The Princeton Pub

Where: The Princeton Pub, 1901 Powell Street

When: 8 PM Wednesdays

Web Presence: You can follow Quizmaster Rebecca on twitter, @trebekaquiz

Team Info: Bring 'em if you got em? I didn't see any specific team size limit.

Prizes: Random prizes throughout the night, and a round of drinks for the first place squad

Format: Two or three rounds, each with three categories of ten questions

Food and Drink: The very definition of pub food, without any aspirations toward craft, or local chic. Plain, straight food that will fill you up. As a result of being located in one of Vancouver's craft beer hotspots, the beer selection is quite good.

When Alexander died, the Wars of the Diadochi flared up as Perdiccas, Antipater, Ptolemy and others carved out their own satrapies from the continent-spanning empire. When Katie (of Quiz Night With Katie fame) finally shed the Vancouver coil, the aftermath was a lot less bloody across her three quiz nights. While no quiz has ever been able to take root in the arid soil of the Portside, grounds were more fertile in the East. As Ptolemy founded his dynasty in Egypt, so too has Trebeka built her own Lagidae at the Princeton Pub & Grill, located at the corner of Powell and Victoria streets.

If you're still reading this after all that needless masturbatory exposition: thanks! Now I'll tell you what you want to know. Starting at 8 PM, despite what the website and posters say, Trebeka's quiz is a well constructed quiz, with a light but competitive crowd. There were about six teams when we were there, and room for a few more. The questions are grouped into themed rounds, which I love. Instead of two rounds of General Knowledge and some picture rounds, each week you are going to be quizzed on something more specialized. I'm a fan of this style as it lets all sorts of people join in on the question answering, and rewards the most versatile teams. Our table d'hôte served up a round on Tiling, grout and all, and a round on Mali. Given the railroad-adjacent locale, it was clarified that round would be about the country, and not the drug.

The food is fine, and the beer options varied. The service can be a bit slow, but have some pity on the one poor bartender they have trying to keep everything straight. It is a bit out of the way if you live downtown or west of Main, but if you're in the erstwhile Hastings-Sunrise or really anywhere else in East Van, it's an excellent choice. So go! A quiz like this deserves more teams.

Too Long? Didn't Read?: A strong quiz in a slightly far-flung locale. I'm definitely going back.

Ptolemy I Soter - looks good,
but can he run a quiz?