Intellectual and entertaining shows, held in the form of a quiz in a cafe or bar, and therefore called pub quizzes, first appeared in the UK several decades ago and eventually gained immense popularity around the world. This type of recreation reached Mogilev on March 15, 2015, when the first game under the MozgoBoynia brand was organized. Then the game was attended by 21 teams with a total of about 130 people. Now it is played by about 40 teams and more than 200 players. In order to acquaint our readers with this game in more detail, we penetrated the Brain Slaughter and found out all its secrets.

Where to start and how to register a team to participate in the game

First of all, you should collect intelligence by visiting the group " Brainstorm in Mogilev". In it, you can not only see some general information, rules and photos from past games, but also find out when and at what time the next game will be. Usually new games are announced a few days before registration, and the registration itself is announced a couple of days before the game.

On the appointed day, as a rule, at exactly noon, a post from the organizers appears, announcing the start of registration.

The first minutes are reminiscent of real cowboy duels. The fastest, dexterous, and most importantly, responsible representatives of the teams leave applications for participation in the game. So within a few minutes, the main part of the teams already appears on the wall, the rest are pulled up a little later. Logically, such efficiency is justified, because the number of seats in the restaurant is limited, but is it really possible to fly with the game if you do not have time to register before the rest? This question was asked by our special agent James Mozgobond to the organizer of the game in Mogilev - Alexey Trunov. The information received was:

Oh sure. If the number of registration teams exceeds the number of tables in the institution, then the teams that were the last ones fall into the reserve. Although we usually try to accommodate everyone.

Therefore, it is better not to miss the registration time. In the application for participation, the name of the team and the number of players must be indicated.

As for the names of the teams, it becomes clear where all the Mogilev creativity has gone.

However, you can understand the logic of the names of some teams from a survey that was recently conducted in the game group. Almost all stories are original, and some are imbued with the spirit of mystical coincidences.

Having come up with the name of the team and registered it for participation, it remains to wait for the game itself.

What is our life? A game!

A phrase from Herman's aria from the opera The Queen of Spades is associated by many of us with the intellectual television game What? Where? When?" For Brainstorm, the equally well-known catchphrase would be more likely to fit: “Bread and circuses!” Moreover, you can actively participate in the spectacles yourself, and bread and other snacks with drinks can be ordered at the venue of the game - in the Gabrovo restaurant. Despite the large number of participants (about 200 people), our orders were processed quite quickly or we were just lucky. However, it is obvious that people come to Brain Slaughter not so much to eat as to play - so let's consider the game itself. First of all, here are the rules of the game, which are presented by the organizers in the group with some of our comments.

There are seven rounds of seven questions in the game. Questions of 1-6 rounds are shown on the screen for about a minute, read out by the moderator. Then quickly read again all the questions in a row. A countdown of 100 seconds starts, after which the answer sheet is handed over.

Rounds 1, 2, 4 and 6 are textual (guess a term, event, phenomenon, process, translate something from other languages, continue a quote, complete a fact, guess what it is about based on several facts, etc.).

It should be added here that the first round is a warm-up of fairly simple questions, although there are also those that need a good brainstorming.

The second round is news. It presents questions relating to recent interesting events, discoveries, absurdities.

The fourth and sixth rounds contain questions from various areas. Some of them can be guessed at the expense of erudition, if some facts are already known, another can be taken at the expense of logic, the rest you can simply try to guess.

Tour 3 - musical (from the sounding fragment you need to guess the performer, composer, and sometimes the author of the words or the event to which the composition was dedicated).

A very difficult tour, since the compositions are presented from a variety of genres and eras. Pop and rock hits from the 90s and the present, retro compositions from the mid-20th century, classics, songs from movies and much more. Often there are Belarusian rock and folk performers.

Round 5 - pictures (you need to guess what or who is depicted, where the frame is from, what is advertised, etc.).

Here we mainly need erudition and observation. For example, you need to guess a movie from a given frame, a title and an author from a fragment of a picture, a brand name from an advertisement, and so on. However, in some matters, the logic in this round can also help.

Try to guess who is in this photo? (1 minute)

A characteristic mole on the cheek helps to determine that this is none other than Robert De Niro.

Round 7 - blitz. 7 simple and short questions of various types and genres appear on the screen for only 15 seconds and are read out. Questions do not remain on the screen and are not repeated. Another 50 seconds are given for thinking and writing on a piece of paper. The team decides for itself what value each answer of the round will have: a mark opposite the answer means its evaluation according to the +2/-2 system (correct/incorrect), and the absence of it means the traditional evaluation (1/0). Thus, the maximum in Blitz is +14 points, the minimum is -14.

