Return of the $99 Dyson DC34 handheld vacuum
Plus: Turn your trivia knowledge into cash, make your next party a blast and replace your remotes fast. (Welcome to Rhyme-town! Population: me!)
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Not everyone loves HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky; I think he's fantastic.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... we are back! It's 2018 and the slate is clean.
Speaking of clean, why not raise your vacuum game this year?
But let's come back to that. Speaking of games, I want to talk about a couple, starting with one that can actually put cash in your pocket.
HQ oh!
I'm late to the party, but my new obsession is HQ Trivia. It's a live-streamed trivia game with real money on the table: Every player who correctly answers 12 questions splits the pot. Usually it's $1,500, but sometimes the HQ folks raise the stakes. (On New Year's Eve, for example, the pot was $18,000!)
The first time I played, the game ended with just three winners, meaning each person netted $500 -- not bad for 10 minutes' work. More often, winners number in the dozens, so the take is smaller, but it's still an amazingly fast and fun way to win some cash.
The Android version is still in beta, so expect some glitches here and there. (The iOS version can be glitchy as well. The aforementioned NYE game was a colossal train wreck.)
If you feel like it, use code justrick when you sign up. Then share your own code with others. You'll earn extra "lives," meaning you can get one wrong answer per game and still continue.
I suspect we're going to see a lot more live-participation games like this in 2018. So long, productivity!
Quip it good
I'm even later to this party, but the most fun I had over the holiday break was playing Quiplash with various groups of friends and relatives. It's similar to Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity, but cheaper than both and much easier to play.
It works like this: Up to eight players gather around the TV. Each person opens up a browser on their phone or tablet, then signs into the game using a special code. There's nothing to install or download, and you can include virtually unlimited "audience" members if your group is larger than eight.
In each round, each person gets two prompts on their device. The goal: provide the best (meaning funniest) response. (Example prompt: "A better name for France.")
Whoever's the most creative, offensive or funny is most likely to win at Quiplash, without question my new favorite party game.
After all the responses have been entered, they're shown on the TV, and everyone (including audience members) gets to vote for their favorite. Whoever gets the most votes after three rounds wins.
So. Much. Fun. And laughter. Quiplash was a huge hit with every group. The game is available for consoles , PC/Mac, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV . (But not Roku! Aaargh!) It's a steal at $9.99, but right now the PC/Mac version is on sale for just $3.99 from Steam. (If you choose that option, I recommend connecting your laptop to your TV instead of shoehorning everyone around the small screen.)
Back to the vac
The Dyson DC34 terminates everything in its path.
Oh, right, today's deal. I'm actually going to steer you back to my original Dyson DC34 post, which has all the important details (and even more of my trademark terrible humor).
TL;DR: The DC34 is back on sale at Walmart for $99 shipped (plus tax, where applicable). Regular price: $169. So, so worth it, in my humble opinion. Update: This appears to be out of stock.
Pro tip: Cash-back service BeFrugal currently offers 5 percent back on Walmart purchases, effectively bringing your price down to $94. New to BeFrugal? Sign up here.
Bonus deal: Things OK to juggle: balls, knives, flaming torches, chainsaws. Not OK to juggle: remotes. Because that can seriously ruin your TV-watching experience.
So get yourself a universal remote. Like this one: For a limited time, Best Buy has the Logitech Harmony 700 for $49.99 shipped (plus tax). Regular price: $120!
This discontinued -- but still very useful -- model features a color screen, rechargeable batteries, backlit buttons and support for up to eight devices. So, finally, you can stick your TV, stereo, cable and streaming-box remotes in a drawer and control everything with just one clicker. Woo!