- Coming up with that perfect team name- one that’s the exact right mix of humor, current events, and edginess without veering too far off the path of decency. Will “Stephen Hawking School of Dance” be overly offensive to anyone in the room? No? Ok then.
- When you’re already writing down the answer to a question… and then the host announces it’s multiple choice, and gives out four possible answers to the great relief of the other (clearly inferior) teams, who obviously wouldn’t have been able to answer it otherwise. What is this, the SAT?
- That occassional super random, super obscure question that not even Google has a ready answer for. Greenport Harbor Brewing Company opened its second location in what Suffolk County town? The answer is Peconic, obviously.
- Non-trivia playing people that show up on trivia night. Especially when they make a nuisance of themselves by yelling out answers, or worse- talking while the questions are being asked. We take this very seriously, sir, so please find another establishment to serve you your Sam Adams on Wednesday nights.
- When the host gives a standings update, but doesn’t announce the actual scores. How else are we supposed to know how badly we’re beating the other teams?
- Overly specific theme rounds. Like Easter. Or Belgium. Or Hair salons (no, seriously- I actually saw this happen once). Theme rounds can be fun, but if you’re trying to compile 10 questions on Swedish soap operas, you’re going to find yourself scraping the bottom of the barrel sometime around question 3. You’re not less of a trivia host if you default to general knowledge rounds.
- When you have the right answer written down, and for some inexplicable reason change it to an incorrect answer right before handing it in. Ouch! It hurt just to write that one
- When there’s a question that’s right in the wheelhouse of one of your teammates- the one that had to miss trivia that night because of some silly work or family thing. Get your priorities straight buddy, this is trivia night!
- Tiebreakers. Because there are very few trivia formats in which the tiebreak procedure doesn’t suck. It’s either a Price is Right style guessing game- closest to the actual answer without going over – or some other ridiculousness. Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots. Rock Paper Scissors. Bar fight to the death. How about deciding the winner of trivia with, you know, an actual trivia question?
- Jeopardy-style final questions. Just…no.
POW Trivia All Stars 