Welcome to Knowledge is Power™: Decades!
Lovely to see some new faces and also some old fans of Knowledge is Power™ returning for even more quizzing fun.
For those new to the series, Knowledge is Power™: Decades is a quiz gameshow of the most glitzy and glamorous proportions for two to six players. So grab a friend or five and compete to answer pop culture questions as fast as you can.
So are you ready? Let’s quiz!
You’ll need to connect your phone or tablet to your PS4™ to use as your controller.
1. Download the free Knowledge is Power™: Decades app to your smartphone or tablet from Google Play, the Apple App Store® or the Amazon Appstore.
2. Connect all devices to the same Wi-Fi network as your PlayStation®4.
TIP: If you’ve got a weak Wi-Fi signal, try using your PS4™ as a Wi-Fi Hotspot instead. You’ll be asked if you want to do this when you launch the game on your PS4™.
When you’re connected to your PS4™ Wi-Fi Hotspot you won’t be able to download the free Knowledge is Power™: Decades app so you’ll need to have done that first already.
3. Launch the Knowledge is Power™: Decades app and tap ‘Play’ to connect to your PS4™.
4. Then you’re ready to play!
Let’s see who’s in it to win it!
Each player must pick a character to represent them. Once a character has been chosen it is shown as ‘reserved’ to stop others from picking the same one.
There are eight all-new colourful characters to choose from – which one do you feel suits you best?
A world-class breaker and urban style icon. Clever, quick-witted and athletic, he has a combined 1.1 billion views on the numerous viral videos showcasing his moves.
This super-foodie works at a themed restaurant selling burgers while dressed as a cowboy. He also has a burger hand-puppet for a best friend – they have a somewhat love/hate relationship…
A big influencer in the fashion world with 5 million followers on social media, she’s been voted ‘Best Dressed’ for four years running. Her walk-in wardrobe is bigger than your house!
This role-play geek loves getting together with friends for board games and role-playing games. No video games, thank you – it’s all about the analogue rather than the digital for her.
He’s got a passion for ’80s arcade games… in fact, it’s physically impossible to be more into arcade games than this gamer. He’s basically half-human, half-arcade cabinet.
A platinum-selling, electric-guitar wielding, glam rocking superstar. Not afraid of the limelight, this frontwoman knows how to work a crowd.
This cyberspaceman is a futuristic computer genius – but also a bit of an eccentric. I wonder what that whisk on his head is for?
Does she work in a cinema or does she just love films and popcorn? We don’t know, but she’s certainly sweet and salty in equal amounts!
When you’ve chosen your character, capture a fun selfie to complete your look and you’re good to go!
Depending on how you want to play, you can choose from four game modes.
Standard Game:
This is the standard mode and lasts around 30 minutes. It features three sets of Power Quiz questions, two Challenges and the Finale.
Quick Game:
This lasts around 12 minutes and features one set of Power Quiz questions and one Challenge only – for when you’re pushed for time but still want to get a quick game in!
Challenge Game:
This lasts around 16 minutes and features all six of our deliciously addictive Challenges available in the game.
Trivia Game:
This mode lasts around 16 minutes and is made up of two back-to-back sets of Power Quiz questions only.
The questions are all related to different eras of pop culture, but make sure to go for the categories you think you’ll be best at, especially compared to your opponents.
For each set of Power Quiz questions:
1. Before the first question, choose the decade the questions will focus on (e.g. the ’90s)
2. Then before the second question, decide the subcategory of the chosen decade to focus on (e.g. Movies)
3. And lastly before the third question, pick the specific area of that subcategory to focus on (e.g. Animation)
All players get to vote on categories, and the most popular category is the one that gets chosen. If there’s a tie, the category is selected at random from the most chosen options.
Each player has one Power Pick that they can use during the game. Power Picking a category overrules any other choice of category, even if the person using the Power Pick is in the minority!
Power Picks work on a fastest finger first basis if more than one person uses their Power Pick when choosing a category. It’s also possible for a player who is already in the majority to play a Power Pick just to make sure that no one else can overrule their choice of category!
The faster you answer correctly, the more points you get, so time is of the essence. But if you get the answer wrong or fail to answer at all, you don’t get any points.
The game ends with a dramatic Final Round, in the form of a race up the Pyramid of Knowledge. Your score from the game up until that point is converted into how much of a headstart you get (if any), and the faster you correctly answer questions, the further you move up the Pyramid.
Before each question in the Finale, you get to throw a Power Play at one of your opponents. The type of Power Play you get to use is automatically determined by what step you are on at the time.
