MimaiScribbles

Saturday nights used to be movie/TV series nights for me. I usually stayed home to watch movies or my favorite TV series. For the past three or four weeks, however, I’ve been spending Saturday evenings with my friends at the Missy Bon Bon Trivia Night. And so far, so good! We’ve won twice and finished in the top three once. Considering that we didn’t really have any idea what to expect, we’ve done good.

More than anything else, though, my trivia night experiences has taught me three things: one is that teamwork will really get you to places; two, trivia nights are F-U-N!; and three, I have awesome friends! Actually, the whole experience is a continuous unraveling of everything that’s awesome: the food, the place, the people, the excitement and all the things you get to learn in one night.

I cannot really explain what makes trivia nights popular. The place is always packed to the rafters. Maybe it’s the thrill and excitement that you get out of answering questions. Or maybe it’s all just about having fun with friends.  Some people, however, say they join because they want to “test”  themselves. Whatever the reason is, trivia nights attract a lot of people.

The exact beginnings of trivia nights, also known as pub quizzes or quiz nights, is not really known. Some reports say that it started in the United Kingdom and is recognized as a pub game, which refers to games that are normally played in pubs, bars or taverns. Nowadays, however, they’re played in any public venue like restaurants (such as Missy Bon Bon).

Trivia nights have different formats and rules, but there are common features. Every trivia night event has a quiz master (or host/emcee),  teams, sets and categories (or rounds) and prizes. In the Philippines, trivia nights do not have fees; all that you need to do is patronize the venue’s products. There are also sponsors that/who help make the event successful, and often, special categories dedicated to the sponsors are included in the game.

Some trivia night organizers arrange special events, like a battle of the champions, which makes everything even more exciting. There may also be times when prizes are doubled because of a special occasion (like an anniversary or feast/fiesta). Special trivia nights often feature more difficult categories and questions.

My friends and I didn’t really have serious plans of winning when we first set out to join the trivia night. Our first intention was to simply try it out and have fun. We were curious about the whole thing, too. Of course, the thought of winning crossed our minds, but it wasn’t the main reason why we joined. After that first night, we just decided to make it a regular thing. There was some kind of nagging feeling inside, telling us that we simply had to keep on going! And so, we did…and we will!

For those who haven’t tried joining any trivia night yet, call up your friends (or family/relatives) and form a team. Unwind, have fun and let loose! Trivia nights will give you a totally new kind of high – the kind that you’ve never experienced before!

To my team, the Kili-Elites, win or lose…come what may, our trivia nights are here to stay!