Life

Getting into the spirit of competition

By Lauren Johnson (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-04 08:08

Foreigners and locals come together in teams to battle it out at one of Beijing's trivia quizzes. Photos provided to China Daily

This winter, enjoy the warmth that comes from knowing you've beaten everyone in the pub at a round of trivia.

Nothing quite sums up the holiday spirit like having superior brainpower at one of Beijing's epic weekly pub quizzes. Here are all the answers on how to fill the first half of the week, before a long weekend of drinking takes precedence.

Mondays

At 8 pm The Bookworm offers the chance to compete against Beijing's smartest yuppie crowd. Dressed in Dockers and drinking wine by the bottle, these sleek laowai serve up quite the competition.

The Bookworm's quizmaster is Tom Champagne, as he asked to be called. Champagne is an Anglophile intent on convincing the eager crowd of expats that his irregular passion for 1980s rock is normal. He operates the quiz like a would-be comedian/DJ, slinging quarries rather than rhymes.

The quiz consists of six rounds, beginning with a picture round, four category rounds and finally, the great equalizer - a music round. As always, questions are read aloud with teams jotting down their group answers.

Although British-centered in terms of content and pace, the quiz attracts a diverse group of expats.

Leader of one team is Luke Humbleton, who was ecstatic at winning.

"It was awesome," he said. "Fun was had by all."

Tuesdays

Tim's Texas BBQ serves up its quiz to a rowdy group of expats and locals at 8 pm.

Julian Fisher has operated the longest-running Beijing quiz night, first at Schindler's and now filling up the tables at Tim's, and his skill as a quizmaster is undeniable.

With multiple rounds without themes, this trivia night is harder than the average because it lacks categorization.

To make it fairer, the bottom two teams from the previous week get to pick a category for the following week. For example, the history of Luxembourg and Iowa were recently added in to level the playing field.

With a quizmaster who is jovial, fun and can keep the pace moving, it's no wonder most attendees are loyal followers who arrive - rain, snow or shine - to be tried by Fisher's wit and talent as a trivia guru.

Wednesdays

Wednesdays is Beijing's busiest quiz night, with multiple bars offering to test brainpower across the city.

Lush, in Haidian district, offers an intelligent and fun group of students a good reason to be out on a school night, at 8 pm.

A longstanding student favorite, Lush has an active crowd competing for buckets of beer and other prizes.

"It's tough," said competitor Monica Zhang. "It's pretty packed and people are really excited."

The food is affordable and although the place fills to standing room only, it's well worth the trip to Wudaokou. This trivia is perfect for students in the university district.

Paddy O'Shea's also hosts a lively, if not offbeat, trivia night at 8 pm.

Trivia host Karl Long starts the night off with a photo round on the big screen. He keeps the mood lively as he dodges tables of drinking businessmen, giving witty one-liners to everyone he encounters.

Paddy O'Shea's quiz is perfect for the rowdy cowboy or the slur-slinging sports fanatic and Karl said it is "more about a good night out than actually knowing all the answers".

This laid-back attitude is why Paddy O'Shea's has such a loyal crowd.

Thursdays

Rounding out the working week, at 8 pm, is a trivia night at the Kro's Nest.

The event is held by quizmasters Jim Kirchhoff and Anthony Tao, a dynamic duo who formerly brought rowdy trivia to the Souk Lounge.

"We are, in my estimation, the funniest quiz in town," said Tao. "Once the alcohol flows, anything is liable to happen."

The pair has teamed up with Kro's Nest founder Olaf Kristoffer Bauer to bring an American-centered quiz to Beijing - the other pub nights are European-based, asking questions that deal with football and F1.

China Daily

Quizmaster Julian Fisher reads out questions at Tim's Texas BBQ.

(China Daily 01/04/2011)