I first saw SongPop on Facebook, just there on the side where the games used to be. I have always been pretty good at music, so this was a clear for me. SongPop 2, as it was called back then, is basically a version of the television game show Name That Tune or a "reverse Shazam." A computer plays a snippet of a song from a category you chose (usually an artist, genre, or timeframe; although some categories can be based on features from the titles or lyrics), and you have to guess the song correctly as quickly as possible before the other player. You get more points if you guess correctly sooner, so that an incorrect guess doesn't automatically mean you lose, especially if the other player takes longer to get all of their songs correct. There was also a second game mode, Party, where you and four other players try to guess songs as quickly as possible. You get bonus points based on how fast you are. After the twenty-four hour Party is over, you gain a prize based on your ranking among the over a hundred other possible party players. While I never got to play against of any of my Facebook friends, I still loved the game. I had a bunch of regular players that I vied against as much as I could.
Then, SongPop announced that they were leaving Facebook at the end of the year. On that December 31, I played like I normally would, thinking I had until midnight to play. I was waiting until that evening to say goodbye. When I tried to log back on to the game, it had disappeared. Unfortunately, they had meant midnight their time, in England I think, not here. I hated that I never said goodbye. I even wrote a post on my blogcast about it. Sure, the game was still available as an app, but I didn't have a phone at the time. Or a PC. So, I had to stop playing.
But only for a few months.
The following summer or so, SongPop finally developed an app for Macs. I even got an email about it.I quickly downloaded it, when I could. I still had a prize available from the last Party I never got to finish. All but one of my regular players had left me. Well, the computer opponent had to stay, but one woman kept with me during my absence. I would always try to give her a category she could compete with whenever we played.
SongPop Classic, as it was now named, had added a few features. They now had challenges (daily, weekly, monthly, and expert) that one could finish to add points to a prize path. Some require playing the other SongPop game, which leaves me out. For now. It took me a while, but I ultimately got to the biggest prize at the end of the month, and even the bonus ones available beyond that. Last year, they added Carnival mode, a themed group of challenges similar to Party mode, but available to everyone and not just the 200 or so for parties. The Carnival lasts seven day, and there is about one a month, or so. They are usually based around holidays or similar events.
I currently have a group of around thirty or so players that I compete with every week. Some drop me after a few times, as our musical tastes don't line up, or if they only want to get money from me. The number of players who want me to buy naked pics of them are way too many. Others, I drop if I don't hear from them after four or five months. I try to give everyone a real chance at coming back.
Unfortunately, one of those players I had to drop was the one who stuck with me during my absence. She started to miss challenges, on a very frequent basis. She mentioned she was having problems, medical I think. Possibly financial as well. She was gone for a few weeks at a time. Then, she missed a few months. After a year, I finally deleted the game with her. I had kept her going as long as I could. Even with the intentional and accidental deletions, I still needed the extra space I needed to maintain a minimum number of active games. While I hope she is okay, I'm pretty sure she isn't.
So, I'm still chugging along, playing at a fairly high level. I'm discovering songs that came out long ago that I missed, remembering oldies that I all but forgot. I keep up with new music too. I still wonder about the newer version of SongPop. It has a number of new features and types of play not on 2. And I wonder what happened to all of the players who I had to delete their games.
I'm sorry.
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