Thursday, November 5, 2009

Trivia Night Media Mentions

Village Voice - Best of New York- Best Trivia Night - Telephone Bar here

Time Out New York - Late Night Trivia Options

Friday, July 31, 2009

Mad Tim's Trivia at Biddy's Pub - Thursday Nights

This Thursday night trivia (possibly the city's only Thursday night pub quiz offering?) is run by quizmaster Mad Tim at the tiny Upper East Side bar, Biddy's Pub. It is free to compete and first prize gets a $40 bar tab.

The trivia was scheduled to start at 9:30 and began about 10 minutes after and moved at a brisk pace. There are 4 rounds of 10 questions each - Current Events, General Knowledge, Before and After, and Pop Culture. Each question in the first three rounds counts for 1 point and those in the final round are 2 points each for a possible perfect score of 50.

There were about 7 teams competing and the winning team was composed of 10 people and had 43 total points. The rest of the teams consisted of 2, 3, or 4 members. Second place had 40 points and no other team was in contention.

A few sample questions (paraphrased):
From Current Events
-A 78 year old Iowa woman threatened to get rid of her television cause who is on it too much?
-The Philadelphia Phillies acquired what reigning Cy Young winner today?

General Knowledge
-This team trails the New York Yankees in second place in World Series titles.
-What company utilizes the slogan "The #1 ball in golf." & "Serious clubs for serious golfers"?
-"Old Hickory" was the nickname of what US President?

Pop Culture
-This anagramatic phrase is repeated at the end of LA Woman.
-What newsman was the focus of George Clooney's Good Night & Good Luck?
-What was the secondary title for the sequel to National Treasure.

Wildcard - Before & After -- 3rd round of the night
This was a fun, entertaining and challenging round. It ranks among the favorite rounds of trivia I have competed in New York and elsewhere. This round really separated the competition as the eventual winners went 8 for 10, second place 10 for 10 and no other team scored over 5.
These questions followed the Before & After format seen on Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune where two clues are given, and there is one common word linking them.
-The nickname of an Ali-Forman bout and a 1974 Kool & the Gang hit
-Lightyear catchphrase and standard of proof in a criminal case
-Robin's cohorts and Safety Dance group
-Nemesis of Bugs and ABC veteran weatherman
-Prime place for wine used as a windows backdrop and Jaclyn Suzanne offering

This trivia is enteraining, the quiz moves along and the bartenders are quick and amiable. The room is small so I would recommend getting there around 9 to secure a table but this is a very solid trivia night.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Introduction

This blog is going to be a resource for all things New York City (albeit specifically Manhattan) Trivia Nights. Information regarding the locations, days, format, prizes and reviews of different trivia nights/pub quizzes.

Please email any suggestions, comments, additions to nyctriviamatrix@gmail.com.