I hate to say I told you so (as some Swedes once mused), but the quiz at the Anza Club is cancelled this month, due to the Canucks playing on the Friday in question. Too bad. Head down to the Storm Crow Tavern on Wednesday to catch the Vancouver Quizmasters in action, if you need to get your fix of Shaun and Eric
Also, The Cascade Room's quiz is now officially a once a month quiz. Look for it the last Monday of every month.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Sunday, 28 April 2013
The Playoffs, plus quiz news
If you've ever been to a quiz in the last 4 months, there's a pretty decent chance you've run into the phenomenon of quizzing during a Canucks game, and the inconveniences engendered as a result. This town (and author!) loves its (their) Canucks quite a bit. Most of the times, quizzes are squeezed into intermissions, start late, or even get pushed around to another date. In the regular season, there tends to be a little more wiggle room - very few people care about watching the Canucks play a dead rubber against Anaheim or Edmonton at the end of the year.
But now the Canucks are in the playoffs. The bars that have been hosting quiz no longer need to have a quiz to bring in people on game nights. The Canucks are playing San Jose in the first round, so all the games will start at around 7 PM. When the boys are playing, paying hockey fans are going to want to watch pretty much every second of Canucks hockey, which makes quiz nights a little precarious. How are you, the person who just wants to answer questions, but not have to stay out until 11:30 on a Wednesday to do so, going to cope with that? How will your quiz deal with there being an important game every 2 days for the next 2 months?*
Here's my advice: Ask your local trivia night. Give the bar a phone call before heading out, or send the quiz's facebook page a message. It'll save you some trouble. I've asked around at a few places, and here are the responses you are likely to get:
In non-hockey playoff news:
But now the Canucks are in the playoffs. The bars that have been hosting quiz no longer need to have a quiz to bring in people on game nights. The Canucks are playing San Jose in the first round, so all the games will start at around 7 PM. When the boys are playing, paying hockey fans are going to want to watch pretty much every second of Canucks hockey, which makes quiz nights a little precarious. How are you, the person who just wants to answer questions, but not have to stay out until 11:30 on a Wednesday to do so, going to cope with that? How will your quiz deal with there being an important game every 2 days for the next 2 months?*
Here's my advice: Ask your local trivia night. Give the bar a phone call before heading out, or send the quiz's facebook page a message. It'll save you some trouble. I've asked around at a few places, and here are the responses you are likely to get:
- Squeezing the quiz in between the periods (Darby's looks to be trying this)
- Shifting the quiz to the day before/after (Cedar Cottage/Gargoyle's and 131 seem likely to do this)
- Cancelling the quiz if it falls on a game night
In non-hockey playoff news:
- The Cascade Room quiz is back this week! That's tomorrow, so pretty much no one will be informed of this fact, but I'm posting it anyways.
- New quiz alert! I've heard through the grapevine that Yagger's in Kitsilano has a Thursday night quiz - normally starts at 7, very music-oriented from what I was told.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Monday Night's Alright for Quizzing
So, as with last time, let's handle this in point form:
- The Cove's quiz night is now being hosted by hosted by the team of Eric Fell (of Anza Club notoriety) and Patrick Maliha. I caught the first half of the quiz this week, and it was a good time.
- But you miss Debbie's quiz? Well, fear not, because that quiz has shifted to Gargoyle's Bar and Grill, on West Broadway. Stop by the website and have a good laugh at how old the welcome images are (Jose Theodore in an Avs jersey!). I imagine the quiz will be similar to the old Cove quizzes, or the ex-Fray (current Cedar Cottage) quiz.
- Between those 2, and the Academic quiz night, it looks like Monday night is the night for quiz in Kitsilano. You're almost as spoiled for choice as on a Wednesday.
- The Cascade Room's Monday quiz was cancelled, and they are trying to reschedule sometime soon. Follow the facebox page if you want to find out when it actually ends up happening
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Even more Quiz news?
Alright, 3 MORE quiz-related bits of news for those dozen people who care
- The Storm Crow Tavern is running their first quiz tomorrow night. It's being run by the guys who do the ANZA quiz night, so it should be a blast. I can recommend it sight unseen.
- The Cove has changed their Quizmaster/Quizmistress, effective immediately. Will it be a bold new quiz, or more of the same? Who knows?
- Debbie, erstwhile Quizmistress of Cove and Fray, has found a new home at the Cedar Cottage pub, Wednesdays at 8 PM. Good to have a new quiz in the neighbourhood with Fray out of commission.
