T Lane, tasting room manager at Three of Strong Spirits, reads questions during trivia night at the East Bayside distillery. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
If there was such a thing as trivia season, it would be now.
As the temperature drops and darkness falls earlier, people are looking for more to do indoors in the evening. At the same time, holding weekly trivia nights is a way for restaurants, bars and breweries to bring in customers on the slower nights of the week, which is especially crucial during the slower colder months.
Two years ago, we wrote about how trivia nights were beginning to return after the pandemic shutdown. But now, there are so many happening throughout the week, it’s hard to choose which one to attend.
A trivia night at Gritty McDuff’s in Portland, shortly before many shutdown during the pandemic in 2020. Photo by Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
That largely can be attributed to the growth of two area trivia companies: Portland-based Best Worst Trivia, which hosts nine events throughout the week at various Greater Portland locations, and Dover, N.H.-based Game Time Trivia, which hosts trivia nights at some 50 locations in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Marc Chamberland, who started Game Time Trivia in 2009, said he had to rebuild his business after the COVID pandemic, which permanently shut down some of the places he partnered with, and is just about back to the same number of locations. But attendance at the events, he said, has more than rebounded, with some locations drawing as many as 25 teams a night.
“We weren’t doing those numbers before COVID,” he said.
Patrons at Three of Strong Spirits participate in trivia night on a recent Thursday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Best Worst Trivia was founded in 2019 by Nate Parent and Ben Taylor, who had worked for another company as trivia hosts. They started writing some of their own questions and realized players seem to enjoy them more, so they broke out on their own. Every week, the two “research nerds,” as Parent described them, write new and original questions, about half of which are based on themes requested by teams from the previous week. Recently, those have ranged from Jim Henson to infectious diseases, Parent said.
For Game Time Trivia, the angle is to keep the answers guessable, Chamberland said. He prefers questions that ask for a month something happened or a number or color rather than something like a specific capital city.
Jenifer Spencer, left, and Kelly Shinnick, both of Portland, laugh as they participate in trivia night at Three of Strong Spirits. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
For both, the main objective is for people to interact and enjoy each other’s company. Chamberland said he especially loves seeing how everyone on a multigenerational team, from teenagers to grandparents, can contribute something different. And while some bigger trivia companies operate through cellphones, these two are all about pencil and paper.
“Our goal is to actually get people to talk to each other,” Parent said.
Here are more than 30 trivia nights to choose from in southern Maine.
WHERE: Bramhall, 769 Congress St., Portland; 207-805-1978, bramhallme.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sundays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Rising Tide Brewing Co., 103 Fox St., Portland; 207-370-2337, risingtidebrewing.com
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hardly Trivial hosts the weekly event in the brewery’s East Room. First and second place teams get Rising Tide gift cards, and the last place team gets to pick the theme of the next week’s bonus round.
WHERE: Sebago Brewing Co., 65 Portland, Road, Kennebunk; 207-985-9855, sebagobrewing.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Outlook Tavern, 299 Portland St., South Berwick; 207-384-1004, outlook golf.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Foulmouthed Brewing Co., 15 Ocean St., South Portland; 207-618-6977, foulmouthedbrewing.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes.
WHERE: Wessie’s Den, 212 Brown St., Westbrook; 207-591-0010, on Facebook
WHEN: 6 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Host Molly Wood runs the arcade bar’s weekly two-hour trivia night that features six rounds of questions in a variety of categories. Team sizes can range from one to six people.
WHERE: Austin Street Brewery, 115 Fox St., Portland; 207-358-0492, austinstreetbrewery.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds. First place team receives a prize.
WHERE: Blaze Brewing, 28 Pearl St., Biddeford; blazebrewing.com
WHEN: 6 and 7 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Stump! Trivia hosted by Trivia with Mike.
WHERE: Blackstones, 6 Pine St., Portland; 207-775-2885, on Facebook
WHEN: 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: West End dive Blackstones, which bills itself as “Maine’s friendliest gay bar,” presents Danielle Dior Trivia Galore twice a week. It costs $5 to play, and the winner takes the pot.
WHERE: Lazzari, 618 Congress St., Portland; 207-536-0368, lazzariportland.com
WHEN: 8 p.m. Mondays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes. Arrive early; fills up quickly.
WHERE: Bissell Brothers Brewing Co., 38 Resurgam Place, Portland; 207-808-8258, bissellbrothers.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds. Teams of two to eight people. Prizes for winners.
