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Don't be a trivia fool. Be a Geek |
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Written by NEXTnc staff
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Wednesday, 31 May 2006 |
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Here's the story:
So you didn’t make it to Jeopardy? You’ll never get the chance to try and topple Ken Jennings’ record? Does that mean your life as a know-it-all has to come to an end? Not at all.
That’s where “Geeks who Drink” comes in.
 John Dicker and Joel Peach are the minds behind “Geeks.” Dicker is the self-proclaimed Quizmaster-in-Chief and Peach is the Quizmaster Gimp. According to Dicker, this type of quiz was put together in Ireland in the 70s or 80s. But what makes a pub quiz different from a trivia night?
“It’s a quiz game played in a pub. You play informally with friends, it will have anywhere between 4 and 8 rounds,” Dicker said.
Dicker said he is pretty motivated when it comes to expanding.
“Our goal is to add a venue a month,” Dicker said. “But that might be too ambitious.” When going to a quiz night, be prepared for anything. Dicker said the questions can get pretty interesting.
“We try to mix up our subjects like ‘If it’s not Scottish it’s crap.’ The first question would be about Scotland and some others about crap, like fecal matter,” Dicker said. “We also had one called ‘Smurfs and genocide.’ ”
According to Dicker, the “Geeks” saw Fort Collins as a great place to include a quiz. “It was a smart college town and we thought they’d have an audience for it,” Dicker said.
The Geeks also customize quizzes for parties and other events.
“We have a wedding rehearsal dinner coming up and we’re customizing to the couple and their guests,” Dicker said.
The way they do that is putting together questions like ‘does this record belong to the bride or groom’ sort of questions.
Those participating in the quiz also get a chance to win prizes, from a free round or various gift certificates to schwag the bar gets from different breweries.
The Geeks write their own questions, to stay away from a Trivial Persuit type game. “Usually it’s thinking of a theme,” Dicker said about how he thinks of new questions. “We look for interesting stuff on Web sites, on IMDB and Wikipedia. I thought there must be a whole round of stuff on cake and there was plenty.”
But they will also trade with other quizmasters around different cities to keep the questions fresh, without having to spend all their time writing.
“I swap questions with a few quizmasters in other cities,” Dicker said. “I’m in a little quizmasters mafia.”
So how do two guys come up with the name “Geeks who Drink?” “It started when we started posting on Craig’s list [www.craigslist.org] and one of the handles was ‘Geeks who Drink,’ ” Dicker said.
But for those players who fail to make the final Jeopardy round, don’t worry. According to Dicker, there is hope for you yet.
“You don’t have to be a trivia god to play,” Dicker said.
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
|  | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | | |
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