We’ve tried a variety of strategies to try winning gift card prizes the past few games we’ve played at the YpsiAlehouse. Just last week, we tried the “Let’s bet it all on the final question and get it right” strategy, which ALMOST worked! We finished just one place out of the prize zone in that game. The mystery rounds in that game virtually sunk any chances we had at winning any prizes.

Making a sacrifice to the elder gods didn’t seem to have any effect on us winning gift cards, so we quickly abandoned that strategy (JK, JK)!

In the most recent game, we attempted the “Let’s wager nothing on the final question and hope other teams don’t get it right” strategy. Yes, some players might call this “strategy” a “sucker’s bet,” or otherwise look down on trivia teams who try to win prizes in this fashion. Or they might say, “Go big or go home.”

Bully, I say! Uh, what century did I venture into with that interjection? 🙂 I say do whatever it takes! Betting zero on a final question can be just as risky – if not more so – than betting all of the points. Do you kick yourself more for knowing the answer after betting zero – or for getting it wrong after wagering it all?

Neither strategy will work every time. We’re just happy to win the first gift card prrize at the YpsiAlehouse in…years? Sure, it has been a few years since we played here regularly. It was still an exciting moment to learn we’d won a $10/second place prize! It’s all about those little moments, isn’t it?

Here were our questions, which may be abbreviated:

Round One

1 Snacks – the Little Debbie cake that has two layers of yellow cake, a layer of white cream and a diestinctive fudge stripes on the outer layer shares its name with what animal?

2 Roles – What role was originally played by Mary Martin in The Sound of Music when it premiered on Broadway? None of us could for the life of us think of her name, we incorrectly guessed “Eva.” Our combined trivia knowledge does not include that particular musical! 😦

3 Quarterbacks – What quarterback holds the record for most intercepptions thrown in Super Bowl games with eight total in five games while playing for the Denver Broncos? Brad came up with a good guess right away, and I backed it up by saying “Those little boys on South Park worshiped him!” Got a sportsball question correct, where are the cheerleaders?

4 Geology – Throats, vents, sills and dikes are all parts of what geologic formation? Facebook host clue.

Mystery Round One – Visual

We missed #3, which was totally my bad – I mistook this guy for Ghost Rider! Burn! 🙂

Round Two

5 Cartoons – What character, a Canadian Mountie who longs for Nell Fenwick and is regularly in pursuit of Snideley Whiplash, was introduced in the Aventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends? A “Yay, we’re old” question!

6 Actresses – In 2010, who won the Razzie Award for worst actress for her role in All About Steve and on the seame weekend, won the Academy Award for best actress? I had never heard of the Razzie movie, but made a guess on who might’ve won the Oscar, whew it was right!

7 Kids Books – Who is the title character in a 1964 novel by Louise Fitzhugh who records the actions of people she meets in a notebook?

8 Twins – Who is the only U.S. president to have fathered a set of twins? For a nerd bonus point, what are both of their first names?

Mystery Round Two – Animal Answers

Each correct response will contain the name of an animal

M1 – Family sitcom airing 1957-1963 starring Jerry Mathers

M2 – 1967 hit single by Jefferson Airplane inspired by a Lewis Carroll story

M3 – Media franchise launched by Hasbro in 1981

M4 – Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1995

Missed #3. We were in fifth going into the final with 48 points.

We wagered zero on the final category of TV Episodes

What TV series which aired 8 seasons had most episodes in the last four seasons named for songs by the Rolling Stones, Led Zepellin and Queen? Nope…

Round Three

9 Maff – In the order of operations mnemonic PEMDAS, what two operations are represented by S and A?

10 Disney Music – What Disney animated film’s soundtrack contains songs titled “Fathoms Below,” “Destruction of the Grotto” and “Wedding Announcement?” Did anyone else’s mind go to the Playboy Mansion when they heard the word “grotto?” 🙂 came up with correct reasoned guess.

11 Taglines – “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” was the tagline from what NBC series?

12 – NBA Draft – Within two, in what year was Chris Paul drafted fourth overall by the New Orleans Hornets? First miss of the round, but our guess was only off by one (to get correct within two).

Mystery Round Three

Name the persons in the following clues whose initials can be combined and rearranged to spell out the capital of Hungary

M1 – Actress known for playing Tara Lewis on Criminal Minds and voicing Lana Kane on Archer

M2 – Actress who stars in A Quiet Place and its sequel, both directed by her husband John Krasinski

M3 – Actor born Bryan Trout who is known for his roles in Scream, The Craft and As Good as it Gets

M4 – Only woman to win an IndyCar Series – the Indy Japan 300 in 2008

Got all of these correct.

Round Four

13 – Countries – What country, located in the Indian Ocean, has the lowest elevation of any sovereign state in the world?

14 – Slogans – In 2012, what car rental company began using the slogan “It’s Your Space” after replacing the old slogan “We Try Harder” for 50 years?

15 – Audio clue of Jefferson Starship song topping lots of worst song lists. Or was it Starship? I can’t keep up with all of their monikers!

16 – Dogs – Also known as a mixed breed, what is the seven letter term for a dog that does not belong to a registered breed?

Mystery Round Four

Pick the flavors of Tic Tacs that are currently being sold

Sprite, strawberries and cream, cinnamon, orange, licorice, wintergreen, watermelon

Picked two correct flavors.

We were in third going into the final with 49 points. We wagered zero on the category of Airline Travel since airline travelers, we ain’t!

In addition to Honolulu, there are four US capital cities that are served by Hawaiian Airlines. Name three of those four state capitals, all of which are more populous than Atlanta (city proper, not metro area).

The top team wagered and missed, so we moved up to second! We’ll take it!

We’re heading out for our 69th game at a local trivia joint later this week. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Sandra Bullock!