The most insidious of all tours. Even if you were confidently leading by a good margin throughout the game, the seventh round can change everything drastically. But his deceit is manifested not only in this. The questions of this round, as a rule, are for erudition, but they are very tricky and have many tricks. It is sometimes very difficult to notice these dirty tricks after a two-hour brainstorming session, and even in 15 seconds. On the other hand, this is what brings some element of intrigue into the game.

An example of the question of the 7th round: the flag of which country is presented below? (15 seconds)

That's what we thought Ireland was. They even ticked the box. But this is not Ireland, but the real Côte d'Ivoire! But if you guessed it - well done!

If we talk about the general quality of the questions, then in our subjective opinion they are quite consistent with a similar format of games. There are too easy questions, and forgetting that "everything and our life is simple" - you start looking for some more sophisticated, original, but fundamentally wrong answers. There are also very difficult ones that you just need to know, but basically the game presents questions that you can think of logically. However, there are also real masterpieces, the beauty of which you appreciate, even if you gave the wrong answer.

Determination of places

In the hall, places for teams are determined by the organizers based on the number of participants in a particular team, so that everyone can play comfortably. At the entrance to the hall, you will be prompted where the table of your team is located. In the standings, the places are determined based on the points scored. If they match, then the higher position is given to the team that gave the most correct answers in the previous round. If the points matched in it, the tour that was before and so on looks.

controversial issues

If the team believes that it gave the correct answer, but it was not fairly counted, it is possible to apply in writing to the organizers after the 3rd and 6th rounds with a request to consider the claim. Although it should be noted that, unlike other intellectual games, MozgoBoyne is very loyal to the wording of the answers and they can be counted, even if they are indicated not quite correctly, but they correspond to the logic of the question. It should also be noted that there were cases when the team turned to the organizers with a request not to count the answer. Such actions in the spirit of "Fair Play" do honor to the team and improve the quality of the game.

Prizes and gifts

Unlike the banal prizes of some "Superloto" in the form of a three-room apartment or an unneeded SUV, MozgoBoyna offers something more valuable:

Emotions are the main prize and absolutely everyone gets it. This is what we strive for, and the players themselves. The team that answers more questions than the others also gets a big champagne as a cup) Sometimes there are incentive prizes, gifts for everyone, souvenirs.

Indeed, at the last game, additional gifts in the form of delicious (for sure) cakes went to the teams that took the top three places in the poll on the history of names. All the other participants were in for a surprise in the form of a live performance of the group Point 6 Band in between rounds. And at the previous game, we wrote our own wishes on postcards, which the organizers promised to send as a surprise after an indefinite time.

The professor is a burdock, but the equipment is with him

Since the game has a competitive component, the issue of honesty is one of the most relevant. It's no secret that if you wish, many questions can be googled, and compositions can be determined using the Shazam application. Therefore, we decided to use the services of Mozgobond again, asking the organizers the following question: “is there any control over the observance of fair play and what severe punishment awaits insidious cheaters?”

First of all we are going to have a good time. This is not a competition, not a championship, but a popular game that people like, and they come to us for emotions. No matter where you end up, the goal is to meet friends and spend time in pleasant conversation. To google and shazam is to ruin the evening for which you paid money, to give up the drive. Lost all sense and intrigue. Such people are not even very liked in their own teams, they set everyone up at once.

Therefore, we will not climb into everyone’s phone, there are different situations in which you need to answer an SMS or a call. But constantly someone is in the hall and makes sure that people do not openly use gadgets. This can be seen when someone is hiding or the blue screen of Shazam is on. There are such cases in almost every game, then we offer to play honestly, and if they come across a second time, then we take the answer sheet or take off a few points.

Champions League

There are legends that there is some mysterious Brainstorm Champions League, in which the winners of previous games play. Unfortunately, we cannot yet cover our own experience of being at such a tournament due to a number of some ridiculous formalities;) Therefore, we present the data that we managed to find out from reliable sources.

We divide the year into two seasons. According to their results, the final game is held, in which the teams that took first place at least once take part.

There are additional indicators. It happens that the team took second place many times, and many Champions League participants themselves ask to give these guys a chance. The more participants in the final, the more interesting it is for everyone to fight for victory and the sweeter it is. The Champions League is the final game of the season, its closing, so we always prepare something special for this game, and the winner gets a real cup!

