By Ann-Marie AlcĚÁntara
Let the dating games begin for real. A new dating app launching in beta today in San Francisco let’s men compete to be a woman’s date.
The Catch (which has done private alpha testing since September) literally turns dating into a game. Instead of looking through photos, swiping right, and praying you don’t get bombarded by the usual dirty message, the app puts women in control while making men vie for their attention.
It starts out business as usual: Women name their date’s preferred age and location, select a few men they like, and then invite them to play the game of love. Only the four men who respond fastest get to answer the three follow-up questions the woman asks. Whoever’s answer scores highest across the rounds gets to chat with the woman. The gimmick here is that it’s the app equivalent of a blind date — the woman doesn’t know which guy’s answer she’s voting for. Shared interests, rather than physical appearance, is the guiding principle.
Sample questions include, “Tell me about your dream house” and “Where would you take me on a first date?” A popular question during beta testing was, “You have to plan a date but do it without spending any money. What would you do?”
The app doesn’t just benefit women, as some in the tech press have noted. According to TechCrunch, the app’s creator, Shannon Ong, reported that “in the alpha test, at least 20% of games ended with people going on a date.” And while the app currently caters to straight women, the company plans to release LGBTQ and hetero male iterations as well.
If you’re like me and have sworn off dating, don’t fret. The only app we need is one that orders pizza.
[via Huffington Post; photo courtesy of ThinkStock]
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