Monday, 1 April 2013
Darby's
Heads up, this quiz is no longer being run by Katie, as the article will try and tell you. Most of the vitals (start time, address, day of week) remain the same, but the format of the quiz might vary a bit.
Where: Darby's Pub, 2001 MacDonald Street
When: 7PM Thursday, Every week
Web Presence: Facebook page
Registration Fee: Gratuit
Team Info: 7 Brains per table
Prizes: Top team gets a pitcher of beer, AND a reserved table at the next week's quiz - the real prize
Format: 60 questions, split into 2 halves, with 3 10-question rounds in each. Expect to see a themed round, a picture round, and a matching round, followed by another themed round, another picture round, and ending with the music round.
Food and Drink: Food is pretty good, and the beer selection is easily the best of any of the places I've been to a quiz. It will probably stay that way, unless the Alibi Room starts a quiz.
This quiz has been going for a number of years now - they just ran their 112th quiz. I've been going for a few weeks, but have been too lazy to write up a review until now. Anyways, it is a great time, and probably the best quiz in Vancouver that is run every week. It runs quickly, and while the Quizmaster marks all the own answer sheets herself, it goes reasonably fast. There is definitely no "trap you here so you can drink more" mentality to this quiz, which is great.
The questions range from easy to pretty hard, so all can have fun, and the winning score tends to be in the 50-55 range (out of the aforementioned 60). The tiebreaker, which I have only seen once, is excellent. The tied teams get another sheet of paper, and then a trivial pursuit card is read out, and the high score wins. In the event of a tie, it is playoff overtime rules - they keep going until there is a winner. It tends to lead to some sidebets among the non-participating teams as well. This activity is almost surely not sanctioned by the BCLC.
The atmosphere is enjoyable, a good mix of University kids and older folk. It is almost always full, so be prepared to show up an hour early to stake out some space. It can get a bit hectic on Canuck game nights, but the general attitude lately has tended towards quiz over hockey. While I'm positive this trend won't carry over to the playoffs, it is heartening nonetheless. There are ample TVs to catch whichever game you want to watch, though, even when the questions are being asked. Everyone seems nice here.
In the end? A rad quiz, but show up early to grab a table - or win the previous week.
Where: Darby's Pub, 2001 MacDonald Street
When: 7PM Thursday, Every week
Web Presence: Facebook page
Registration Fee: Gratuit
Team Info: 7 Brains per table
Prizes: Top team gets a pitcher of beer, AND a reserved table at the next week's quiz - the real prize
Format: 60 questions, split into 2 halves, with 3 10-question rounds in each. Expect to see a themed round, a picture round, and a matching round, followed by another themed round, another picture round, and ending with the music round.
Food and Drink: Food is pretty good, and the beer selection is easily the best of any of the places I've been to a quiz. It will probably stay that way, unless the Alibi Room starts a quiz.
This quiz has been going for a number of years now - they just ran their 112th quiz. I've been going for a few weeks, but have been too lazy to write up a review until now. Anyways, it is a great time, and probably the best quiz in Vancouver that is run every week. It runs quickly, and while the Quizmaster marks all the own answer sheets herself, it goes reasonably fast. There is definitely no "trap you here so you can drink more" mentality to this quiz, which is great.
The questions range from easy to pretty hard, so all can have fun, and the winning score tends to be in the 50-55 range (out of the aforementioned 60). The tiebreaker, which I have only seen once, is excellent. The tied teams get another sheet of paper, and then a trivial pursuit card is read out, and the high score wins. In the event of a tie, it is playoff overtime rules - they keep going until there is a winner. It tends to lead to some sidebets among the non-participating teams as well. This activity is almost surely not sanctioned by the BCLC.
The atmosphere is enjoyable, a good mix of University kids and older folk. It is almost always full, so be prepared to show up an hour early to stake out some space. It can get a bit hectic on Canuck game nights, but the general attitude lately has tended towards quiz over hockey. While I'm positive this trend won't carry over to the playoffs, it is heartening nonetheless. There are ample TVs to catch whichever game you want to watch, though, even when the questions are being asked. Everyone seems nice here.
In the end? A rad quiz, but show up early to grab a table - or win the previous week.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
The Grapevine
Or, some news pertaining to Trivia in Vancouver. 3 Updates from the last month:
For those interested, Geek Bowl VII in Austin was an awesome time. It was definitely the best pub quiz I've ever been to, but that is probably because they run quizzes every night of the week all year, and then try real hard to give you the best possible show. And they did a great job. We came in 32nd. Read the full recap, if you like!
