Live pub trivia brings out all kinds of unique individual personalities, but what unique personality does your trivia team take on when all of those individuals come together? Like the Thundercats, what’s important isn’t your individual ability, but how well your team functions when all your moving parts have joined to form a trivia team. Here’s a rundown of 5 types of trivia teams you might find at your local Last Call Trivia night. (*Any resemblance to real trivia teams is purely coincidental.)
Our Drinking Team Has A Trivia Problem – Smarter than you’d think, this team singlehandedly turns trivia night into a raucous affair with chants, cheers, drinking games, and, of course, sing-a-longs.
Song: “I Would Walk (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers
Nerds Of A Feather – Curated from the smartest people you know, this team’s collective IQ will occasionally leave others dumbfounded. However, like most impenetrable objects, there is always a womp rat sized exhaust shaft that leads right to their main reactor that can lead to their undoing. This category is often known as SPORTS.
Song: “Weird Science” – Oingo Boingo
Every Child Left Behind – Defying logic, this team will miss the easiest of questions, yet somehow get all the hard questions right. Occasionally, they will even try to turn in multiple wrong answers. This team will also blatantly defy even the most obvious of musical hints provided by the TJ.
Song: “If This Is It (Please Let Me Know)” – Huey Lewis & The News
Battered Bastards of Trivia – This team appears to hate everything about everything, yet plays trivia every single week. They find joy in the misery of others, celebrate anti-socials, and will even argue about answers they get right. Teams like this often find ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Song: “I Hate Myself For Loving You” – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Can You Repeat The Question? – The only true changeling of the bunch, this team takes on many forms. The most common is the team that is too busy socializing or watching the game to pay attention, but watch out for the team merely buying time hoping for a miracle.
Song: “Help” – The Beatles
We’ve noticed a sort of trend when it comes to the regular patrons of Last Call Trivia. We’ve really seen it all. Continuing on from last week’s exploration of the nerds and jocks who keep coming back for more, here’s five more types of teams who gather at the local watering hole once a week to sharpen their wits while drinking a wit (or IPA).
Alvin & The Chipmunks – Far less annoying than their namesake, this team can get a little loud while debating the merits of the differing answers on the table, but ultimately one clear leader emerges and makes all of the final decisions.
Song: “Leader of the Pack” – Alvin & The Chipmunks
Lone Wolf – Venturing out of their native habitat to play trivia solo isn’t a problem for this walking encyclopedia. Confident, but humble, when this team wins, they don’t have to split the gift certificate with anyone, but when things go wrong, they have nobody to blame. They can often be seen talking to themselves at the bar.
Song: “Here I Go Again” – Whitesnake
Not-So-Tech Savvy – To the literal dismay of the host and every other team, and despite multiple warnings and public shaming, this squad appears to have multiple smartphones being used throughout the contest, yet still get nearly every question wrong.
Song: “Feel Good, Inc.” – Gorillaz
Delta Force – As close to a professional trivia team as possible, this group is assembled based on each individual’s particular core knowledge subjects. Teams of this caliber take their trivia a little too seriously and develop systems for determining answers and wagers and are even known to assign homework. They also tend to play trivia more often than any other team and, at the end of the night, are often the ones walking away with a gift certificate.
Song: “Gonna Fly Now” – Bill Conti
Gamblers (Anonymous) – No matter the circumstance, this trivia team’s singular goal appears to be the misappropriation of their wagers. Whether it’s undue overconfidence or simply terrible luck, this team lives and dies by max point wagers even when the odds are clearly stacked against them.
Song: “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers