Doesn’t it always feel like our brains hold on to the oddest information, yet lose the kind of stuff that we might actually need to know? I can recount just about every tidbit from VH1’s Pop Up Video, but can’t be bothered to remember the date of my next dentist appointment. That’s why trivia nights are so great—finally, it matters that you know which year Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore those matching Canadian tuxedos or which president purchased Alaska. I mean, where else but D.C. will you find politicians hosting trivia nights as part of the campaign? So refine some of your best topical yet dirty puns for your team names and get quizzing!
Photo by IntangibleArts.
LOOKING GLASS LOUNGE: First of all, a hearty welcome back to Looking Glass Lounge—the Park View bar just reopened after a fire shut it down for weeks. That means that Tuesday night trivia is back. Each week, the game has a different theme so you can strike gold or, like me during a week of horse-themed questions, find yourself shit out of luck. (Though you’d be surprised at how creatively a quizmaster can apply the notion of “horse-themed.”) You win a cool $60 off your check if you win, though, so make sure you’ve got some folks who know a thing or two about Clydesdales.—Rachel Kurzius
Looking Glass Lounge is located at 3634 Georgia Ave. NW. Trivia takes place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday nights.
VENTOR SPORTS CAFE: Tuesday trivia nights here can get intense, with teams battling it out across four progressively difficult rounds that will challenge the most seasoned trivia-goers. Expect to get quizzed on everything from Greek mythology to astronomy and even old-school hockey stats. There’s always audio and visual bonus rounds too, making for a nice variety of questions. The scoring is simple and fair—there is no do-or-die bidding or blind wagering involved. The winning team gets a $25 gift certificate and there’s even a special prize for the losers. In addition, Ventnor has a good selection of beer and bar food, though there are no special trivia drink specials. Follow Matty The Quizmaster on Twitter for weekly updates.—Travis Mitchell
Ventor Sports Cafe is located at 2411 18th St. NW. Trivia takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights.
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O’SULLIVAN’S IRISH PUB: While beloved Irish quizmaster Paddy hung up the microphone last summer, the O’Sullivan’s trivia night is in good hands with his former assistant Tara (long-time attendees may recall that she’s the only one of the two of them blessed with a legitimately nice-sounding singing voice for the musical rounds). Competition is fierce at this game, but if you don’t know an answer, you can conveniently find yourself mid-bite—you get $3 off burgers on trivia night. The top team gets a $50 gift certificate to O’Sullivans.—Rachel Kurzius
O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub is located at 3207 Washington Blvd in Arlington. Trivia takes place on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
DISTRICT TRIVIA: This is the behemoth of the D.C. trivia scene. Managing bar trivia at nearly 40 area bars and restaurants, District Trivia has a very specific format that it follows at each of them. Five rounds, each with ten questions that get progressively more challenging as you go and capped off with special worksheet rounds in between. To get you to listen to their weekly podcast, they pepper it with at least one of the answers, so you can get pretty committed if you so choose. District Trivia also has a twice-yearly Tournament of Champions, which has a cash prize of $1,000, along with free beer for your team for an entire year. Sometimes commitment can really pay.—Rachel Kurzius
Find District Trivia bars here.
Photo by Clif Burns.
NELLIE’S: I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: the best trivia game in town is at this U Street institution. Josh Housdan and Andy Austin have been running Smart Ass Trivia Night for more than seven years, dishing out Trivial Pursuit-style questions and sass in about equal measure on Wednesday nights. Multiple people have told me its the most difficult trivia night they’ve been to in D.C., and that’s what keeps a lot of regulars coming back week after week (I’m also in it for the tater tots). Think of it as an opportunity to learn which of your friends is a closet Bjork savant.— Rachel Sadon, adapted from a previous list
Nellie’s is located at 900 U Street NW. Trivia takes place at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.(ish) on Wednesday nights.
MELLOW MUSHROOM: Head upstairs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. for a casual game of trivia. Each round includes ten questions, with points worth more as the evening goes on. There are occasionally some multimedia questions, and many answers that require niche knowledge. Gift certificates are given out to top three teams, and you can also win beer for having the best team name of the night. There’s always specials on beer to pair with one of the tasty and creative pizzas.—Travis Mitchell
Mellow Mushroom is located at 2436 18th St. NW. Trivia takes place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday nights.
Photo by Corporate Monkey.
WONDERLAND BALLROOM: It’s called Monday Night Trivia Fight for a reason—there’s $100 off your bar tab on the line (as well as smaller prizes for second and third place teams). This offering promises a rowdy scene and, as someone who has never won the Benjamin, I can confidently say that we all leave winners. Did I say winners? I meant drunk.—Rachel Kurzius
Wonderland Ballroom is located at 1101 Kenyon St. NW. Trivia takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday nights.
TRIVIA KINGS: Another trivia franchise, Trivia Kings boasts that it’s “the only provider in the nation to publicly archive scores electronically from every team, every round, every night, every season, and at every location,” if you’re into that sort of thing. The format is broken into three periods, each of which have a speed round, a handout round, and a strategy round, plus one final round—which consists of a single question. Throughout the season (of which there are four total, much like the weather), you can earn and hoard credits called “prize dollars.” The best part about the season-long competition is the ability to generate epic rivalries with teams that have names like “Let’s Get Quizzical.”—Rachel Kurzius
Find Trivia Kings bars here.
