Children of all ages recently put their quizzing skills to the test during Blockbusters, a competition that assesses individuals on their knowledge of current events and general information, hosted by Gulf News during Ramadan.
The game show was originally run by the BBC in the 1980s and took the world, the UAE included, by storm.
In 1988, Gulf News adapted this show and ran it as a month-long event, with the heats during Ramadan and the finals after Eid.
Hugely popular, the Gulf News Blockbusters was hosted every year until 1994.
Over 1,100 individuals participated during the annual sessions and Bob Holness, the quizmaster of the BBC show, was flown down to host the finals.
The game was brought back during Ramadan by Gulf News as part of the 30th Anniversary celebrations, finals of which are to be hosted on the coming weekend.
Also, a special Champions Challenge Team match will be held during the finals in which this year’s senior winners will challenge previous champions.
The game
Blockbusters is a quiz game with two opponents, a quizmaster and a board. The Blockbusters board is designed as a honeycomb with 25 numbered boxes. The top and bottom of the board are green whereas the left and right are red.
Two teams play to connect horizontally and vertically. The quizmaster asks the player for a number each time a new question has to be asked.
The strategy is to choose the number that will enable the contestant to connect and also block the opponent’s move.
To win the game, the green team must connect from top to bottom and the red from side to side.
Each correct answer gives the player a box. Contestants, in forms of singles, doubles and teams continuously play in rounds until the remaining winning player is left.
Winning isn’t everything
The competition has been split into three age categories: juniors, 10-13; seniors, 14-17; and adults, 18 and over.
Children who participated in the competition and were racing to hit that buzzer said they joined the competition not with the intention to win but rather for the experience.
“My sister and father had come to watch it before and they told me it was nice,” said Pranav Thiagaranjan, a student of Delhi Private School Sharjah and a participant in the senior category.
“I didn’t go in thinking ‘I’m going to win this.’ I’m doing it just for the fun of it.”
Many students used the game as an opportunity to learn something new. Prasiddhi Ravi Kumar, a 14-year-old from Dubai Modern High School, said he “just wanted to know what this was all about.
“I’ve always been interested in quizzing and I never took this kind of quiz before,” he said, adding: “So I just wanted to see what it would be like to take this kind of quiz. Even though I didn’t win I really enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot. I’d definitely do it again.”
Sharing experiences
Unwind spoke to the children all of whom agreed that regardless of winning or losing, the experience was well worth it.
“I love taking part in quizzes,” said 14-year-old Zubain Abbas Sayed of Indian High School. “My school formed a team for Blockbusters and I decided to join.
"For quizzes like these, you always need to be updated on current affairs so I prepared by reading books from the school library and practising.
“With games [such as] this you have to be fast in thinking and fast in pressing the buzzer,” he added.
Prasiddhi Ravi Kumar prepared by surfing the internet. “This was a very exciting experience. I prepared by browsing for general knowledge on the net and through books.
“If I had another chance I would practice harder and be quicker on the buzzer. I’m overall happy with my performance, but at the same time I do wish I did better,” she adds.
Sixteen-year-old Aghalya Ramasamy is a regular reader and says he jumped to the opportunity the moment he read about it.
“I am an avid Gulf News reader and decided to enter the competition the moment I read about it in the newspaper.
“I have qualities in me that make me a good quizzer and found it to be a very exciting experience. I believe the three qualities to be a good quiz taker are good reading habits, exceptional memory and knowledge,” adds Aghalya who studies in the Indian High School.
Improved GQ
Another student of the same school, Ajay Suresh, says he found the event to be a learning experience. “It was a great experience. Through it I improved my vocabulary and general knowledge.
“I started preparing for the Blockbusters two weeks before the event took place. If I had another chance though, I would study even more.”
The competition was close and despite losing, Macnell Pinto, 15, a student of Our Own High School, says he has no
regrets.
“It was my first quiz outside of school that I attended with friends and also had the opportunity to compete with others, which made it all in all a marvellous experience.
"Even though we didn’t make it to the end, we still did beat other teams and those we lost to were a close match, so I have no regrets.”
Sanjeev Ravindranathan of Al Ain Junior School says he will take up the quiz again.
“It was hard, but really nice. I like the way the questions were framed, although some were tough. I couldn’t prepare for it because I had exams to worry about but I’d do it again. I learnt new concepts and words,” adds the 14-year-old.
