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The origin of the game
The trial, the oldest game
Perhaps the human being has always been weighed. In ancient Egypt the heart of the dead was measured on a scale against the feather of Maat: did you live truly, did you know, were you worthy? The idea of the trial reaches that far back. In ancient Athens, Socrates stopped people in the street to ask questions, certain that real knowledge could not remain untested. To know was one thing. To show that you knew was something else entirely.
Through the Middle Ages, churches taught with question and answer patterns called catechism, the apprentice stood examined before the master, and the wise traded riddles. What we call a quiz is nothing new, it has only changed its clothes. In the twentieth century it moved to radio, then television, then the screen in our pockets. Its essence stayed the same: a question, a moment of pause, and the quiet pleasure of knowing.
At House of Zij this old tradition of the trial is built upon mythology and astrology. Fresh questions each week, spoken in the language of the sky and the old stories. The aim here is not to judge you but to feed your curiosity. Unlike the Egyptian scale, this one has nothing to lose. What remains after each right answer is simply a reader who has gone a little deeper.
To know was one thing. To show that you knew was something else entirely.