Tag: noovie

National CineMedia Does the Pre-Show Noovie Shuffle

Mobile trivia game seeks to capture people’s attention before the movie starts

There are lots of reasons people are going to be going to see Avengers: Endgame when it comes out in a couple weeks. When tickets went on sale two weeks ago the demand was so high it brought down the sites of several theater chains and ticket sellers, though even those outages didn’t stop records from being set on Atom Tickets and Fandango. Official opening weekend forecasts anticipate $200-250 million at the box office, but some have predicted it could hit $300 million.

Those who were lucky enough to get tickets will be among the first to play a new mobile trivia game from National CineMedia. Shuffle, part of NCM’s Noovie pre-show package, is the latest game from the company as it seeks to keep theatergoers entertained in new, interactive ways.

Players are given the chance to play a few games to test their movie knowledge and trivia skills. Those games include:

  • Flicks: A quick yes/no quiz on character or story details such as whether someone does or doesn’t wear a mask.
  • Star Chains: Each question is built off the answer from the previous question, creating “chains” or correct responses.
  • Match Up: Match three movies with the actors, props or other details suggested.
  • Timeline: See how well you can tell time, either by sequencing movies in order of the year released or by correctly arranging plot points from a single movie.

There’s also a bonus round to place cards in a suggested movie category in the time allotted.

The central element in all these games are the cards that can be swiped, placed or matched as each game specifies.

The movies, topics and characters included in the various games range across genres and categories but are often contextually relevant based on current releases as well as classic titles. The topics and movies will evolve over time to encourage repeat playing. NCM also says it will be working with movie studios on custom card decks and even games that are tied to upcoming and current releases.

noovie trivia

Players who register in the game will be able to view where they rank on a leaderboard and even go head-to-head with other players. They can also share their scores on Twitter and Facebook. Later this year NCM will introduce the ability to win rewards and prizes, though those are still to be determined.

Shuffle, which was introduced at the recent CinemaCon event for exhibitors, is essentially an interactive mobile incarnation of the kinds of trivia questions that have been shown on screen during pre-show packages for years. That seems to be an attempt to tap into the current popularity of trivia games, exemplified by the rise of the HQTrivia app-based game show that was later mimicked by Facebook when it launched the very similar Confetti.

National CineMedia has made two previous forays into the mobile casual gaming space, introducing the augmented reality Noovie ARcade last year along with the the fantasy football-esque Fantasy Movie League. With Shuffle’s launch it’s clear that it’s assumed people are looking at their mobile screens before the movie starts and not the big one in front of them, so offering them something on that smaller screen is a way to keep their attention.