It was two years ago today (September 15, 2015) that I ventured out to a local watering hole by myself and attempted my first “solo” pub trivia game! It was something I’d thought about doing for quite a while, just for the challenge of it.  It was a good night to get out, my husband had plans to meet friends to play board games, and I just didn’t feel like sitting home and watching TV (again)! I set my sights on a place called Johnny’s Grill in Belleville, for several reasons: One, it was only about 20 minutes away; two, I knew at least one of the teams playing there; and three, I knew the host of that game pretty well.  Since that first solo trivia game, I still abide by those same rules – and tend to only play solo in places where I know at least one other team there, know the bar staff, or know the host. I didn’t do so hot in that first game, I blew nine points on this question in round one: What governor and 2016 presidential candidate appeared in a skit with Jimmy Fallon called “The Evolution of the Dad Dance” in 2014 on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon?” I don’t even remember which guy I put down for this one…So I finished the first round with only 49 points, and was about in the middle of the herd. I only stayed for one game that night, since I was supposed to collect my husband at the bar where he was playing board games and didn’t want to be late! Read more about that game here.

Since that first “solo flight,” I’ve continued playing solo games dozens of other times. There are positives and negatives to playing “sans team.” One, sometimes your team will help you with answers, which is a positive! Two, your team will supply a steady stream of conversation, hijinks and camaraderie and will thus entertain you (or annoy you). Sometimes, however? It’s kind of nice to have some quiet! It’s  nice to not have anyone second guess you when you KNOW an answer! My team has too often stymied ourselves with the dreaded “committee thinking.” Just being able to have the alone time in the car is nice, too. I don’t have anyone hitting “next” when a song from “Jesus Christ Superstar” or “Evita” comes on!

So how do my solo games work out? Overall, not bad! Like any other trivia game, some of them really, really suck – but I’ve had some really bright moments, too. A few times in 2016 I wound up winning first by myself at Original Gravity Brewing Company in Milan.  Here’s a final question from the July 21, 2016 game which I was the only person in the bar to know:

Native American actor Will Sampson is best known for appearing in what Best Picture-winning movie, which was based on a celebrated 1962 novel in which his character was the narrator?

After I handed in my answer, I saw another player who had also handed in their answer and asked who they put down. When I told this player which answer I had put down? Well, let’s just say the “oh fuck” look on his face was PRICELESS! That’s how I KNEW I had the question right! Who says pub trivia isn’t just a bit like poker? All players have their “tells!” It’s up to you to know how to read them! So I won a nice $20 prize by myself that night, woot!

And about a month later in the August 25 game at Original Gravity I won a first place by myself again, by getting this question right…

Put these four birthstones in chronological order, from earliest to latest in a calendar year, according to the month with which they are traditionally associated:
Amethyst, Turquoise, Diamond, Pearl

For more about that game, click here.

It’s not always fun and games doing the trivia games by yourself. Sometimes, especially while sitting at the bar, you might get a drunken barfly trying to “help you with your game. At a February game at Johnny’s Grill, this happened when a trucker, who should have been cut off three rounds ago, decided he wanted to “help” me with my game. Not only was he NO help at all – but he decided to make  inappropriate comments about his cooking abilities – and tell me that his “sausage” was the best. After I handed in one of my slips, the guy had disappeared. And a short time later, a bar manager asked me if I was having a good time. So I think someone may have decided it was time for this guy to leave – though for the record, I didn’t complain to anyone about this guy.  The only bright note is I wound up winning game two! This was the question…

A total of seven U.S. presidents were directly elected president while acting as a governor of a U.S. state. The two most recent people to do this were George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Name one of the other five.

Winning the top prize made me feel a lot better for the crap I had put up with in game one! Bastard threw me off my game! Read more about that game here.

The absolute best time I ever won a first  place by myself was on the strength of an off-color 1996 film, which  happened in an August 18, 2016 game:

In what 1990s animated movie did then-married couple Demi Moore and Bruce Willis provide the voices of characters named Dallas and Muddy Grimes? Read about the game here…

I ALMOST felt bad for knowing that answer! But $20 in beer money kind of numbed those feelings a bit!

Fast forward to 2017, last week… on Thursday, September 7, I paid another visit to Original Gravity Brewing Company and wound up winning TWO first place prizes solo! Hell, it’s rare when my whole team manages to get a first place sweep – even rarer when it’s just little ‘ol me! The final questions from this game were:

Between 1975 and 1995, the words “Storm”, “River”, “Street”, and “Houses” appeared in the titles of #1 albums released by what artist?
And this person was the recent subject of a few posts on our page…I knew two of these words matched a particular artist recording during this time frame for sure…

And the other question…

There are two former Soviet Republics whose names do NOT end in “-stan” AND who do not share a border with Russia.
Name one of those former Republics.

More about that game here…

Another fairly recent triumph was in January, when I won a $20 gift card on a tiebreaker – after GUESSING my way through a tough final question! Which was…

Put these New York City landmarks in geographical order, from north to south:
The Apollo Theater; Yankee Stadium; Times Square; Coney Island
I know absolutely ZILCH about the geography of the NYC area. Nothing. So I did the next best thing…I figured, “Yankee…that’s what you were if you fought for the North in the Civil War, maybe Yankee Stadium is farthest north? And hm….Coney Island is near the water, maybe that is farthest south. Just flat out guessed on the others.  Woot got this right! This put me in a tiebreaker with the team More Beer Less Pants for first. That question was:

In what year was the book “Get Shorty” published? My guess was just six years off, MBLP’s guess was off by 17 years, so I got it! More about that game can be read here…

So those were some highlights of some of the better games I’ve had while playing “sans team!” at Original Gravity and elsewhere! Those kind of triumphs, however, are the exception, not the norm. I’m a decent player, above average at best, but not awesome! I do know some solo players who kick a lot more ass “sans team” than I do – on a regular basis! But as I said before, I’m only doing this for the challenge. And the little taste of independence I so desperately crave sometimes! Original Gravity, unfortunately, just isn’t the same anymore. I don’t like how the host plays songs by just one artist for the whole game, for one, but that’s a minor thing.  I still enjoy the drives there and the solo games, but I’m just not digging the bad vibes I’m getting from one of the other players there. Being shunned like a knocked-up Amish girl just ain’t that fun… It’s a damn shame, really,  but I guess these things happen! If someone decides to blow you off, sometimes there’s not much you can do about it. If nothing else, the experience will ignite my competitive fires enough to motivate me to kick some real ass! As the old Burger King commercials used to say, “Have it YOUR way!”