The top set of steps is known as the ‘Danger Zone’. Any player in this zone has the potential to win the game with the next question and for added drama, the Power Plays on these steps hit all other opponents.
Every correct answer brings you closer to victory, but there can only be one winner who reaches the top first and is awarded the coveted Scroll of Knowledge.
Use Power Plays to slow down your opponents or give yourself the advantage. Power Plays only apply to the upcoming question and some affect just one person while others apply to everyone.
You can be hit by more than one Power Play of the same type – the effects of the Power Plays stack and become more powerful.
Any combination of Power Plays can be applied at the same time to a player. For example, someone who has Freeze, Gloop and Bombles thrown at them would have to wipe off the Gloop to see the answers before smashing through the ice to select an answer, all while avoiding the Bombles bouncing around!
Good luck with that…
The Power Play line-up has expanded from the first Knowledge is Power™ game – but these regulars make a welcome return!
Encase a player’s answers in ice. To answer, they need to break the ice by tapping on it.
Send Bombles onto a player’s screen. Bombles bounce around generally getting in the way – if you accidentally tap one, it will explode and cause your screen to white out for a while so that you can’t answer.
Cover a player’s answers in Gloop. They need to swipe the Gloop off before they can see or tap the answer they want.
TIP: You don’t need to clear the Gloop from all the options before you answer – only enough from the one that you want to select.
Choose the player you want to bet on (in secret). On top of your own points, you will also get the points that the player you bet on wins, so long as they get the answer right!
Make the next round worth double points for everybody – anyone who answers the question correctly will receive double their standard points. Scores from other Power Plays such as Bet are not doubled though – that would be far too generous…
If more than one player uses Points Party, the points stack and become worth triple or quadruple and so on.
Alongside the original Power Plays in your arsenal, here are some all-new ones you can use to cause trouble.
Lock a player’s answers behind chains and padlocks. They must then tap all the padlocks to unlock their screen.
Zip up a player’s answers. Each answer box gets zipped up and the player has to drag the zip to reveal the answer underneath.
Send a bug to scramble and corrupt another player’s answers. They must keep hitting the bug until it disappears to reveal the answers.
Change a player’s answer boxes to ’70s pulsing disco patterns that change colour and make it harder to read the answers.
Make the letters in a player’s answers bounce up and down, side to side and rotate around to confuse them.
Remove two incorrect answers from your own answer options to give you a 50/50 chance of selecting the right answer, even if you just guess. Hugely useful if you haven’t got a clue what the answer might be.
Double your score for that question if you get it right. Unlike with Points Party, Points Doubler only affects the player who uses it, not everybody playing.
If you get bonus points through someone else using Points Party for example, Points Doubler only doubles your score without any bonus points applied first. Well I wouldn’t want to make things too easy for you!
These combine two Power Plays together in one for double the trouble to deal with. Double Trouble Power Plays are offered just like any other Power Play to choose from.
Take a look, folks – Challenges await!
The game features even more Challenges than before – with new and returning favourites available.
This Or That
Decide whether items belong in one category or another. To sort each item, swipe left for one category or right for the other.
Missing Link
Out of the items shown on your screen, at least two will always share a link based on the theme shown, for example, ‘actors and the films they starred in’. Drag from one item to another to link them together.
Chain Reaction
Drag a line that passes through each word in the correct order to form a well-known title.
Fill The Blanks
Fill in the missing letters by choosing from the ones available on the Letter Board.
Odd One Out
Smash the odd item out from a set of three.
Spin To Win
Match the correct face of the carousel to answer the question. The carousel has five sides, each with a different possible answer on it. Swipe left or right to spin it round and tap to select the correct answer when you see it.
Well now you can!
With the Knowledge is Power™: Decades app, as well as being able to use your phone or tablet as a controller, you can also play the standalone quiz game ‘Quiz Blast’ when you’re on the move away from your PS4™.
‘Quiz Blast’ is made up of four questions, each from a different decade – the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s. Each question has a randomly allocated set of Power Plays applied and you have to try and answer the questions correctly as quickly as possible.
When you have completed a game of ‘Quiz Blast’, you can challenge a friend by sending a link to their phone. If they accept, they can play the same quiz, see if they can beat your time and send their time back to you!
(I won’t be held responsible for any gloating or arguments though – everyone quiz nicely please!)
Thanks for reading – Ciao for now and never forget the Power of Knowledge!
By using this software, you agree to the licence terms. Our full licence terms can be read here: www.playstation.com/legal/software-usage-terms/. Here are some of the highlights: