I’ve been playing pub trivia games for more than five years now. Though I don’t claim to be an expert in answering the questions correctly, I certainly do OK! I would describe myself as “above average.” Certainly not a “ringer,” mainly because I don’t know much about sports. I like playing with my team – hearing Brad say “That’s EASY” when a question is asked is, well, music to my ears! Brad’s annoying voice notwithstanding, of course! And I love it when Mike just writes down the slip and hands it in without discussing the answer with anyone (though if you try doing that on his watch, prepare for a rumble). And John says “Oh God!” when he knows an answer, which is as “triviagasmic” as it comes! Heh, I said “comes!”

I love playing with my team, but I also enjoy playing by myself, too. For one, there’s nobody to argue with me when I REALLY know an answer! Anyone who has played a pub trivia game knows how frustrating it can be when you really, really know an answer – but your team talks you out of it. Case in point, a final question we had about which American Film Institute movie comedies beginning with the letter “C” made their list of funniest movies? Well, I was SURE “City Slickers” was the answer, since I’ve studied those lists before, but my team INSISTED on going with “The Cannonball Run.” For one, the name technically begins with the letter “T” if you count articles, and two, THIS movie would NEVER make a snooty AFI list! But committee thinking prevailed, and we missed this. Yes, I was kind of pissy about this one for a bit…

While I manage to hold my own all right when I go out for the solo trivia games, I am still an amateur compared to some of the other trivia players out there. And I’m going to go out on a limb and say that some players really are better off playing by themselves – than with “lesser” teammates. This is something I’ve been seeing lately in one of the bars I’ve been playing, where a really, really good player – one who is good enough to carry a venue solo (which I have seen happen more times than I can count) – has been joining forces with another team there. This is a player I’ve known for a few years and have come to really respect and admire for their trivia prowess – and also admire because they don’t get cocky about how awesome they are with trivia. I would call this person one of the most worthy adversaries I’ve ever played against, and I’ve enjoyed testing my trivia mettle against theirs over the past few years. Believe me, pub trivia is a great stage for showing off massive egos! I don’t know why this person is doing this, I’m sure they have their reasons. I honestly don’t know what their strategy is. But it’s killing me to see such an awesome player being watered down by playing with someone whom I suspect may be talking them out of answers they know. This “team” is in first place in the rankings, but are now tied with another team that I KNOW would be their bitch if they were playing solo rather than with another team. Maybe this person is enjoying the companionship? I really don’t know. Maybe the plan is to bring their teammates into the equation when it comes time to play a tournament qualifying game.

If this person is just playing with someone else just for the companionship – and just for fun? Hurrah? Godspeed! I have a hard time playing “just for fun” anymore! I’m competitive and will always, always play to win. That’s not to say I don’t have a lot of fun while playing to win!

I really, really just wanted to get this out there…