WHERE: Peppers Landing, 243 Main St., Ogunquit; 207-646-2345, pepperslanding.com
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds. Taco Tuesday Deal: $22 for choice of tacos and a house margarita.
WHERE: RiRa, 72 Commercial St., Portland; 207-761-4446, rira.com/portland
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes.
WHERE: Mill Towne Tavern, 898 Main St., Sanford; 207-490-5798, on Facebook
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Brookside Food & Drink, 125 Bridgton Road, Westbrook; on Facebook
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes.
WHERE: Wilson County Barbecue, 82 Hanover St., Suite 8, Portland; 207-956-7788, wilsoncountybarbecue.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes. Rotating beverage special and 75 cent wings.
WHERE: Pat’s Pizza, 209 Route 1, Scarborough; 207-883-8441, patspizzascarborough.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds. Prizes to top three teams. Beer and pizza specials.
WHERE: Moderation Brewing, 103 Maine St., Brunswick; trickyquestionsforfun.com/moderation
WHEN: 7 p.m. every other Tuesday
WHAT TO EXPECT: Tricky Questions for Fun includes a stream-of-consciousness round (10 questions linked to the one before, plus themed and picture rounds. Play in teams up to six or come alone and join the bar team.
WHERE: Elsmere BBQ, 448 Cottage Road, South Portland; 207-619-1948, elsmerebbq.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes. Arrive early for a good table.
WHERE: Foundation Brewing Co., 1 Industrial Way, Suite 7, Portland; 207-370-5180, foundationbrew.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Hardly Trivial; prizes for first and second place teams.
WHERE: Federal Jack’s, 8 Western Ave., Kennebunk; 207-967-4322, federaljacks.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Maine Beer Cafe, 439 Route 1, Kittery; 207-475-5655, mainebeercafe.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Mast Landing Brewing Co., 920 Main St., Westbrook, and 200 Lower Main St., Freeport; mastlandingbrewing.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. (Freeport) and 6:30 p.m. (Westbrook) Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Wide range of questions and categories, including pop culture, history, music and more. Pints are $1 off; food available from Nighthawk’s Kitchen in Freeport and Fat Kid Culinary productions in Westbrook.
WHERE: Salvage BBQ, 919 Congress St., Portland, 207-553-2100, salvagebbq.com
WHEN: 6:30 Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Requests for more information not returned.
WHERE: Gritty McDuff’s, 396 Fore St., Portland
WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by gregarious duo Joe and Rob, includes themed, picture, audio and speed rounds.
WHERE: Stars and Stripes Brewing Co., 3 Spring St., Portland; starsstripesbrewing.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: At the Portland taproom’s Triviaoke night, trivia from 6-7 p.m. is immediately followed by karaoke. Happy hour is from 5-7 p.m.
WHERE: Goodfire Brewing Co., 219 Anderson St., Suite 6, Portland; goodfirebrewing.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes.
WHERE: Locally Sauced, 20 Forest Falls Drive, Yarmouth; 207-847-3035, locallysaucedme.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes.
WHERE: Flight Deck Brewing Co., 11 Atlantic Ave., Brunswick; flightdeckbrewing.com
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Androscoggin Trivia Co. Seven rounds with format changing weekly; sneak peek questions posted on Facebook.
WHERE: Duffy’s Tavern, 4 Main St., Kennebunk
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Feile Irish Pub, 1619 Post Road, Wells; 207-251-4065, feilerestaurantandpub.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
WHERE: Three of Strong Spirits, 35B Diamond St., Portland; 207-899-4930, threeofstrongspirits.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: T$ hosts five rounds of general trivia, including a name-that-tune round. Teams of up to eight players. Wearing Three of Strong merch gets bonus points. Rotating $6 cocktail specials. Winning team gets $25 gift card and merchandise. Arrive early to sign up.
WHERE: Arcadia, 504 Congress St., Portland; arcadiaportland.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Best Worst Trivia. Six rounds of 10 questions, about half on topics requested from previous week. Teams of six or less eligible to win prizes.
WHERE: Brickyard Hollow, 9 Commercial St., Portland and 237 Lewiston Road, New Gloucester; brickyardhollow.com
WHEN: 7 and 8 p.m. Thursdays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Stump! Trivia hosted by Trivia with Mike.
WHERE: Shipyard Brewpub, 28 Levesque Drive, Eliot; 207-686-2026, shipyardbrewpub.com
WHEN: 7 p.m. Fridays
WHAT TO EXPECT: Hosted by Game Time Trivia. Fun, general knowledge questions broken into eight rounds, including picture, audio and wager rounds.
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