Ten Trivia Night Tips - Pub Trivia An Entertaining Night Out
Executive Summary by Julie
Francis
If you are tired of
sitting home watching TV and your local area does not have much to offer in the
form of regular entertainment, have you considered attending a trivia night?
Pub trivia or trivia night quiz competitions are great for a regular weekly get
together with friends. They offer something for all ages, they are stimulating
and interactive, they leave you plenty of time to talk and give you lots of
things to talk about!
Trivia nights
usually organize their competition so that someone books a table and then
people sitting at the table compete as a team, so 2-8 people are needed and
they need a team name.
People often have a
preconception that trivia nights are for brainiacs. But don't bother racking
your brain and flicking through address books looking for someone with a
university degree. Trivia nights generally include trivia questions about pop
culture trivia, not really university degree type knowledge.
Most people have
more knowledge than we think. Instead of looking for intellectuals, you'll be
better off looking for team members who are avid fans of something.
Do you know someone
who watches a lot of TV? People who have watched every episode of the Simpsons,
or South Park, Friends or Neighbours have a brain chock full of TV characters
and their foibles. Music lovers with a CD collection spanning several decades
are useful. Travellers have a wealth of knowledge about locations and cities
and rivers and if they also speak several languages it's a bonus. Amateur chefs
can also tip the balance if you get a tricky food trivia question. Sports lovers
are a bonus.
Getting a good
trivia night team together may be the prime objective for those with a highly
competitive streak who are playing to win jackpots and prizes. Most of us are
just happy to pick up a bar voucher or a free dinner coupon at a trivia night.
We'll keep going out to a trivia night for the social interaction, so long as
the host and our friends make us laugh and we don't come last every week.
Here are 10 Trivia Night tips for people who haven't attended a trivia night before.
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1. Turn up around 15-30 minutes before the trivia night starts.
You'll be able to pick a good table, where you can see the screen and are able
to hear the questions better, and you won't be holding up the trivia host from
starting the quiz as he explains the rules to you.
·
2. Don't be afraid to be uncool enough to drag along a younger
or older acquaintance to a trivia night. People from different generations have
a vastly different knowledge base, that can make all the difference.
·
3. Turn off or simply don't take your mobile phone in with you.
Serious trivia night competitors can suffer from highly aggressive "cheat
rage" if they see you checking your messages, and many clubs and hosts
take a dim view of anyone bringing in mobile phones as well.
·
4. As competitors compete as a trivia team, if you drag a friend
or two along with you, you'll enjoy yourself more. Trivia hosts will often try
and fit singles into an already established team, but you take pot luck as to
who your team mates are. You might be lucky and make new friends or you might
be stuck at a table with a rowdy crowd who are more interested in each other
and the beer, than the trivia night competition or you.
·
5. Don't overdo the know it alls on your trivia team just to
fill up the table. Too many strong personalities arguing they're right can
spoil all the fun for the rest of the team. Friendships have been known to die
at trivia nights because a dominant personality over ruled a friends correct
answer with his own wrong one.
·
6. If you intend to question the trivia host about an answer you
"know" to be correct, be prepared to back it up with a reputable
source. These do not include Wikipedia or an internet website unless they also
cite a reference source with more weight.
·
7. A prize is often given for the best trivia team name. So put
your thinking cap on and come up with an inventive team name. A clever play on
words is trumped by the name that gets the most laughs.
·
8. Make sure the person chosen to write down the answers to the
trivia quiz questions, writes clearly and can spell. You don't want to lose
points on technicalities. It helps if this person is also very decisive, he or
she can then play referee when two team members are both certain about two
different possible answers.
·
9. Trust your instincts. The first answer to pop into your head
at a trivia night is most likely to be the true one. Don't over think it.
·
10. Beware of trick questions. Ignore the tip above and think
carefully before you commit to an answer that seems too easy. Quiz masters love
to throw a spanner in the works by playing on obvious answers that are false.
Want an example? This is a good one. How many months in a typical year have 28
days in them? Did you answer "One - February!"? It's true that only
February ends after 28 days apart from a leap year but it's also true that all
12 months in a normal calendar year have at least 28 days in them. So the
answer is actually 12.
So if you want a
stimulating entertaining night out, why not give a trivia night a go? Stretch
the brain, improve the memory, have a great night out and enjoy the company and
conversation of friends.
View their directory of Trivia Nights in A Box, if you are looking for a trivia night competition in Australia. Or you can visit other game at : http://multigamesonline.com.