Out of the game

Hello! On the nose of the New Year, and today I am writing an unusual review: it is not about Christmas decorations and not about products for your table. It is about the team intellectual and entertaining game MozgoBoinya, which is gaining popularity in the cities of Russia!

Mozgoboynya - a pub quiz (from the English pub quiz - a quiz in a bar) is a project founded in Belarus in 2005 and gradually moved by franchise to the regions of Russia and other countries - Ukraine, Poland, USA, Canada, Germany, Finland and others

Someone compares the game with "What? Where? When?" for ordinary people. But:

According to Pavel Sverdlov, the owner of the Crystal Owl of the Ukrainian version of “What? Where? When?", "Brain Slaughter" is a low-level game due to its lack of requirements for the quality of questions

Game format

This is a team competition that you need to register for online on a specific day. As a rule, the excitement is big, not all teams get into the tour, even though they allow 16-17 teams (8 people each) at a time! For the first time, our team "overslept" the registration, and I was called to another team. The city is small, most of the participants know each other more or less closely or in absentia, so it was, in general, easy to get to where there was a free place.

For the second time, the excitement did not subside, again 17 teams participated, but we managed to register with our line-up!

The game was held in a karaoke club with a large number of tables and screens. I am sure that the premises must necessarily meet the franchise requirements, because. this game has many clear rules, and playing it somewhere of your choice simply will not work. For example, games are held on weekdays, all after work, so they actively order food and drinks. So no kitchen.

Cost of participation

The game premiered in the city was free, but then you will have to pay 300 rubles for participation. Money is not big, for 2 hours of entertainment. Payment is requested to be made in one of the breaks between rounds of the game. It's a smart move in my opinion. You do not pay at the entrance (as if you enter for free) and do not look for someone to pay here at the end of the game.

Game progress

There are a total of 7 short 15-minute rounds in the game, each with 7 questions of varying severity. The host of the evening voices questions from the stage. As a rule, this is a guest local showman.

Tours 1, 4, 6 - these are text questions in which you need to guess anything you like from the description - a historical event, a person, a process, a phenomenon. Sometimes you have to translate into another language. In general, the questions are not easy. 40 seconds are given to think over each answer, then the question is replaced. But after that you will repeat all the questions and will be given 100 seconds to fill out the card. After that, the card must be quickly handed over to the assistants who are present in the hall.

Tour 2 dedicated to current events and news that happened just the other day. Probably my favorite tour, because. I really like to read news feeds, and I also regularly study all sorts of star digests and know what color Kim Kardashian's hair is today or who undertook to shoot the Lord of the Rings series. Yes, yes, there may be such questions.

For example, when a photo of the Moon with a flat shadow on it was shown on the screen with a request to comment on what kind of news it was about, I immediately remembered the theory of a flat Earth that had recently become noisy - and guessed it!

Tour 3 entirely musical. You will be asked to name the performer of the song excerpt, musical group, opera or ballet. Someone who is well known (Christina Aguilera) or not quite (Ella Fitzgerald) can get caught.

Tour 5 are pictures. Incomprehensible objects that need to be named, frames from films and cartoons, famous personalities in childhood, someone's eyes turned upside down.

Tour 7- blitz. Quick questions without repetition and 50 seconds to think.

One point is awarded for each correct answer, and a subtotal is calculated in the middle of the game to fuel the excitement among the teams. If you are behind, then the last round is your chance, because. the questions there are easy, and if you are sure of your answer, you can check the box next to it. Then for each correct answer you will get 2 points, and if you make a mistake, you will lose 2. That is, such is the casino with doubling bets. You can take a chance and fly by, or you can break out of the middle into the top three and even win!

By the way, I’ll say for myself that during the game there is almost no desire to cheat and look at the phone. I would like to test myself.

Brain Slaughter questions

The mechanism for developing questions is, I think, the secret of the company. But, nevertheless, in the search engines you can fill in the query "Brain Slaughter Questions" and see many examples from those that have already been heard. By the way, among them I found the same ones that were asked to us. So not every game is unique. I also have a few examples of questions from different Brainstorm tours for you.

