My trivia team, Miskatonic University Fighting Cephalopods  in February, 2016.

It may be too early to tell, but I think my trivia team seems to like the “new” trivia spot I’ve picked – Arbor Brewing Company Microbrewery, in Ypsilanti, MI, aka the “Corner Brewery.”

It’s not really a “new” spot. We started playing here in 2012, but stopped playing here regularly in October, 2015. Almost a year later, I found a “new” spot for the team to play – The Wurst Bar – in Ypsilanti, so we moved our trivia nights there, and started playing with a different league. We did pretty well at Wurst and in this trivia league – managed to finish in second – or first – for about five seasons running, which qualified us for semifinals/finals. We managed to finish in first place at a regional tournament in July, 2017, where we won $2,500! It still seems unreal that it happened, and I am convinced that we all got into a car accident and died on the way there – and just dreamed that this happened! Photos can be faked, after all.  Don’t argue with my silly fan theories (LOL)!

They let us keep that oversized novelty check. It’s still in our garage, tucked behind our Miskatonic University cornhole set that we made about four years ago…

Despite us kicking ass at Wurst a good deal of the time, and winning lots of prize money, there was still something missing. For one, it kind of “broke up” the team. A couple of our players kind of tuned out of playing at Wurst, and told me they kind of preferred playing at “Corner.” I didn’t even really think of this until two other issues popped up recently – having to drive another player to games at Wurst during inclement weather, and having some issues between one of our players and the trivia host.

I’m getting lots of good vibes from the team after I announced the switch in trivia spots. After witnessing the camaraderie of everyone together last week at our “new old” spot, I can’t help but think I made the right decision!  I know this won’t be the easiest trivia spot to try qualifying for a tournament, but I also know it’s not impossible! We’ve qualified by playing here quite a few times before, after all! Even if we make it to a regional tournament by playing here, we’re not too likely to win any money anyway.  Really, it’s just fun to be at a tournament (I always compare it to being akin to the Kentucky Derby, which might explain some of the gaudy outfits I put together for tournaments)! Why not have some fun for a season? If nothing else, the earlier games work better with my early morning work schedule!

I’ll have to see how we do in qualifying for the tournament in the “other” trivia league when we start playing at Powell’s next week. I look forward to two “new” trivia adventures this coming season!