Six nights a week, all around Pittsburgh’s brew pubs and restaurants, something quietly radical happens: people set down their phones.
The Analog Trend Taking Over Pittsburgh: Trivia Nights
They instead pick up pencils. Some brainstorm team names. Chairman Meow. 100 Beers of Solitude, Let’s Get Quizzical. Snacks are ordered: ceviche at täkō tôrtä, barleywine pretzels at East End Brewery, candied nuts at The Oaks Theater. Rounds of hazy sours and IPAs arrive.
One team enthusiastically debates who invented penicillin (Alexander Fleming). Another team goes with the former English major’s assurance that Odysseus’s dog was named Argos (he was correct). Guesses are written down. While playing music between rounds, the hosts tally the answer sheets by hand.
Welcome to trivia night, analog style.
The Organizers of the Steel City
For more than a decade, two local organizers have brought people together in what has become for many a weekly ritual. Where some trivia nights are spent on screens, Buzz Worthy Trivia and Drew’s Clues events embrace a phone-free ethos.
“We miss so many opportunities to meet people when we’re staring at our phone,” says Cassie Roach, who started Buzz Worthy Pub Trivia in 2014 with Rebecka O’Brien.“We’ve always been passionate that for two hours, you can put your phone down, really connect, and kind of go back in time.”
Now hosting more than 60 events per week, from Wexford to Washington County; from Aspinwall to Ambridge, Buzz Worthy’s games consist of five rounds, seven questions for each round that get progressively more difficult.
Drew’s Clues, run by Drew Cranisky offers six rounds that include an audio, video (yes, one team member must pick up their phone for that round), and a connections round where teams try and link the common bond between the answers. Cranisky, who has run events at breweries in city neighborhoods since 2015, was channeling The New York Times Connections game, even before the NYT did.
Inside the Competition
The Buzz Worthy team and Cranisky each create their own questions, working to balance academic categories, such as science and history, with pop culture topics — all written at just the right levels of difficulty.
Fear not that the night is stacked with double-Jeopardy level stumpers. “The questions are not difficult to the point where you can’t talk it out and figure an answer,” says trivia enthusiast Anita Turner.
There is other staging of the evening’s arc. The pacing is intentional so the games clip along, but make room to give breaks so people can chat, order drinks, and relax. Drew pairs music to match with previous round. At Buzz Worthy, the hosts circulate, welcoming newcomers and chatting up the regulars.
“Our goal is when you walk in, you feel like you’re hanging out with a bunch of friends,” says Roach.
So, Why Head Out to Trivia Night?
Often, the host will employ a bit of showmanship into the evening.
One such host at Arsenal Cider in Wexford was known to initiate a dance offs when there was a tie score. He also built a Ramen Wheel that participants spin between rounds to win small prizes, like drinks, gift cards, and, of course, ramen.
“Everybody would scream ‘ramen’ at the top of their lungs, hoping their team would win ramen noodles,” says Turner.
This hits on a key part of Trivia Nights: the camaraderie. People often return week after week. Turner and her husband, Dave, who, while in a period of winter doldrums, decided to get out of the house to “exercise their brains” have made lifelong friends at Buzz Worthy events. They’ve gone to trivia-related weddings, met families, and bought each other Christmas gifts, the Turners giving matching ramen pajamas.
“It’s like a built-in plan that you do with your friends every week,” says Drew. “With the loneliness and just all the stuff going on in the world, it’s very nice to have a chance come together and talk about trivial things.”
Where to Go for a Fun Trivia Night in Pittsburgh
täkō tôrtä
East Liberty
Festive Mexican atmosphere with an emphasis on tacos and bowls, plus a bar serving margaritas and cocktails. General trivia is held every Tuesday at 7 pm, once a month they feature theme nights, such as Star Wars, Seinfeld, or Taylor Swift.
The Oaks Theater
Oakmont
Trivia questions appear on the theater’s large movie screen while participants sit at cocktail tables and lounge in movie theater seats. Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, occasional theme nights on schedule.
Hemingway’s Cafe
Oakland
Trivia nights are a good reason for alums of the many Oakland universities to visit their former stomping grounds before Hemingway’s closes in May. Tuesday at 6:30 pm is Name That Tune trivia and Wednesday at 6:30 pm offers general trivia. Arrive early to beat the college-heavy crowd.
Arsenal Cider Tap House
Dormont
This U.S. Civil War-themed winery specializes in small-batch, hand-crafted hard apple ciders and also offers pressed sandwiches and apps. Dormont trivia nights are scheduled for the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, 7 pm. The Lawrenceville and Wexford locations open in the warmer months, with the Wexford site, set behind Soergel’s Orchards, offers outdoor trivia nights.
Drew’s Clues at…
Old Thunder Brewery
Blawnox
Housed in a former post office, Old Thunder is an airy, open setting for the trivia crowd that might enjoy playing in the former post office, now taproom. The curious might look for historical ‘Easter eggs.’ A rotating roster of food trucks will be onsite for Trivia Nights, Tuesdays at 7 pm.
East End Brewing Co.
Larimer and Mt. Lebanon
The Larimer location features a brew pub, Mt. Lebanon serves as the tap room. At both, look for pizzas of the week, appetizers, 16 rotating brews on tap — and trivia on Thursdays, 7 pm.
*Buzz Worthy Trivia and Drew’s Clues also both offer private, customizable, and spirited trivia events.
Story by Lauri Gravina
Featured Photo Courtesy of Tom O’Connor
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