In recent years, a vibrant trivia culture has emerged in Evanston, with many spots to play the classic game. On the eve of Thanksgiving, Evanston’s Sketchbook Brewery was packed with people eager to participate in the weekly trivia night. A line of people waiting for free tables ran through the entryway, but some of them would never get one. This week was one of the bigger ones yet, with 32 teams and almost 100 people. There was a large range of experience levels. Some were regulars to the trivia scene, having done it every week for years, while others were just starting.
One of these teams, by the name of 2-7 Offsuit, is made up of a father and son, Gary and Derek Houseman. Their weekly tradition consists of buying a box of Crumbl Cookies and then heading over to Sketchbook for trivia.
“He did trivia in high school and college and knows most of the questions,” remarked Gary on his son. “We’re pretty good at most things, except for sports, which are special because they get imaginary answers. We don’t know any sports.”
This is the opposite for Calvin, Jory, Dennis, and Jimmy, who make up the team Kristine’s Nightingale and have been coming for almost a year now.
“I get every football question right,” says Calvin, “We also get science and video games right.”
Frequent trivia goers may have seen (or heard) the way some venues give helpful hints to answers, through songs. During the answering period for every question, a song plays, and the lyrics or the title of the song contain a clue to the answer. For example, a question asking for the name of “an HBO show about a media mogul played by Brian Cox,” The song “We Are Family” played, cuing players that the answer was “Succession.” This fun twist to the regular game was brought by Sketchbook’s trivia host, Laura Murphy, an art teacher in Downers Grove.
“I’ve been to trivias where they do the song clues, and I have always thought that it is more fun, so I use my own playlist and match the songs to the questions,” explained Murphy.
First-timers Abra and Sam, from team Valentine, who were visiting from Cleveland, Ohio, sat in last place at halftime; their only saving grace being the musical clues.
“When she played Chandelier when the answer was Chandler from Friends, I loved that,” said Abra. “We also got the “Succession” question correct.”
Their musical knowledge, unfortunately, did not help them in the end; Team Valentine came in last.
Elizabeth, Adalaide, and Shannon represent another team that has been playing trivia for ten years, all over Evanston and nearby areas.
“We change our team name every week. This week it’s “Call Me, Don’t Play That Game.” It is always anti-Trump – my very best was “Sepenis Envy,” said Adalaide, mother of two ETHS alumni.
“We’re good at geography and world history,” said Elizabeth, “not video games, all the boys are good at that. Nerds!” She joked.
Call Me, Don’t Play That Game proved their trivia experience by ending in 4th place.
The host, Murphy, has played for years, too, but according to her, she was never very good.
“I used to go to Dirty Nellies in Palatine. Someone told me that they were looking for trivia hosts here [at sketchbook] about 3 years ago, and here I am.”
All of these unique people, of different backgrounds, are able to come together and connect through a friendly, yet competitive game they love. While Sketchbook is one of the main trivia hubs in Evanston (3 pm on Sundays), there are tons of opportunities for trivia in the North Shore area almost every day of the week. This includes popular spots like Double Clutch on Mondays at 7 pm, Prairie Moon on Tuesdays at 8 pm, and Fat Shallot on Wednesdays at 7 pm. So next time you’re bored, sitting around at home, have a fun night going to trivia with your family or friends.
