Cranky Uncle

Skeptical Science

About this game

No matter what conspiracy theory your zany (or just misinformed) friends and family subscribe to, it can be hard to shake them of their fallacies. Because they just don’t accept the science of it all. So, now science is going to take a stab at the old adage, “if you can’t beat them — join them” in the case of climate change deniers.

Right now, you might be arguing with him until you’re blue in the face, but this game will teach you to throw the arguments of even your crankiest climate-misinformed uncle back at him. Think about it. If you’re going to spot someone cheating at cards, first you have to learn how to cheat at cards. So let’s learn the arguments of denial to defeat them.

Ratings and reviews

The idea is interesting. But the app is buggy and just doesn't seem finished. For example, selecting an answer shifts to the next screen while your finger is still on the screen, resulting in selecting a random answer for the next question. Also, some quiz pages lack any content other than hitting "Next" and earning points for .. something I guess? Just doesn't seem ready.

Not bad, though I have a few gripes. First and foremost, the multiple choice options are cringey. It'll give you two stark opposites as possible answers which kind of insults your intelligence. This game could do well with an update to the dialog. Quiz timers suck because the questions take long to read. Otherwise, the log in feature never worked for me. I only ever tried logging in with Google, but every subsequent attempt after only opens a localhost link that doesn't load or redirect proprly.

Interesting idea. Some of the quizzes might be difficult for individuals with limited language skills to succeed at (e.g., Median q assumes you can define it.). Conspiracy theory quizzes were confusing because I wasn't sure if true maps to "is a conspiracy theory" or "the statement is true"; those choices could remind what they represent. Research quiz seemed skewed towards negative cases, though I may have gotten some wrong... not sure. Cranky uncle face could update w/mood.