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I Built a Trivia Game You Play From the Live Chat

By Zonk 2 min read

Summary

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the days when I ran a bulletin board system out of my bedroom back in 1992. That was a wild time—multiple phone lines, modems, subscribers dialing in from all over—and one night when I installed a trivia game called Farwest Trivia, something just clicked. It became this incredible community hub where people would log in not just to play, but to be part of something together.

That feeling stuck with me all these years, so I decided to build it again for the modern age. I fired up the old BBS on MajorBBS (Galacticom) to show you what that experience was actually like, and then I showed off the live stream trivia app I’ve been working on. The concept is simple but powerful: your YouTube chat becomes the chat room, and everyone watching becomes a player. It’s still a work in progress—right now the demo runs eight questions with some pretty quick bot opponents—but it’s functional and honestly, I’m excited about where it’s going.

What I really want to capture here is that community magic from the BBS days. I’m imagining trivia nights where people show up because their friends are showing up, themed rounds, real scores that matter, and that sense of belonging to something. It’s not just about the game—it’s about bringing people together around something fun and shared.

Key Points

  • I ran a multi-line BBS out of my bedroom in 1992, and installing Farwest Trivia that night was a game-changer for the community
  • I revived the old BBS on MajorBBS to show what those days actually looked like—a nostalgic walk down memory lane
  • I’ve built a live stream trivia app that turns your YouTube chat into a playable trivia game where viewers compete in real time
  • The app is still in development with an eight-question demo and AI bot opponents, but it’s working and ready to show off
  • My real goal here is recreating that special community vibe from the BBS era—getting people to show up and play together because it matters to them

Note: This post was generated from the video title and description as no transcript was available.

This post was automatically generated from my YouTube video. Watch above or view directly on YouTube.

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