Our Town

Where: Our Town Cafe. Located at 245 East Broadway.

When: The last Thursday of every month. The "official" start time is at 7 PM, but it doesn't usually get running until 8 or so. Some months get skipped, so check the facebook group before heading out.

Web Presence:  They've got a facebook group.

Registration Fee: $2 per player

Team Info: Up to 5 players per team.

Prizes: A pitcher of beer, which you should share with the band. Wait, a band?

Format: 3-6 rounds, depending how you divide thing up. There are two rounds of what we've always called "Phoenix-style" questions, some audio rounds, a matching round, and finally, a gigantic video/picture round. more on both later.

Food and Drink: The food is coffee shop food, and there are cheap beers to be had. Don't expect too much, and tip your server.

Meg runs this quiz, and does good job in a pretty informal atmosphere. You'll quickly find that this is not a restaurant, and therefor table space can be a little tight. I advise you to get there early, grab a muffin and a coffee, and be glad you have a seat when the rush hits. You may have been a little confused early when I mentioned a band. Well, there is a band - the unimpeachably named Def Jeppard. Usually a 3-piece, they provide live musical accompaniment to your cognitive activities. I was taken aback when I saw them setting up the first time I showed up, but that is because I was an idiot. It is even more fun to argue amongst yourselves over answers (all of which are incorrect) when a band is play "The Son Of Mr Green Genes" in the background. They work hard, buy them a drink sometime.

Now, to clear up what I meant when I said "Phoenix-style" earlier. One time I went to Phoenix, Arizona for a week. We did a pub quiz while we were there, and there were these 4 question long rounds. You are given 4 point values (here it is 2, 4, 6, and 8), and the categories of the forthcoming questions. For each question, you wager one of the point values.  Each question is marked immediately by the quizmistress, and you can't wager the same value twice in a round.  If you definitely know an answer, you wager 8. If you're guessing, you wager the lowest value you have left. It's a neat way to do it, and keeps the scores interesting. 2 Correct questions can be 14 points, or 6 points, depending on how you wagered. A neat way to do it.

The crowd is a neat mix of people who just want a coffee and got caught up in a quiz, hipsters from main street, and students trying to study. The questions are pretty good, and you can tell that Meg likes movies, as the movie related rounds are usually the hardest (comparatively). That could be because I'm not a film type person, so most of it ends up being Greek to me. The picture smorgasbord has some good questions, usually including flags, movie posters, and some dumb word puzzles. In general, it seems to me that this quiz is more geared towards the 25-35 crowd, just by virtue of the questions the quizmistress likes to write. It usually takes a while for the quiz to get started, and I have sympathy for Meg, since it seems like she's herding cats sometimes trying to get this to start. The cafe closes at 11, so everyone is usually out of there by then.


ANYWAYS, it's a fun, chaotic quiz, although the space can get a little cramped. don't expect to get out too fast, though.