Atmosphere of the game

Probably, this is the main thing for which the audience comes to the club. Victory is not the main thing here, the main thing is the mood, the spirit of excitement and competition, as well as the entertaining moment of the game. After all, the entertainer is trying with might and main, entertaining the audience with his jokes and performances. Just to reduce the importance of victory and show that the main thing in the Mozgoboyne is the process of the game itself, the organizers give the winners symbolic prizes - champagne. By the way, champagne can also be obtained for completing the tasks of the presenter. for example, for the hottest dances during a musical tour or for the best New Year's costumes. Everyone is trying their best :)

I think that the interest in the Mozgoboyne among the townspeople can be maintained for a long time by inventing different formats (picnic, corporate party, Valentine's Day, costumed carnival, birthday, etc.).

Two hours are very busy and fun. As a rule, games are accompanied by a professional photographer who will provide you with a decent team photo shoot. There will be something to consider the next day after the game. Well, a giant bottle of champagne for the winners every time becomes the common property of our friends. Walk, as they say, everything!

The game is really addictive, and people, who at first are not very inspired by the idea of ​​thinking about something and deciding something, after the first round turn into the most heatedly discussing participants (I’m talking about myself. I definitely recommend visiting the Brain Slaughter!

“People are ready to pay money for food, entertainment and sex. We cannot offer sex. The food is there as well. The entertainment remains. Take care of people and they will make you rich." The creators of the most popular Minsk pub quiz - "Brain Boins" - told KYKY how to make money on people who like to rack their brains.

The idea of ​​pub quizzes was born in England in the late 1970s. Teams gather in the relaxed atmosphere of the bar, drink beer and answer simple and fun questions. The winner receives a prize - usually rather symbolic. Everything is simple, and, as often happens with simple things, brilliant: players can feel the excitement of the fight and at the same time not spoil their mood with a bad result.

The opinion of Pavel Sverdlov, the owner of the Crystal Owl of the Ukrainian TV club “What? Where? When?"

“The brain slaughterhouse is an awl. I go there because my friends are calling me. Questions - slag, dummies from the Internet, and even from sports games. There was a picture at the last game - people's faces were covered, you had to guess who it was. And these were Timati and Kobzon. How to take it? Know all the photos of Timati or all of Kobzon's friends? Very, damn, useful knowledge.
Another picture - a photo of Berlin from an airplane, the western and eastern ones glow with different lights. Well, this is a boyanishche! At the same time, many questions are formulated in such a way that it is possible to come up with three or ten equally probable answers ... In a CHG, for example, a question must contain information that unambiguously leads to the correct answer, otherwise it is not a question. And in Mozgobojna there are no quality requirements for questions, so there is no quality ... I think that for the money that the authors of Mozgobojny collect, one could approach the package much more professionally and come up with something really witty. But why, if the people and so hawala?
I have a huge respect for the authors of the Melotrek project - that's who really invests a lot of time and effort in preparation and 100% works out the money that participants pay for the game!

Pub quizzes are very popular in America and Europe - in the UK alone, more than 20,000 games take place every week. Intellectual fun came to Belarus only a few years ago, but the public fell in love very quickly: bar quizzes are held in Minsk almost every week, their formats are becoming more diverse, dozens of teams gather for games. The pioneer of the genre in the Republic of Belarus was "Brain Slaughter". For three years, the game of Sasha Khanin and Katya Maksimova has gathered a whole army of players, and not only in Minsk - “Brainstorm” is regularly held in different cities of Belarus, and has recently spread beyond the borders of the country. Where there are many players, there is a lot of money. The organizers of the Belarusian pub quiz told KYKY how fun for friends has become a profitable business.

Where did pub quizzes come from?

Sasha Khanin and Katya Maksimova

Sasha: We have been living in Lithuania for quite a long time, and there we played several similar projects ourselves. There is quite a lot of competition among Lithuanian pub quizzes: when MozgoBoynia was launched in Minsk three years ago, there were already 10-15 different small projects in Vilnius. One of the games was made by our friend, and he offered us a crazy idea for us at that time - to hold a game in Minsk.

Katia: We laughed at once, but after a few months we decided. We translated a couple of packages of questions from Lithuanian into Russian - and started playing.

Was your pub quiz the first in Minsk?

Sasha: To be honest, I have not studied the history of pub quizzes in Belarus - but it seems that there was nothing like this before us.

Katia: Perhaps they had their own closed parties. In Minsk, the sports movement “What? Where? When?”, many teams play here. The ChGK members probably gathered in a more informal atmosphere and played something similar. But we have not seen such a format.

Who came to your first games?

Katia: For the first game, we gathered 60 people - all friends and relatives. This was one of the reasons for launching the game: we spent most of the time in Vilnius, we saw our Minsk friends much less often than we would like - the game allowed us to change that. Then word of mouth worked. It started with 10 teams, and now almost two and a half hundred teams are playing with us, and with each next game they are all added.

