Comparative Trivia

Because of a Tuesday night conflict with our 10-week advertising class at the School of Visual Concepts, Seattlest has been forced to skip pub trivia at Fremont's George & Dragon Pub.

Fortunately, our usual teammates were willing to branch out and try someplace new on a different night of the week. We ended up playing a few of the Irish Emigrant's Monday-night quizzes in the U District. Similarities? They pretty much end with the concept of answering questions for money. A quick rundown of contrasts:

Starting time: 8:00 at both locations. Early arrival is essential for a good table at the G&D, not so much at the IE.

Entry fee: $5/team at G&D, $2/person at IE. Both pubs limit teams to 6 or fewer people.

Number of questions: 40 at G&D, 60-75 at IE.

Host: Two regular rotating quizzers at G&D, Cindy and John; one guy at IE, whose name we can't remember because we didn't really become a regular. Sorry!

Format: 4 rounds of 10 questions at G&D, with scores announced at the end. The IE features a round of A-Z trivia (26 questions), a round of trivia bingo (25 questions), and a final round or two that varies from week to week. Scores are announced between rounds.

Prizes: G&D winners get the entry fees, or occasionally split them with second place. At the IE, you can win $50 by getting bingo in that round, and the winning team gets the remaining pot.

Food: Pub grub selections are similar--fish & chips, shepherd's pie, burgers--but a bit classier and more expensive at the IE.

While we're looking forward to returning to the George & Dragon next week, we'll have to stop back in at the Irish Emigrant from time to time--especially since they've got Magners hard cider on tap. (Hint hint, George!)

Posted by Susan on behalf of James.