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The Secret to Winning HQ Trivia, According to Host Scott Rogowsky

By:
Rob Wile
3 min read
Scott Rogowsky visits SiriusXM Studios on January 25, 2018 in New York City. - Santiago Felipe—Getty Images
Scott Rogowsky visits SiriusXM Studios on January 25, 2018 in New York City. Santiago Felipe—Getty Images

There are very few people who know HQ Trivia better than the game's star host himself, Scott Rogowsky.

So it seems like a good idea to pay attention to what he says when asked ab0ut the best way to win the notoriously tricky quiz.

In fact, his strategy is one that HQ itself officially encourages: playing with others. But not just any old friend.

In an interview with Money, Rogowsky says you have to go one step further. The key to winning, he says, is to play with a combination of old and young people around you—just as former CBS News anchor Dan Rather did when he won the jackpot on his very first try.

"Dan Rather won HQ playing with his daughter and his grandson, Martin. And that illustrates the key element of HQ," Rogowsky said. "We ask questions about current hip-hop as well as 1920s presidencies and stock market crashes. There’s definitely a range of topics and it helps to have people who have lived throughout history to give you experience."

Rogowsky continued:

"You have a man in his 80s with his daughter, who is probably in her 50s, and then the grandson who is 18 or 19 at college ... Dan Rather was answering questions about the Vietnam War and his grandson was answering questions about Kendrick Lamar. Having that triplicate attack—multigeneration family—I think that is the best way to win HQ," Rogowsky said.

And Rather agrees. In a Facebook post, the journalist explained his winning strategy, and what playing meant to him:

"... it wasn't about the prize. It was about the process. We had worked together and across three generations, we just happened to have the right mix for this one edition of this one game," he wrote.

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Rather says they won about $30—a lot more than most winners end up taking home.

Watch the interview with HQ host Scott Rogowsky above.

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