When did you get your first paycheck?

Sasha: In the first year there was no income at all, everything went to zero. After all, our friends played with us - and we gave them gifts, bought tangerines for the new year. We just tried to create a friendly atmosphere: to make people interested, to be able to laugh. Everything grew gradually: 60 people, 70, 80 ... If someone had said 3 years ago that I would host events for 400 people 6 times a month, I would probably twist my finger at my temple. I'm not exactly a very shy person with no public speaking experience - but 400 people!

Katia: We never counted money, we initially had a different motivation. When you graduate from university, you start working - you understand that memory slows down, the brain starts to grow dull. What to do? Read books. And in order to read more, you need something to push, motivate you.

Sasha: At first we wanted to solve Scanavi's problems, but we didn't find a textbook.

Katia: So we decided to do something that would make people's brains move, the gears would work. That is, initially we did everything for ourselves - and until recently we did not even notice how much we expanded.

Sasha: What people are willing to pay money for is food, entertainment and sex. We cannot offer sex - except that in questions it constantly slips. We have food. The entertainment remains. Take care of people and they will make you rich. Now everyone who wants to play Brain Slaughter does not fit in one bar, and the games take place for several days in a row, at different venues.

Katia: This is a precedent decision. A lot of teams have gathered - what to do? We decided to play in two days, and then in three. “Brain Slaughter” is being developed not so much by us as by people: many players have gathered - we are looking for a large room, the people wanted a cultural component - we organize musical breaks. People wanted to hold "Brainstorm" in other cities - we opened a franchise.

Sasha: At first there was a dilemma: ask the same questions on the second day - or make a new game. Due to natural laziness, they leaned towards the first option. After all, we initially positioned the game as leisure, entertainment, and not a sport. It seems that teams can merge the correct answers - but who needs it? Why fight for a bottle of champagne? (prize for winning the game - ed. note) We have no sponsors, no big prizes, no ratings. People come to relax!

What part of the profit goes to the organization of games?

Katia: We pay everyone who helps us: from the sound engineer to the guys who run around the hall and collect answer sheets. We are not chasing anyone for thanks!

Rusya and Dmitry Shepelevich

Sasha: We have a DJ who is responsible for the atmosphere of the game - I think he does half the job.

Katia: There is a person from whom we rent projectors - Pavel Turonchik, aka Plaha. We pay him for delivery, installation and connection of projectors. Everything is complicated there, whole heaps of wires - it is necessary that the projectors work, and the TVs around the hall, and the sound goes in sync with the picture ...

Sasha: There is also a person who helps us in social networks, with accounting, office work, ticket printing, and the proceeds are transferred to the bank - Dima Shepelevich.

Katia: And the guys who help us on the spot: collect leaflets with answers, help check them and give points.

Do the clubs ask for a specific amount for rent - or is it all for mutual benefit?

Katia: Differently. Some clubs claim a fixed rate, someone asks for a percentage of the proceeds: sometimes 10, sometimes 30. Different institutions have completely different conditions.

Sasha: On average, about 45% of the profit goes to the organization.

Suma performance

Katia: Sometimes we have a group performing - at the opening of the season, for example, Šuma played. The fee, the rental of equipment, the work of a sound engineer - and as a result, the game turns out to be zero, fashion. But, I want to believe, everyone likes it.

How Brainstorm Conquers Cities

For three gaming days, more than 200 teams come to MozgoBoynya, on average 6 people play in each. Participation in the game costs 40.000 - it is not difficult to calculate the total profit. Every month there are 2-3 games. This, however, is not all the earnings of the organizers - MozgoBoinya has been franchised all over Belarus.

How did the geographical spread - the capture of the "Brain Slaughter" of Belarus - start?

Katia: We didn't capture anyone! There were no advertisements in the newspapers.

Sasha: But the media played an important role in this. The first person who contacted us, Rinat Karimov from Vitebsk, read an article in KP. Before, I could only see in my worst dream that Komsomolskaya Pravda would write about us! Apparently, the stereotypes in my head worked.

Katia: Now we have two teams from Komsomolskaya Pravda playing: editors and journalists. One and the other are amazing.

