Something I posted on Twitter the other day:
Good trivia questions are part magic trick and part riddle, seasoned with a little bit of haiku.
No spice or puppy dog tails required. Got it? Good. In my next few posts I’ll talk a little about what I mean by that.
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After February’s quiz, Mehal chatted with me for a minute. Then he mentioned that his team (Annyong!) had collapsed in the second half.
It's a pressure cooker! (Get it?)
Yeah, I said. The second half was harder than the first — but that’s how I like it. (OK, truth be told I don’t like teams to collapse.) I think a good quiz should get more difficult as you go along.
“Why’s that?” he asked. Which is a good question.
Apparently some hosts like to lead off with a difficult round. Players haven’t had as much beer, the theory goes, so they’re sharper.
But most games start easier and get harder as they go along — and pub quiz is a game. It’s more satisfying for players to ease in, get comfortable with the rules, and then start spraining their brains.
Compare with game shows: Jeopardy! is easier in the first half than in Double Jeopardy, and Final Jeopardy is in theory the hardest question of the show. Cash Cab starts with easier $25 questions and builds to more difficult $200 questions. And you don’t your shot at becoming a millionaire until you’ve answered 14 easier (but progressively more difficult) questions.
And at pub quiz, the first round should be easier than the last round.
Keep reading …
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(Offer only good if you’re coming to the Old Pequliar in Seattle for trivia tonight, Feb. 2.)
One team who sends me the correct answer to this question will win a free pitcher of beer courtesy of me, your host for the evening:
Where in Seattle does it pay to know the difference between green, yellow, orange, light blue, dark blue, and purple?
Send your answer to james [at] quizquizbangbang.com. I’ll choose one person/team with the correct answer at random and announce before the quiz.
Details on the quiz:
What you need to know:
See you tonight.
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For those that don’t know, the Old Pequliar a pub in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. There’s a quiz every Tuesday night; I usually host the first Tuesday of the month.
What you need to know:
Check back here tomorrow for a question that might win you free beer ahead of time.
See you tomorrow. And don’t forget to say hi.
Because this is the 21st century, we’re on Facebook. And we’re on Twitter.
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I used this photo in a picture round in my most recent quiz at the Old Pequliar:
Know who it is?
(Theme of the round: Celebrities with 2009 milestones — either got married, got divorced, or had a kid.)
Incorrect guesses from the teams who were playing that night:
Three teams correctly identified Cobie Smulders (who had a kid).
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What Pulitzer-Prize-winning work was released in two volumes called “My Father Bleeds History” and “And Here My Troubles Began”?
You’ve probably heard that Midnight Cowboy is the only film rated X to win the Oscar for Best Picture. One year earlier, what musical became the only G-rated film to win Best Picture?
The show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is named for a Cole Porter song that debuted in what movie musical?
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