Cineplex is ditching TimePlay and movie trivia fans are crushed

Nearly one year to the day since Cineplex fired its beloved pre-show host Tanner Zipchen, Canada's largest movie theatre chain is "parting ways" with the Toronto-based company that has long-operated its TimePlay trivia app.

"After nearly 32 million games and over 330 million SCENE points awarded, the end of 2020 will see the final TimePlay game played at Cineplex Theatres," reads a notice posted to the company's website.

"Over the past six years, our guest have shown us their love for Timeplay and we want to sincerely thank all of the dedicated fans for their support. It has been a great time to play.

In other words, when we finally get to go back to the movies after the pandemic, we'll no longer be able to compete with other audience members ahead of a flick for mad scene points, popcorn and bragging rights.

It's the end of an era that has brought so much joy (and sometimes pizza!) to countless movie buffs who are now mourning the feature's departure.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

— Maggie Wrobel (@maggiewrobel) January 7, 2021

According to the Canadian Press, Cineplex parted ways with the company that operates TimePlay at the end of 2020.

Previous to this, before the pandemic, moviegoers could arrive a bit early to any film and use their phones to play the TimePlay movie trivia game against others in the venue.

It was a popular attraction, rife with silly nicknames and competitive players. Following Zipchen's departure, it was literally the only reason people would arrive early to see a movie with assigned seats in person.

It may seem like a small thing, but people all over the country are ticked. 

"I would TimePlay [even] without prizes. It's too much fun," wrote one Twitter user to Cineplex. "Please, I implore you: don't make the greatest mistake in cinema history."

in honour of timeplay dying, here's one of many photos where me and lesley would go to the movies at 11am and kick everyone's asses as "bort" pic.twitter.com/PirjnulkPs

— BEENA?! (@BEENATHEMISTRY) January 8, 2021

"You're going to get rid of timeplay?!" tweeted another, making an excellent point: "Sometimes that sh*t is better than the movie!"

"First Tanner Zipchen and now TimePlay," mused another fan still. "All Cineplex knows is giving pain."

To be fair, the company has experienced quite a bit of pain itself in recent years, most recently due to pandemic closures and its failed $2.8-billion aquisition by the U.K.'s Cineworld Group.

With the death of TimePlay, it's getting harder and harder to imagine a world in which people still actually go to the movies after this pandemic is over... but there's still good news for fans of the trivia app.

Apparently, the game lives on within the TimePlay app itself. All you need to participate is a smartphone, a second screen browser, and some time on a Thursday night. Per the app's most recent update, anyone can now play the movie trivia game "out of cinema" on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.