Sasha: So, when a person from Vitebsk came to us and said that he wanted to make a game in his city, it was a signal for us that income could be converted into passive income. Then everything rolled like a snowball. They announced it a couple of times at the game - and offers poured in: “I want to spend there, I want to go there ...” But in fact, income is not passive in the classical sense: it takes a lot of energy to make “Brain Slaughter” for other cities.

Regional games are held on your questions?

Katia: Yes. Mostly on questions that we wrote for MozgoBoen two years ago.

Sasha: But we have to dig through the database of questions, and this is very cool: we discard questions that are not very successful or not very funny. We have a round of questions on fresh news - and fresh news is sent to all regions. People love to be taken care of, when you can see that the game is made especially for them. It's great to have local questions - and we encourage local organizers to include at least one question about their city in every game.

In how many cities does Brainstorm take place?

Katia: In addition to Minsk, another 9. From Belarusian - Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Brest, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, plus Mogilev will start soon. There is also Bryansk, and in two weeks Peter is launched.

Sasha: We have special conditions for Belarus, and we would like to be evenly distributed throughout the country, so Orsha, Soligorsk, Novopolotsk, Pinsk and Lida are in the plans.

There are more and more pub quizzes in Minsk. How serious is the competition?

Sasha: Due to the fact that we now play for several days, the teams have a choice. Even if we have the same date as another pub quiz, teams can check in with us for another day.

Katia: 90% of the teams that play in alternative projects also play Brainstorm. You open the list of commands - all the names are familiar. In addition, we already have a recognizable “brainstorming” format of questions.

Sasha: We manage to make the questions interesting, so that people have fun, so that they laugh at their own answers - both right and wrong. I participated in many pub quizzes, not only in Lithuania and Belarus - and I think we are the best at questions. I don’t know how correct it is to assess it from my side, but it seems to me that we have become a trendsetter, which they look up to. Alternative projects are often compared to Brain Slaughter, the organizers themselves usually either go against us or try to copy the Brain Slaughter format. And everyone has their own audience. In general, competition keeps us in good shape, spurs us on - so we are very grateful to other Minsk pub quizzes for what they are.

Seasoned players “What? Where? When?" they often criticize "Brain Slaughter": they say, your wording is not so clear, and the test is much softer ...

Katia: The rigidity of the offset is important when the result is important, when there is a rating, when defending the issue is a matter of honor. And we play for fun, and if the team explains its logic very close to the correct one, we will count the answer to it.

We want 12-year-olds to be able to play here, and grandparents too. Why do they need questions from “What? Where? When?"!

Sasha: Brain Slaughter has a human face. Ideal formulations, strict rules for counting questions - this is not the goal. People pay for entertainment, for a good evening, because we keep them awake at halftime.

Will there come a time when you can go into brain-killing retirement with nothing but passive income from the franchise?

Sasha: We hope never! Minsk will probably remain ours until we lose the ability to think or speak. As for the rest of the cities, we will eventually give them more autonomy so that this is a classic franchise.

Katia: We take a very small percentage - 10% of the proceeds, plus 30 euros for a package of questions. To get a serious commission, we need to cover 200 cities! Therefore, there is no question of any pension. We don't even see it as a business. We were told a couple of times from outside that we are businessmen, but we look at ourselves and think - is it true, or what?

Sasha: We already have plans for other countries - the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland. They have already arrived in Russia. For other countries, there will be other conditions, more stringent: there people have a different ability to pay, and the scale, plus the cost of translating and adapting games will be required.

Are there pub quizzes around the world?

Katia: To be honest, we have not studied the market. Perhaps something has grown as a "Brain Slaughter" - in the same America, for example. But there are no analogues of McDonald's in pub quizzes.

Sasha: I hope that in five years we will be able to discuss this topic from a different angle!

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Seven months ago, the capital game finally came to our regional center. Not even a year has passed, but she already has a permanent platform (one of the local bars), her own chips, the number of group subscribers on the social network is approaching 850, and registering for participation is becoming more and more difficult each time due to the number of applicants. So we have to play for two days (in Minsk there are institutions that can accommodate 60 teams, and Gomel was not lucky in this regard). Quite recently, a kind of Champions League took place - the winners of all previous games fought for the title of the best. The team “Yes, it is possible!” turned out to be the coolest.

The rules of Brain Slaughter are simple: seven rounds of seven questions, which must be answered in writing on a special form within a limited time. For a correct answer - one point. At the same time, the tours are diverse: one musical, one news, one based on pictures, three rounds of fairly simple questions for ingenuity, school knowledge and erudition, as well as one blitz tour.

The insidiousness and value of the latter is that you can get 2 points for a clue, but only if you are willing to take the risk and put a tick next to your answer. And it’s not worth throwing ticks around in vain, because in case of an incorrect answer, you lose 2 points. For the last round, you can score from -14 to 14 points. So for 49 questions it is realistic to get 56 points.

The best result in seven months for the Plasticine Hugi team is 53 points. Almost caught up with them "Cat da Vinci", which 9 times became the winner. A total of 95 teams took part in the Gomel MozgoBoyne.

Cactus and glass eye

The questions are chosen in such a way that both a humanist and a techie can show themselves: continue the poem and name its author, solve the chemical formula, determine the country along the contour. I don’t know about the rest, but now I study geography and look at news sites every week, including the most frivolous ones, so as not to lose face on the news tour.

Questions on Gomel topics become a pleasant surprise for the participants: for example, what cities are written on the suitcase of a bronze traveler near the railway station? The musical tour is often accompanied by choral singing of brain-smashers.

The organizers sometimes spoil the players with pleasant trifles: either they give them a fridge magnet, or eco-pens, or they post video greetings on social networks, and before the game they project photos of the group members on the screen.

Pictures are a whole other issue. After almost every game there is a photo report. In addition, not only intellectual competitions are held. Once they chose the coolest team mascot. And almost every team has one: soft and hard toys, indoor plants, “Something's a raccoon is with us” has cute paper raccoons. The guys from Grandfather's Glass Eye went the farthest, they put on the table ... a glass eye! In general, everyone is weird in their own way. Someone invents enchanting names (“For all the persimmon”, “Smart moose”, “Wow sheep”), but the team “Lemonade for Nepal” each time comes in a new role - either in a gopnik costume, or in the national clothes of the state Nepal.

The most important thing is that the teams come not for the first place (and the prize is serious - the winner does not pay the bill), but for communication with interesting people, drive and good mood.

A stack of phones as an example

Organizer Aleksey Trunov spoke about the features of the Gomel “Brainstorm”.

Did you manage to get the Gomel residents interested in this game and why?

The number of players speaks for itself. The point is that anyone can participate. You can spend an evening here with friends, parents, teachers, coaches... A little excitement, humor, wrestling, logic and knowledge - all this creates a good mood. "Brain Slaughter" does not distract, but unites colleagues, family, friends...

What is the difference between the Gomel MozgoBoyni and the Minsk and others?

Gomel has one of the best venues in terms of atmosphere, very helpful people. One team somehow stacked all the phones on the table, thus confirming the fair game (thus made it clear that they would not turn to Internet search resources - author's note), we photographed it, showed it as an example, it was picked up by other cities.

Can you remember any funny stories?

We once invited a cover band to an anniversary game. The guys did their best and shook the walls of the pub with high-quality sound. But there was a performance in the next room, and, as it turned out, our sound was louder. We apologize to the theatre.

P.S. I think the popularity of MozgoBoyni is that it is absolutely democratic and voluntary, the organizers are always on the wave, they use social networks competently, quickly post information, arrange pranks and surprises, keep in touch with each player, manage to maintain a good atmosphere and amuse everyone, and participants get something new - new knowledge, new acquaintances, new impressions. It seems to me that this experience would be very useful for many youth organizations.

Questions provided by the organizers of the "Brainstorm"

1. Victor Hugo in 1862, while on vacation, wanted to know the reaction of readers to the newly published novel and sent his publisher a telegram of one character. He sent a telegram in response, also from the same character. Play both.

2. Which Belarusian city surpasses Moscow, New York, Singapore and London in terms of population density?

4. Four are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belarus: the Mir Castle, the Radziwill Palace in Nesvizh, the Struve Geodetic Arc. Name the fourth.

5. Which part of the world has the most states?

6. What is the name of the science that studies cats?

7. What is highlighted in color?

Answers: one.?! 2. Soligorsk (11226 people/sq. km). 3. Sweater. 4. Belovezhskaya Pushcha. 5. In Africa. 6. Felinology. 7. Countries with left-hand traffic.

Ecology of knowledge: 15 riddles with a catch. First, try to decide for yourself, and at the end there are answers. Two people approach the river. Boat on the shore

15 riddles with a trick. First, try to solve it yourself, and at the end there are answers.

1. Two people approach the river. Near the shore is a boat that can only support one. Both men crossed to the opposite bank. How?

