ever rest too easily, even if they’re far ahead.  

To keep things even more exciting and even less predictable, every few rounds a group of team representatives would compete in physical challenges, such as dancing or joke-telling, for a next-round advantage or a boost in points. Of course, these were the highlight of the night, regardless of their effect on the game.  

At the end of the night, after a buzzer-beating, nail-biting three hours of play, the very aptly named Team Trophies took home bragging rights and a cash prize of $250. Team Trophies had maintained a substantial lead through the first half of the game, only to lose steam in the middle, where they entered a brutal neck-and-neck struggle with their house rivals, the Bats. But in the end, they came in from behind and swiped the victory.  

Time will tell if another ThinkFast Game Show arrives on campus next semester and if the trophies will make another appearance to keep their title. One thing is for certain, if it does come back, it’s anyone’s game. 

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