What's the capital of Kyrgyzstan? In which decade did the Hindenburg disaster occur? Which actor starred in the most "James Bond" films?
Debating the answers to questions like these with a group of friends and a round of beers can really make an ideal night out. And with the increasing popularity of bar trivia games, anyone can go to their favorite watering hole with a couple of teammates and win prizes for their superior knowledge.
There are so many options for good games out there. Here are a few of the companies that bring the heat to every pub quiz.
Buzz Worthy Pub Trivia
Cassandra Roach and Rebecka O'Brien hosted their first trivia game more than a decade ago after meeting at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. "My family actually owned Hough's Taproom in Greenfield. One of my brothers said 'oh, we need a trivia night, do you and your roommate want to run it?' Me, never being to a trivia night before, jumped right in and said sure," Roach said.
They founded Buzz Worthy Pub Trivia in 2013 and have grown quite a bit since. Nowadays they employ four question writers and 55 hosts, and they can be found at more than 50 venues every month.
Their game format is pretty simple.
"We've been tried and true to what we started with years ago. Five rounds, seven questions per round, all different types of categories," Roach said.
"We incorporated an all-audio round a few years ago and people really seem to like it. In addition to that, we have our all Name That Tune game," she added. Several of their venues, including Carson City Saloon on the South Side and Hemingway's Cafe in Oakland, host all-Name That Tune games.
Roach said she enjoys their "common bond" rounds, when teams have to look back at their answers from a round and see what binds them together. O'Brien also likes one of their mainstay concepts.
"The before-and-after word round, it kind of adds an element of puzzle to the question. You're answering the question but you're also putting together those extra questions," she said.
Buzz Worthy's two owners love all of their venues, but Hemingway's Cafe holds a special place in their hearts. "They've been with us 10 years, which is crazy, and that's definitely our largest game. We see upwards of 40 teams there every week," O'Brien said.
They're expanding all the time. To find the closest game, check out buzzworthypubtrivia.com.
Drew's Clues Trivia
Drew Cranisky of Drew's Clues Trivia has the challenge of writing 18 rounds of trivia every week.
The company hosts six weekly games over three nights, and each night requires different questions.
"Round three is always a visual round, five is always audio and round six is a mystery connection round -- so all seven answers in that round have something in common, a hidden link or some way they can all be connected," Cranisky said.
He started off with a single game of his own as an employee of Franktuary in Lawrenceville in 2015. During the pandemic, he pivoted to online-only trivia, and he's been adding new games since it's felt OK to return to bars. His former employer, Franktuary, closed in 2022.
He enjoys writing trivia and finding some topic for everyone to sink their teeth into. He also relishes seeing teams come up with creative joke names, such as "Ladyless Cat Children," "Dwayne 'A Hard Place' Johnson" and "E=MC Hammer."
"Every week there's something that makes me laugh," he said.
You can find your way to Drew's Clues Trivia games at East End Brewing Co., Old Thunder Brewing Co. in Blawnox and more. Full schedule at drewscluestrivia.com.
Joe Goetz and his wife have owned Pittsburgh Bar Trivia for about a decade, appearing all over the city -- and taking on plenty of theme nights and corporate events as well.
They started hosting themed games at the Claddagh Irish Pub on the South Side before its closure in 2019. Since then, they've worked with an array of organizations and companies around town, and have touched all of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods and suburbs, according to Geotz.
The pandemic was a difficult time for Pittsburgh Bar Trivia, as it was for any live entertainment company, but they weathered the storm with loyal long-term clients and new opportunities.
Their game is pretty straightforward. "Typically general knowledge, though we are quick to do different themes and topics depending on where we are. Typically, they are either fill-in-the-blank or multiple-choice questions," Goetz said.
Theme nights are a big part of their business, too -- and they will build a game based on any topic. Goetz says popular themes are TV shows like "Seinfeld," "Friends" and "Bridgerton," as well as music and movies from the '80s and '90s. Sports trivia, naturally, is a big deal in Pittsburgh.
Catch them at Strange Roots Millvale, Colonial Grille in Irwin and City Kitchen in East Liberty's Bakery Square every week. And keep an eye on pittsburghbartrivia.com for upcoming themed events.
Radical Trivia
Jared Evans does things a little bit differently. First and foremost, Radical Trivia games are not for kids.
The concept started when Evans was working as a host for a different company.
"I was just kind of given free rein to do what I wanted for one of the shows. ... I just realized, we're at a bar, people are drinking, they're swearing at each other, they're getting kind of crazy. The way I was taught to do it was just kind of PG, family-friendly. I realized, there are no kids here, these are adults, why shouldn't they have some fun?"
He infuses his games with spicy language, lots of pop culture references and a little bit of snark directed at players. But the important thing is that the trivia is still good, too.
There are six rounds, in addition to halftime and final question.
"You have to get people to argue with each other. I'll do a 'Family Feud'-style question, survey things a lot of times because they're fun to talk about and people argue with each other and have a good time," Evans said.
Radical Trivia games are also general knowledge, with a few twists and turns thrown in.
"I have the most fun writing categories that are brain teasers, groups of three or four or five where it's a famous group. I'll give clues that suggest, say, the Three Stooges where each clue tells you the name of one person in the group and they have to put it all together," Evans said.
"I think the whole thing should be fun. There are some shows out there where people get super serious about doing trivia. That's fine if that's your thing, but if you're trying to have an entertaining weekly trivia night, you have to lean towards having fun," he added.
Get radical every week at The Pizza Company in Munhall, Trace Brewing in Bloomfield or OTB Bicycle Cafe on the South Side, among other locations. See more at radicaltrivia.com.
Trivia Jockeys
For those looking for a digital experience, Trivia Jockeys has you covered. Partners Diana Rua, Tom Walter and Anthony Renne started jockeying for shows 10 years ago and have grown what was supposed to be a six-week experiment into more than 20 weekly locations.
They can be found at all three Mario's locations around town, as well as both Urban Tap locations and several of the Primanti Bros. restaurants. They recently started doing trivia at Cinderlands Warehouse in the Strip District.
Instead of pen and paper, teams need a smartphone to play.
"Basically, that smartphone is used as your keypad to answer the questions, those questions are populated on a screen, and it's also populated on your actual device so you can see the questions. The host will read the question and then you can answer," Rua said. "There's usually four rounds, it's got a visual component with pictures, a current events round and a Name That Tune round, which is extremely popular."
Trivia Jockeys also runs theme nights -- with a charitable twist. Proceeds from those shows go to Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, their charity of choice. "We are probably close to $10,000 in donations to PAAR. It's given us this ability to give back to the community which is really something we're strong about," Rua said.
For example, they'll host football trivia at Tom's Watch Bar on the North Shore on Sept. 20, and Harry Potter trivia at the Urban Tap in Shadyside on Oct. 14.