- It looks like Fray has closed down, so their quiz is therefore also finished. It is too bad, because it had some of the better quiz night food in town. If you're looking for a place to go, I'd recommend 131 Water, but there are quite a few other options as well. Take a look at the Master List and see what suits you.
- The Cascade Room quiz is on hiatus until April 15th, so don't act surprised if you show up on a Monday and there is no quiz.
- Finally, good news! There Is No Easy Mode returns to EXP Bar March 27th, at 9PM. I went last time, and it was a lot of fun. It is videogame trivia, and they aren't kidding with the name. A good time if you want to think about videogames all night.
For those interested, Geek Bowl VII in Austin was an awesome time. It was definitely the best pub quiz I've ever been to, but that is probably because they run quizzes every night of the week all year, and then try real hard to give you the best possible show. And they did a great job. We came in 32nd. Read the full recap, if you like!
Sunday, 24 February 2013
The Manchester
So it appears the Manchester has a new host and format these days. Take this review with a grain of salt, and I'll try and have an updated review up soon - ed.
Where: The Manchester Public Eatery, 1941 W Broadway
When: 8PM Tuesday, Weekly
Web Presence: None that I can find
Registration Fee: This one's free
Team Info: 8 human beings per squad
Prizes: Top team at the halfway point gets a pitcher of beer, and the winners get a 50 dollar gift certificate. They run 12 week long 'leagues,' and the highest cumulative score gets $500.
Format: Pretty similar to the Pub Stumpers quizzes: 8 rounds, separated into 2 parts. The first part consists of an image, then some general knowledge, then a music round, then True False. Part 2 is GK, more music, GK, and then some 'Bonus' questions.
Food and Drink: Pub food, nothing special. Likewise with the beers.
As previously mentioned, this quiz is similar to the quiz run by Pubstumpers at Donnelly establishments - or at least the way they were run over year and a half ago, since I haven't been to one in some time. The questions are average trivia fare. Nothing significantly harder than average, and a few things a bit easier. The difficulty is raised a bit on the bonus round, and they throw out some tough ones. At least they don't do the horrible "Did you read today's Province?" round.
The music round strikes me as generous, since you get the point if you can name the artist OR the song. I'm a little trained to it being a point for each, I guess.
The atmosphere is nice, the place is pretty cavernous and was not particularly full when I was there - there were probably 10 teams playing, but this place could hold about twice that easily. TVs ring the walls, so chances are that if you are looking for a game to watch, it will be on. I'm not sure what their Canucks game protocol is. If I had to wager, I'd say it falls in favour of the boys in blue. The quiz is marked by the two presenters, and they do an efficient job of it. The whole quiz took a little under two hours, breaks and announcing winners included.
In the end? It is very similar to a quiz at a Donnelly bar, but in a more enjoyable setting.
Where: The Manchester Public Eatery, 1941 W Broadway
When: 8PM Tuesday, Weekly
Web Presence: None that I can find
Registration Fee: This one's free
Team Info: 8 human beings per squad
Prizes: Top team at the halfway point gets a pitcher of beer, and the winners get a 50 dollar gift certificate. They run 12 week long 'leagues,' and the highest cumulative score gets $500.
Format: Pretty similar to the Pub Stumpers quizzes: 8 rounds, separated into 2 parts. The first part consists of an image, then some general knowledge, then a music round, then True False. Part 2 is GK, more music, GK, and then some 'Bonus' questions.
Food and Drink: Pub food, nothing special. Likewise with the beers.
As previously mentioned, this quiz is similar to the quiz run by Pubstumpers at Donnelly establishments - or at least the way they were run over year and a half ago, since I haven't been to one in some time. The questions are average trivia fare. Nothing significantly harder than average, and a few things a bit easier. The difficulty is raised a bit on the bonus round, and they throw out some tough ones. At least they don't do the horrible "Did you read today's Province?" round.
The music round strikes me as generous, since you get the point if you can name the artist OR the song. I'm a little trained to it being a point for each, I guess.
The atmosphere is nice, the place is pretty cavernous and was not particularly full when I was there - there were probably 10 teams playing, but this place could hold about twice that easily. TVs ring the walls, so chances are that if you are looking for a game to watch, it will be on. I'm not sure what their Canucks game protocol is. If I had to wager, I'd say it falls in favour of the boys in blue. The quiz is marked by the two presenters, and they do an efficient job of it. The whole quiz took a little under two hours, breaks and announcing winners included.
In the end? It is very similar to a quiz at a Donnelly bar, but in a more enjoyable setting.
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