Franklin Park – Crown Heights – Wednesdays @ 8 pm

The Trivia: With six rounds of eight to ten questions and an extra question in between each round, there are a LOT of questions at Franklin Park trivia. Each round is themed (including the questions in between) and the host moves through them very quickly, so the night doesn’t drag too long. The questions are some of the most challenging you will find at a trivia night outside of Pete’s Candy Store, but this host actually gives you and your team time to, you know, discuss the answers, leading to lots of teamwork and those “Eureka!” moments that make bar trivia so thrilling when it’s done right. That being said, six rounds is a lot, and the night would be better paced if the host cut just one of those rounds in favor of letting some of the very well-written questions linger a little bit longer before moving on to the next one.

The categories themselves were fun, allowing for a nice variety in the types of questions. An entire round of animated movie taglines surprisingly didn’t overstay it’s welcome, and the host somehow snuck in a round about Yankees players by attaching each one to a more general knowledge base (though he should have given half credit for partially correct responses, just sayin’). A round where the host listed three parts of various household items and teams had to name the item drew on a wide variety of knowledge bases. One of the more creative rounds involved a worksheet with all the answers written in Wingdings, leading to an exciting combination of trivia, crosswords, and logic puzzles.

It’s easy to see why this trivia has been so popular for so many years (I even have recollections of playing here about eight years ago). On top of solid, streamlined rounds of trivia, the host has a great rapport with the contestants, offering encouragement to various teams as well as props to that one guy playing by himself at the bar and also playfully ribbing that team that wins almost every week, who helpfully identify themselves as “The Trivia Gang”. But there are no antagonists at this trivia, as the questions themselves are good enough to have a fun time even if you don’t win, plus the prize is kind of lame anyway.

The winning team gets a round of drinks/shots (but I already drank a bunch?). No second or third place (bummer). Individuals can win free drinks if they answer a specific question correctly and the host pulls their name out of a hat.

The Venue: Franklin Park has high ceilings and big TV screens, and a good variety of drinks on tap. Plenty of food available, including burgers, tacos, milkshakes, and curly fries. Trivia is played in the main room, but there is tons of outdoor space, as well as a smaller, more intimate bar through the patio, if you want to keep the party going.