Trivial Matters

You’ve mentioned Pub Quizzing in other posts. What is that, exactly?

Pub Quizzing is a game played in bars across Portland (and other cities I’m sure). The ones here are run by a company called Pub Quiz Oregon (http://www.pubquizoregon.com), and they are a great bunch a folks.

To play, you only need to show up (either by yourself or with a team of up to six), pay $3 per person, and answer a series of questions that revolve around a selected topic. The topics are weekly, meaning that all of the quizes for that week will be on the same topic, but will differ in actual content at each location.

So you just answer questions? That sounds easy.

Each quiz is structured into four rounds, with the first round always being Bingo. Twenty-five questions are posed, and you fill out a five-by-five grid with your responses. Then the correct answers are read back in random order, and the first team to get a “bingo” (five in a row or four corners) gets an extra 20 points.

The second round is different each quiz, based on the preference of the quizmaster and the location of the quiz. There’s one venue here in Portland, The Thirsty Lion, that uses videos for its second round. Lately, we’ve been playing a version of Jeopardy for round two at a few of the other locations.

The third round involves handouts hat the team attempts to fill out throughout the rest of the quiz. The answers are given after round two, and the point totals are announced for the fourth, and final, round.

Only the top three teams (or five, if there’s enough people) go into the final round. The top team picks from two categories of questions and then each team wagers any, or all, of their points. Winning or losing them, depending on their response to the final question. The winning team is the one with the most points at the end.

Sounds like fun, but why do I have to pay?

All of the money collected goes into the pot. At the end of the game, the top two teams (or three, if there’s more than 50 people playing) split the pot and take home the cash.

Do I have to drink in order to play?

No. (But it may help.) Most of the venues have some sort of happy hour or pub quiz specials, so you can drink, eat, or just sit there and enjoy the company of other people.

How hard are the questions?

Some are very easy. Some are very hard. It depends on the theme for the week and your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes you will be so sure about a question until you hear the “correct” answer, and then you will just want to slink away and hide for missing it.

Can I look up an answer if I don’t know it?

No, you may not. There are no cell phones, laptops, or PDAs allowed during pub quiz. You also cannot shout out the answers. It makes the others angry, and they will either laugh at you if you are wrong, or slap you if you are right and just gave it away to everyone.

I don’t live in Portland. How can I play?

Look online for pub quiz groups in your area. I found this one through Meetup.com, and there are other similar sites for most major metropolitan areas.

Thanks for clearing this up. Will I see you at the next pub quiz?

Maybe. If you hear “Mostly Confused” is playing when they announce the team names, then you’ll probably find me at one of the tables. You’ll know who we are when we get up to claim our winnings at the end.

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