Austin Rogers - The Ultimate Book of Pub Trivia by the Smartest Guy in the Bar: Over 300 Rounds and More Than 3,000 Questions

Austin Rogers

over rounds And more than 3,000 questions

Workman Publishing New York

The Best Damned Trivia Night:
An Introduction

A How-To Guide:
Put Together Your Own Trivia Night for Fun and Profit

G reetings, reader! Im Austin Rogers and I know stuff. Most famously, I proved my stuff-knowingness on a 12-game, $411,000 run on the acclaimed quiz show Jeopardy!. But long before my TV prowess, I hosted pub quiz nights.

When I started hosting 15 years ago, pub quiz, trivia nightwhatever you might call itexisted but not anything like it does today. What started as a humble British hobby is now a multinational industry with dozens of businesses and thousands of individuals generating millions of dollars for bars, pubs, and special events. The near ubiquity of trivia nights is inescapable, and in cities like New York, my home, the wealth of choice in events to attend is staggering. But it wasnt always like this.

When I first got my feet wet as a pub trivia host, I didnt have much to go on: I was fresh off a winning appearance on the TV game show Cash Cab when a friend approached me. He was opening a new bar and thought a trivia night would be a good draw on an off night, and my expertise made me the perfect candidate to host.

Before the bars grand opening, we spent several weeks traveling New York City, and attending as many pub quizzes as we could in search of a format that worked. In an era before the spate of prepackaged quiz nights such as Geeks Who Drink, Trivia Tryst, and NYC Trivia League, the pickings were slim and the quality of the product wanting. The meager offerings included monotone hosts, inanely simplistic questions, and incredibly specific topics that were solely the domain of specialists in niche categories (imagine an entire nights worth of questions on Pavement or Golden Girls quotes). It all pretty much sucked. I knew I could do better, so I cherry-picked positive facets of each quiz night I attended and ran with it to create the Best Damned Trivia Night I possibly could.

While researching the perfect trivia format, I found that a whole lot of quizzes I encountered were too specific, focusing on one subject (e.g., a Back to the Future quiz that tested patrons only on the minutiae of the movies plot points). Why not include delightfully tangential trivia as well? Switch it up and get creative! Try this instead: While Back to the Future was the top-grossing movie of 1985, this SNL alum comedy was the second-highest-grossing film of the year.

Worse, so many attempted to be way too cutesy. (In 1911, this famous painting was stolen... speaking of stealing, hes the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers!) Ugh. Just ugh. In a few odd cases, I discovered trivia nights that were also too specialized and obscure, bordering on the academic in their questioning (Its bygone British railways trivia night!).

I observed the same outcome again and again in all these examples: One team got the lead right away and stayed there, making for a less dynamic competition where no one had any fun. Sure, the guy who memorized the names of 19th-century Scottish steam engines was having a great time, but everyone else was definitely bored out of their heads or just annoyed. Annoyed customers leave bars and never come back.

Armed with these newfound insights, I wrote every evenings quiz with three thoughts in mind: 1) Does any well-rounded team have a chance of winning? 2) Will there be different teams in the leaders spot throughout the night, giving hope to every participating team? 3) Can incentives like cash giveaways, free swag, gift cards, beverages, and meals scattered throughout the evening keep it entertaining, even for those teams with no chance in hell of winning? The answer to all three questions is a resounding yes.

The sheer amount of quiz books is innumerable. Bathroom readers and titles like 1,001 Questions about German Shepherds populate the warehouse shelves of Amazon, and while theyre all good and fun, none of them tell you how to monetize your overwhelming desire for minutiae. That all changes with this volume. Short of going on Jeopardy!, there are few ways to earn an income in the field of trivia. Tournaments, including Geek Bowl and SporcleCon, offer rare opportunities to profit from your inane knowledge, but otherwise, trivia is a paupers game. Not so with hosting pub quiz and bar trivia. This book will help you set up a great quiz night for your friends and family at home or any gathering. It is also a primer on how to go pro and start your own trivia night at a local bar, restaurant, club, or special event.

The trivia rounds that follow contain the perfect formula for a diverse, entertaining, and engaging trivia night that keeps people playing and drinking, thus generating revenue. They are organized into 78 four-round quizzes, with each round rated by difficulty from 1 (you better get all of them right!) to 6 (PhD-level minutiae for only the true savant), and are sure to please any and all trivia fans.

And of course, if none of this works for you, put your own spin on it. Rip me off. Youve already bought the bookI dont care if you follow my perfect instructions or not. I got paid!

Answer: Beverly Hills Cop

QUIZ

Round 1 / Difficulty Level

Chain Restaurants

Because of a preexisting copyright, Burger King franchises carry this name in Australia.

Entertainer Bob Hope suggested that founder Sandy Beall name his chain restaurant after this Rolling Stones song.

Did You Know?

Unlike most other JaggerRichards songs, the lyrics to Answer #2 were written entirely by Keith Richards, and much of the music was composed by Brian Jones. Even so, Mick Jagger says that its a wonderful song... I always enjoy singing it.

After a corporate realignment, both Carls Jr. and Hardees have a smiling one of these as a logo.

David Lynch probably hates the name of this Dallas-based breastaurant.

This restaurant chain is the number-one buyer of apples in the United States.

This chain is known as the St. Louis Bread Company in 100 stores in its original market.

Specializing in smoked and steamed fish dishes, Nordsee boasts 400 locations throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East and is based in this European country.

Because of lax image rights practices, Chinas Kungfu chain restaurant has as its logo a picture of this martial arts legend.

Popular in the UK, PERi-PERi chicken is the signature dish of this South Africanbased fast-food chain.

Curiously or obviously, every location of this chain restaurant has closed down in Massachusetts and Maine.

1. Hungry Jacks - 2. Ruby Tuesday - 3. Star 4. Twin Peaks 5. McDonalds 6. Panera Bread 7. Germany 8. Bruce Lee 9. Nandos 10. Red Lobster

Round 2 / Difficulty Level

Before and After

Heres how Before and After rounds work: Ill give you two clues separated by the word AND that form one compound answer. Think of one half, think of the other half, then find the word in the middle that joins them together. (No partial credit!) For example: This Billy Joel song will get you high tonight AND Lynchburgs famous whiskey. (Answer: Captain Jack Daniels.)