Trivia happenings in Ottawa

Ottawa Trivia League

In the Ottawa Trivia League, the same game is played in every location, with the scores compared against one another. Each week, the top team anywhere in Ottawa gets 5 pts, the next highest gets 4 pts, then 3, 2 and 1. (These are raw scores, without handicaps). After 10 weeks, we determine a winner and start again!

We can let you know about pub trivia news, such as cancellations, score changes, new locations and other trivia events around town. when new games come up.

TOP SCORES, As of November 16

  1. 47: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  2. 46.5: Pan Troglodytes (Bank Oak)
  3. 46: Magnificent Bastards (Barely Mow), Streetcars (Barley Mow), Poodles (Canal Oak), Invisible Pink Unicorns (Bank Oak)
  4. 45: Nerd Alert (Canal Oak)
  5. 44: SMRT (Barley Mow)

Seventh Season Results So Far: Week Six

  1. 24: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  2. 17: Magnificent Bastards (Barely Mow)
  3. 12: Invisible Pink Unicorn (Bank Oak)
  4. 11: I Lost on Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  5. 8: Poodles (Canal Oak)
  6. 7: Idiot Savants (Barley Mow)
  7. 6: Streetcars (Barley Mow)
  8. 5: Pan Troglodytes (Bank Oak)
  9. 3: SMRT (Barley Mow)
  10. 2: Dead Parrots (Bank Oak), Exiles (Bank Oak), Costanza (Glebe Oak), Nerd Alert (Canal Oak)
  11. 1: Schmoes (Glebe Oak), Barter in Cheese and Apples (Canal Oak), Banana Stands (Mow)

Previous Winners

  1. 2008, Season 6: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  2. 2008, Season 5: I Lost On Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  3. 2008, Season 4: I Lost On Jeopardy (Bank/Canal Oak)
  4. 2008, Season 3: Pan Troglodytes (Bank Oak)
  5. 2007, Season 2: Wirecrats (Barley Mow)
  6. 2007, Season 1: Magnificent Bastards (Barley Mow)

Best Showings

  1. Average Schmoes/Glebe (S05: #8)
  2. Banana Stands/Mow (S04: #4)
  3. Bayblab/Canal (S02: #8)
  4. Bic and the Ballpoints/Bank (S06: #9)
  5. The Bravest/Glebe (S05: #7)
  6. Call Us What You Will/Glebe (S06: #11)
  7. Costanza/Canal (S06: #4)
  8. Dead Parrots/Mow (S02: #9)
  9. Diable Karadzic/Glebe (S06: #11)
  10. Exiles/Bank (S05: #2)
  11. Giggitty Giggitties/Canal (S06: #8)
  12. Heidi's Heroes/Bank (S02: #9)
  13. Here for the Beer/Bank (S06: #12)
  14. Hot Buttered Elves/Mow (S03: #10)
  15. I Lost On Jeopardy/Canal (S05: #1)
  16. Idiot Savants/Mow (S05: #4)
  17. Invisible Pink Unicorn/Bank (S05: #3)
  18. Leon Carls/Bank (S04: #8)
  19. Live Poets Society/Mow (S03: #5)
  20. Magnificent Bastards/Mow (S01: #1)
  21. Mighty Eagle Book Club/Bank (S03: #5)
  22. North Bay Rugby/Bank (S04: #4)
  23. Pan Troglodytes/Bank (S03: #1)
  24. Poodles/Canal (S02: #4)
  25. Purple/Glebe (S06: #11)
  26. Secret Seven/Canal (S05: #6)
  27. Small People of Confederation/Bank (S06: #10)
  28. Snappy Synapses/Mow (S03: #9)
  29. Snobburn Egos/Bank (S06: #11)
  30. SMRT/Mow (S03: #3)
  31. Streetcars/Mow (S06: #4)
  32. Tapas/Bank (S05: #9)
  33. Team Lindsay/Bank (S06: #10)
  34. Team Shark Attack/Bank (S05: #8)
  35. Team Who Changes Our Name Every Week/Glebe (S04: #9)
  36. Wirecrats/Wellington (S02: #1)
  37. Wizz Kidds/Bank (S05: #7)

House rules:

  • A "country" or "nation" is any UN member, plus the Vatican, Taiwan and Kosovo.
  • If we ask for a pope or a monarch, we also want either the regnal number (Richard II) or the sobriquet (Richard the Lion-hearted). An answer of just "Richard" is assumed to be Richard I. (Exception: Elizabeth can refer to either one.)
  • We're indifferent to Junior, Senior and so forth. We won't penalize you if you say John Jacob Astor IV when it's John Jacob Astor III.
  • We usually use gender-neutral terms, so "actor" might mean a female actor, unless its the Oscar for "Best (Supporting) Actor."

    • Teams We Miss

    1. Barley Mow: Mooseheads, Bengals, Bagger Vances, Barley Yobs, Special Edz, Groundhogs, James' Posse, Unsocialbles, T42, Jora, Salty Dogs, Dandelions, Repeates, Ladies in Waiting, Order of Evil Monkeys, Paul Paquet Fan Club, Geezers, Hot Buttered Elves, Trivids
    2. Bank Oak: Venon and Spice to the Maxx, Otherwise It Would Just Be Dodgeball

    Special guests: In the Photo Gallery, we have some shots of the Mow, including images of the nights that Ed Broadbent and Global News came over, as well as shots of me and some of the teams. Don Newman also shows up from time to time.

    First game: The very game at the Barley Mow was on September 7, 1998, although there were two games before that in the Kanata location. We've done it at other bars since, but nobody else has had the patience (or the business savvy) to keep it running and make it a success, save for the Royal Oak, which began in September 2006.

    Most points "per capita": Big teams do better, but since we started keeping track in 2008, SMRT hold a record with two people sharing 44 pts, or 22 each.

    Highest score: This depends on how you look at it.

    • The Unsocialbles are the only team to ever register a perfect score, doing so in 2000 when the maximum possible score was 35.
    • When the maximum possible score was 40, Joka and the Mooseheads both registered 37.5-point games in 2001. (The highest score in the 45-pt game was in April 2002, when SMRT scored 42.5.)
    • In 2002, we started a 50-pt game. The highest ever score was registered by Fran Mahovlich (sic) who got 49, missing only the number question.
    • In 2007, we started league play and a 55-pt game: the record so far is 51 by the Wirecrats, playing that week at the Bank Oak, followed by the Secret Seven at 49.5, also at the Bank Oak, in 2008.

    Biggest handicap: The Wirecrats hold this record, at -13, set at the Wellington Oak, beating the record they had set at the Mow.