Trivia hosts entertain Lakes Region all year round

About three years ago, John Intorcio of Laconia was sitting at the bar at Tavern 27, in Laconia, when talk turned to trivia. Folks thought it would be fun to have a regular trivia night, with teams competing for prizes.

Intorcio offered to put some questions together and try it out. People had fun, so he started offering trivia regularly, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays, fall through spring. Five seasonal competitions later, he’s a staple at the bar, and folks enjoy not only his questions, but also his banter and occasional self-deprecation over an unpopular question.

A retired engineer in the hi-tech industry, Intorcio is pleased with the arrangement, too, even though he’s not making big bucks. His compensation is beer and dinner.

“I have fun doing it, so that’s plenty of compensation for me.”

Trivia around the region

Trivia nights are a popular offering around the region weekly at bars and restaurants. Teams of patrons — either regular players or whoever happens to be out that night — compete for prizes, typically gift cards from the host venue.

Intorcio’s model is different from many, though, in that he leads the program, from questions to prizes. Many other quiz nights in the area are organized by a company that secures venues, hires trivia leaders and provides them with the questions and answers.

Valerie Cummings, of Gilford, is one of these hosts, for Raise the Bar Trivia.

In 2008, she found the gig through a Craigslist ad, and she now leads teams at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Axe & Ale Taphouse in Gilford, at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery in Gilford, and at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays at Highland Pub in Northfield. (Spoiler alert: The questions are the same each night, at each venue.)

Raise the Bar has games in about 50 venues in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, and Cummings is one of roughly 40 hosts. There are similar trivia firms as well, such as Stage Time Trivia, and also apps area venues use, such as DJ Trivia.

“At the time that I took this job, I was active in Toastmasters International,” Cummings said. “I was excited to have an opportunity to do public speaking. I felt qualified to do it. I enjoyed public speaking and was actively practicing it. That’s what caught my attention.”

She had no experience in trivia, but now, at Patrick’s, she’s been dubbed Trivia Val. She enjoys engaging people in game play, and is good at drawing in people who come in alone.

“They know they have at least one friend there. That’s me,” she said. “So they’ll come back and play.”

How it works

Because Intorcio works independently, and Cummings for a firm, they have different approaches to getting prepared, and their competitions are structured differently, as well.

Intorcio uses a mix of resources to write his questions, from Google to ChatGPT, and often has a theme. During the Olympics, for instance, it was Winter Games, with questions having to do with the Olympics as well as board — and Hunger — games. Another week in February, the theme was Hearts, with questions about Valentines as well as cardiac health and love songs.

“You can do a lot within a theme, and have a variety of questions,” he said.

“I have a gauge for questions. If every team gets it right, it was too easy. If none do, the question was too hard. If one team gets it right, it was a good difficultly level."

Games are free and structured in six rounds of play. Some have a twist, such as a double-or-nothing round, where teams can double their points or earn nothing, and a Hail Mary round, when teams can vastly increase their point count, or get points deducted if they’re wrong.

There are two seasonal competitions, fall and spring, and the winning team gets their name etched on a plaque, a staple at the Tavern 27 bar. In summer, trivia at the tavern is one night each month.

Cummings' game play through Raise the Bar is similar. The questions she is armed with cover categories from movies, music and sports, to pop culture, science and history, and change every week. There is also often a theme, based on the time of year.

Play is also free for teams of one to eight players, and there are seven rounds including an opening set, in which players get a sheet with questions to complete and turn in to Cummings for scoring, a Name That Tune round, and a Hail Mary, in which, like Intorcio’s, points can be gained with elation, or heart-achingly lost.

For hints, clues and ways to earn bonus points, check Cummings’ Trivia Val page on Facebook each week. She also posts winners’ photos with a trophy.

“People love that,” she said. “It’s bragging rights.”

What’s the attraction

People love trivia in general.

Cummings says it’s being able to engage with others in person. “It’s a reason to go out and hang out with your friends, or make new friends.”

Intorcio agreed. “It’s an intellectually challenging activity while you’re out drinking. You just have to sit there and think about the questions,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “The rules are: no Googling.”

Mary Moore, of Laconia, has been on a team at Tavern 27 since game play began; chosen in December, the team name is, aptly, the HoHoHos.

“It’s nice getting together with friends, answering challenging questions and learning new facts,” she said. “John challenges us with a lot of interesting topics and categories. He’s a great trivia master.”

Her trivia skills, she said, come from her education, life experiences, travel and reading.

Tough stuff

At Tavern 27, Intorcio said teams do well with questions on pop culture, movies and music, but less so on geography. Questions like, “What countries border France?” don’t go over too well. So, he steers away from the tough stuff.

Cummings said the hardest question she’s asked came recently: “What was the profession of Charlie Brown’s father in the 'Peanuts' comic strip?”

The answer: Charles M. Schultz’s father was a barber.