2. Where is it found that the horse jumps over the horse?

3. Sherlock Holmes was walking down the street. And suddenly he saw a dead woman lying on the ground. He walked over, opened her bag and took out her phone. In tel. book, he found her husband's number. He called. He speaks:

Come here urgently. Your wife is dead. And after a while the husband arrives. He looks at his wife and says:

Oh honey what happened to you???

And then the police arrive. Sherlock points his finger at the woman's husband and says:

Arrest this person. It was he who killed her. Q: Why did Sherlock think that?

4. The jar is on the table. It stands in such a way that one half of it is in the air and the other is on the table. What is in the jar if it falls in half an hour? And why?

5. A man went to sea and got into a storm. He was taken to an island where there were no men, and only girls lived. In the morning he woke up covered in ropes at some kind of ritual and found out that they wanted to kill him. And he asked for the last word. After he said it, the girls made him a boat, gave him food, water and sent him home. What did he say?

6. A 1st grade student solves this riddle in 5 minutes, a high school student in 15 minutes, a student in 1 hour, a professor will never solve it. Riddle: decipher odtchpshsvdd

7. One train travels from Moscow to St. Petersburg with a delay of 10 minutes, and the other - from St. Petersburg to Moscow with a delay of 20 minutes. Which of these trains will be closer to Moscow when they meet?

8. It is known that among the nine coins there is one false, which has less weight than the rest. How to determine a counterfeit coin using a weighing pan in two weighings?

9. There are two cords, each of which burns for an hour, but burns unevenly. How to use these two cords and matches to measure 45 minutes?

10. 2 bricks were placed on a smooth board - one flat and the other on the edge. Bricks weigh the same. Which brick will slide first if the board is tilted?

11. Cat - 3 Horse - 5 Rooster - 8 Donkey - 2 Cuckoo - 4 Frog - 3 Dog -?

12. Three criminals met: the bear cub Belov, the burglar Chernov and the pickpocket Ryzhov. "It's amazing that one of us has black, the second is white, and the third is red hair, but none of the hair color matches the last name," the black-haired man said. "And the truth is ...", - said the bear cub Belov. What color is the pickpocket's hair?

13. You are standing in front of three switches. Behind an opaque wall are three light bulbs in the off state. You need to manipulate the switches, go into the room and determine which light bulb belongs to which switch.

14. There is a concrete wall 3 meters high, 20 meters long and weighing 3 tons. How to knock it down without any aids and tools?

15. A father with two sons went on a campaign. On their way they met a river, near the bank of which there was a raft. He stands on the water either a father or two sons. How to cross to the other side of the father and sons?

Do not peep) First, think for yourself.

Seriously, think for yourself.

1. They were on different banks.

2. In chess.

3. Because Holmes didn't tell him the address.

4. Ice

5. Let the ugliest kill me.

6. 1,2,3,4...

7. At the time of the meeting, they will be at the same distance from Moscow.

8.1st weighing: 3 and 3 coins. The counterfeit coin is in the pile that weighs the least. If they are equal, then the fake is in the third pile. 2nd weighing: From the pile with the smallest weight, 1 and 1 coin are compared. If equal, then the fake is the remaining coin.

9. It is necessary to set fire to the first cord at the same time from both ends - this is 30 minutes. Simultaneously with the first cord, we set fire to the second cord from one end, and when the first cord burns out in 30 minutes, we set fire to the second cord from the other end - we get the remaining 15 minutes.

10. The bricks will start sliding at the same time. Both bricks press on the board with the same force, which means that the friction forces that they have to overcome are also the same. The specific friction forces per square centimeter of the area of ​​​​contact between the bricks and the board, of course, are not equal. But the total friction forces acting on the bricks, equal to the product of the specific friction force and the contact surface area, will be the same.

11. Cat - meow (3), Horse - and-go-go (5), Rooster - ku-ka-re-ku (8), Donkey - and-a (2), ..., Dog - woof ( 3)

12. Belov - not white because of the surname and not black, since he answered the black-haired one. That is, Belov is red. Chernov is not black because of his surname and not red, since Belov, our bear cub, is red. Ryzhov's pickpocket remained black.

13. Turn on two switches. Turn off one after a while. Enter the room. One bulb will be burning from the switched on switch, the second hot - from the on and off, the third - cold, from the untouched

14. The thickness of such a wall will be no more than two centimeters, which allows you to push it with your hand

15. Both sons cross first. One of the sons returns to his father. The father moves to the opposite bank to his son. The father remains on the shore, and the son crosses to the original shore after his brother, after which they both cross to the father. published

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