In the interest of finding out a bit more about one of the games offered on campus, I decided to gather up a group of friends to participate in Collis’ Tuesday Night Trivia. This pub-style trivia is offered every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The game consists of five rounds, each focused on a certain topic, with eight questions per round. The organizers try to make topics timely, drawing inspiration for categories from upcoming holidays and recent events like award shows. First, second and third place teams win gift cards to local businesses for each member, and pizza is available for all players.
Mychaela Anderson ’20 helps organize the trivia nights. She will take over planning the event next term under her chosen title of “Trivia Czar Star Overlord.”
“The goal is to not make questions so specific that people just give up,” Anderson said. “It should be so that if you actually think about it and go with your best guess, you should be able to get close.”
For Anderson, trivia night isn’t about the prizes.
“Come, try your best and learn something new,” she said. “It’s supposed to be a very chill event so just come to have fun.”
Coming into this challenge I was perhaps a bit overconfident. I am, after all, the sort of person who watched “Jeopardy” every weeknight for years. However, I woefully overestimated my knowledge of goats and Vladimir Putin. Below is a minute-by-minute record of my experience.
7:35 p.m.
We are a few minutes late. The game is about to start, and every seat is taken. My friend, Jesus Franco ’20, and I hastily form a team with the only other two people we recognize in the room.
The first round is all about the names for animal groupings.
7:44 p.m.
What do you call a group of wombats? A womble?
7:48 p.m.
A wisdom. A group of wombats is called a wisdom. We all nod and pretend that makes sense.
7:49 p.m.
Our team name is #No DAPL. I did not choose this. The best team name of the night is “I thought this was speed dating.”
Round 2 is all about goats.
7:53 p.m.
Question eight: How old was the oldest goat?
7:55 p.m.
We are failures, and we know it. The next question is “Who brought goats to America?”
Our answer? “The white man.”
8:01 p.m.
The group has fallen into silence as we wait for the scores to be tallied.
8:02 p.m.
We are not in last place! A team called “The Winners” is in last place.
8:04 p.m.
Half of our team abandons us. It’s just Jesus and me now. Do we even count as a team?
This round is all about Vladimir Putin.
8:05 p.m.
We find seating at an empty table with a single chair. I sit on the table.
8:06 p.m.
There is a group of people who look like they are trying to study. I cannot understand why they would try to get any work done here. The trivia players’ excited chatter is pretty loud.
8:08 p.m.
Question five asks which apostle of a sect of the Russian Orthodox Church, called the Chapel of Russia’s Resurrection, believes that Putin is a reincarnation of. Jesus asks what apostles are.
“They’re the guys who followed Jesus, I think,” I say.
“I have like 500 Twitter followers,” he says.
8:10 p.m.
We suspect the guy standing next to us is a spy from another group. Jesus loudly says the wrong answer in an attempt to mislead him.
8:12 p.m.
What is Putin’s favorite literary genre?
8:14 p.m.
I am paranoid that the other groups are googling answers. I briefly consider doing the same.
8:15 p.m.
The round’s answers are read aloud. Jesus and I high-five for each correct answer.
Round four is titled “Faces only a mother could love.” We are shown high school yearbook photos and have to guess which celebrity is the subject of each.
8:17 p.m.
My roommate, Kara Powell ’20, arrives to join our team. The timing is perfect; she is really good at this round.
8:20 p.m.
We argue over whether one picture is of Reese Witherspoon. I am convinced. Kara is not.
8:24 p.m.
Kara was right. It was Avril Lavigne, not Reese Witherspoon.
Round 5 is all about board games, entitled “You played yourself.”
8:29 p.m.
We are really struggling this round. None of us knew what the word “jenga” meant. I confused Raul and Fidel Castro.
8:30 p.m.
We overhear an answer from another team. We glance at each other and decide wordlessly not to steal it.
8:33 p.m.
I start to wonder if my friends resent me for insisting they come play trivia with me.
8:34 p.m.
Jesus: “We should have cheated.”
8:38 p.m.
Final scores are in! We came in fifth, not high enough to win a prize. The two teams tied for first play a tiebreaker as everyone else shuffles out leisurely.
8:39 p.m.
The table I am sitting on tips over as I try to leave. My friends laugh.
8:41 p.m.
We resolve to give trivia another try in the future, convinced that with a carefully chosen team of our friends we can actually win a prize. Fifth place wasn’t bad for a first try, however. I am pleased with our performance. If I do this again, I’ll definitely come early to get a seat on the couches and first dibs on the pizza.
