MusiQuest

How to play

MusiQuest is a music quiz about release years. A song plays, and you place it on a timeline – before or after the tracks already on it. Whoever reaches enough points first wins.

What you need

  • One device for the host – laptop, tablet or phone, as long as it has a screen and speakers. The music plays through it.
  • One smartphone per player. Nothing else: no app, no account, no sign-up.
  • Only the host needs Spotify – and not even that is a must. Without signing in, the player plays 30-second previews, and that’s enough for a whole game. Full songs play when the host plays on a laptop and is signed in to Spotify Premium in the browser there.

For the host

  1. Open the page. Load MusiQuest on the device the music should play through and choose “Create a game”.
  2. Allow Spotify. The songs come from an embedded Spotify player. It is only loaded once you agree – before that, no request goes to Spotify.
  3. Pick a playlist. The choice comes from the curated lists. The wider the spread of years, the better the game.
  4. Set up the game. Points, winning score, stress mode, teaser mode and the bonus questions – all optional, the defaults work fine for a first round.
  5. Show the QR code. After “Open room”, players scan it and they’re in. The room code and the link are shown next to it.
  6. Play. “Start first round”, wait until everyone has submitted, “Reveal”, then “Next song”. You set the pace.
  7. Finish. When someone reaches the winning score, you show the final standings. “Close room” ends the game at any time. If several players are level at the top, they share the win.

For players

  1. Join. Scan the QR code with your camera, open the link or enter the room code on the start page.
  2. Enter your name. It will appear on the leaderboard – so pick one everyone can recognise.
  3. Listen. The title and artist are not revealed. Just the music.
  4. Place the song. Your phone shows your timeline. Slide the marker to where you think the song belongs – between two years, before them or after them.
  5. Bonus questions, if you like. Up to two questions – depending on the settings about artist, song title, album or genre – earn extra points; but a wrong guess costs points too. Leaving them blank is always allowed and costs nothing.
  6. Confirm. Your answer is then locked in. If stress mode is on, the clock now starts for everyone else.
  7. See the result. The year, title and artist are revealed, points are awarded, and a correctly placed song stays on your timeline.

Points

The defaults. The host can change any number before the game starts.

ForPoints
Song placed correctly+1
Exact release year (instead of placed correctly)+3
Bonus question 1 right / wrong (default: artist)+1 / −1
Bonus question 2 right / wrong (default: song title)+1 / −1
Fastest guess: placed correctly / wrongly (stress mode)+1 / −1
Points to win10

A wrong placement usually costs nothing – the song just doesn’t go onto your timeline. You lose points for wrongly answered bonus questions and, in stress mode, for a wrong first answer.

Two extra modes

  • Stress mode. As soon as the first answer is in, a clock starts for everyone else – 10 seconds by default. After that, no more answers are accepted. Whoever submits first and places the song correctly earns points for the fastest guess. Whoever submits first and places it wrongly loses points.
  • Teaser mode. Each song only plays for a fixed time, 30 seconds by default. Makes the round faster and harder. Answers are still accepted afterwards.

Tips

  • Listen to the sound, not just the song: reverb, drums and production often give away the decade more clearly than the melody.
  • You don’t need to know the year. It’s enough to know whether the song is older or newer than the ones already on your timeline.
  • Careful with cover versions and re-releases – what counts is the year of the recording that is playing.
  • Hold back on the bonus questions: a wrong guess costs exactly as much as a right one earns.

Full songs instead of previews

Without signing in, 30-second previews play, and that’s enough for a whole game. Full songs are only available when the host plays on a laptop and is signed in to Spotify Premium in the browser there.

  1. Play on a laptop. Open MusiQuest in Chrome or Edge – not in a private window.
  2. Sign in to Spotify. Sign in to Spotify with a Premium account in this browser, for example via “Log in to Spotify” while creating the game.
  3. Reload the page. When you pick the playlist, MusiQuest checks whether full songs play and shows the result.

With a tablet or phone as the host, it stays with previews, even with Spotify Premium. That’s down to Spotify, not the game and not your account.

Music through speakers or a receiver

The sound comes from the host’s device. Over Wi-Fi you can send it to a receiver, a sound system or a TV – you set this up on the device, not in MusiQuest. Bluetooth works as usual through the Bluetooth settings.

iPhone and iPad: AirPlay

  1. Open Control Center: swipe down from the top right corner.
  2. In the music tile, tap the AirPlay icon (circles with a triangle).
  3. Choose your receiver – such as Apple TV, HomePod, Sonos or an AirPlay-enabled AV receiver.

Android: Google Cast

  • TV or receiver with Chromecast: Open Quick Settings, tap “Screen cast” or “Cast” – on Samsung “Smart View” – and choose the device. Sound and picture then play on the TV, and everyone can see the QR code in large.
  • Speakers only, such as Nest: Open the Google Home app, tap the speaker and choose “Cast audio”.
  • AirPlay isn’t available on Android. For a receiver that only supports AirPlay, Bluetooth remains the option.

Menu names vary slightly depending on manufacturer and version.