Yet again, the quizmasters at the Portside have changed. Now Mondays will find it being hosted by IQ2000 trivia, with the exact host unconfirmed at press time.
Where: The Portside Pub, 7 Alexander
When: 7:30 PM Mondays
Web Presence: Quizmaster Katie usually provides some hints on
her Facebook page
Team Info: Max team size of seven, so if you have more, get ready to break them down into two teams
Prizes: $60 in bar credit for first place, $40 for second, and there's even a prize for team who finished second to last.
Format: Two halves, with three ten-question categories each. There was a lightning round that gave beer to the winners as well, which is a fun diversion.
Food and Drink: Much the same as before, but the beer selection seems to have grown in their variety. If you've got a sweet tooth, they've got a tasty ice cream sandwich, made with ice cream from the impeccable
Earnest Ice Cream.
Alright! You may recall that I recently did a review of the Smartside Trivia at the Portside, but forget about that! It's old news! The Portside has revamped their quiz by tipping the fantastic Katie, of Darby's notoriety, to host the show. As you may have expected given
her previous body of work, it was a smart choice.
The linear quarters of the Portside haven't changed much in the last six weeks, but the trivia sure has. The quiz starts around 7:30 PM, and moves along at a decent speed. The content is classic: heavy on the pop culture, themed rounds, with a willingness to ask some legitimately tough questions. There's an enjoyable music round, some matching, and even a few new twists to Katie's formula. The lightning round between halves is a great way to hand out some free beer. Identifying random things as fast as you can is a better beer dispersal mechanism than
heads or tails anyways. I suppose you shouldn't complain about free beer, but I don't see why I can't rank my preferred methods of handing it out.
As a relatively young quiz, the Portside doesn't yet have the crowds of regulars that some quizzes have. The night we were there had about seven to eight other teams, and a few tables that weren't participating. Personally, I find it interesting to see a quizmaster who is used to packed houses and rapt attentions hosting at a smaller level. Katie does a great job engaging the teams, and it looked as though even the teams who hadn't come out explicitly for quiz were having fun. Gastown is in need of more pub quizzes, and Monday has always been one of my favourite nights to go to a quiz. The week's just started, but there's still a reason to look forward to Mondays. Forget what some cats may say,
if they even exist. Anyways, hopefully the word gets out that there's good times and great prizes to be had here, and the ranks of quizzers will swell.
Judgement Day: An excellent Quiz Night With Katie quiz, in a convenient downtown location, with excellent prizes. May as well get in on the action at ground level.
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