Time to let the world know about the club. We were sent a list of questions by a magazine, which makes our job easier. Now we know what you want to find out.
Who are you?We are a bunch of quizzers, who have taken part in quizzes across the country. Most of us are in our twenties, though some of us look back wistfully at that time.
We have won and conducted a lot of quizzes in many cities - Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad. However, Bombay, where we stay doesn't have a quiz club as of now. Hence, this effort to bring quizzers together and quiz.
If you could just clarify how your quiz club works. According to your blog, you fix a date and time to meet and quiz away. We quiz in person, always. We fix up a date, time and venue via the blog (it is generally close to where we work/ stay) and through phone calls and then meet on that day to quiz. We are always on the lookout for venues. So, if you have a classroom, room, hall, let us know.
We can also hold quizzes for your organisation (school, college, corporation).
When and where do you meet?Anytime we can find 4-5 people at a place. However, we would most likely meet on Saturday afternoons. We are open to people hosting quiz parties in other times (as long as they promise decent food/ beer!)
So i'm a little confused by your list of "dry questions". Does this mean that you quiz both online and when you meet?The dry questions are generally from the last quiz we have done, for the members and other people who could not attend. We can also occasionaly, post questions which we have come across in other blogs or researched ourselves, but can't wait to tell the world about it.
How do you come up with questions? Surfing the net? Reading? Some of them are pretty obscure.Before we answer that, we need to tell you about our brand of quizzing.
The kind of quiz we do is based on problem solving and not knowledge. The idea behind a question is to give facts and clues so that the quizzers can work out the answer. Let me demonstrate.
i) One of the
questions in our first quiz was about an area which was named after an Englishman colonist and after Latin for woods. Now, a quizzer will look at the time (1681) and Charles 2 to work out that the area is most likely in US - so the answer is most likely some American city or state. Now the job is to find which one.
ii) It can't be famous New York, Philadelphia or Los Angeles as they have different origins (Amsterdam then York, Brotherly love and City of Angels). Now, one quizzer will probably run through different cities, while his teammate will look at other clues.
iii) Hence, a quizzer will look at other clues. Latin for woods makes is a clue. What are the other things a quizzer has heard about woods? One is Flora (can it be Florida? no, it has Spanish origins). How about Sylvan (Pennsylvania, yes)?
iv) The quizzers will round off the answer. Yes, William Penn was a famous colonist. It has to be Penn-Sylvania.
This kind of research for questions, by the way, happens all the time. When we read books, watch movies, listen to music, watch TV. Different quizzers have different way of making questions. One way which is common is that the moment we hear something interesting, we write it down. Then, before a quiz, we look at our notes and construct questions (find additional clues/ info in wikipedia for example).
Quizzing ultimately is a great way to get to know the world a little deeper.
How do you go about getting attendees? Are most of them from among your friends? Is your club is open to all those interested?We are open to all (though in our first meeting, 3 out of 6 were colleagues!!). The plan is to create a quizzing culture in Bombay.
We plan to meet once every four weeks, as of now. We would either hold a quiz party (everyone brings 10 questions) or an open quiz. We can hold topical quizzes (entertainment, literature, sports, India) as well as general quizzes. We all do it for love of quizzing. Hence, if you want to fall in love with this activity, let us know.
Do you refer to each other by your blog names or your real names?We prefer to be known by blog names. This is for various personal and professional reasons. Obviously, you will get to know us in person and know our real names. Please do not reveal in comments and posts about this club.
Who are the founding members? Whose palms do I have to grease to get in?Really speaking this club was founded on April 1. The quizzers who attended were Amit, NU, Milo minderbinder, Pangalactic Quizblaster, AD and I. Gaurav couldn't (but he pointed out Amit to us). Abhijit said he will but couldn't. Prostetnic Vogon and Saint expressed interest but couldn't attend, but they are responsible for having a venue outside of Prabhadevi (but they were responsible for creating excitement by mentioning the club in Delhi). You can call all of us the founding members. Though if you find us, you can join the finding member's club as well.
No palm greasing. Just bring in 10 questions. Better still host a quiz.
I exaggerate, of course. The only time physical violence entered our minds was when an officious manager of the mall came and asked us to get lost, and to conduct our "business meeting" elsewhere. We argued that were just a bunch of friends sitting together, and what we did was none of his business as long as we disturbed no one else and ordered lots of food and drink, which we continuously did. He was unconvinced, but we were adamant, and insisted on speaking to his boss. "Give me your card," I bluffed madly at one point, "and you will hear more on this matter from Mr Raheja himself." When reason don't work, flex muscle. He did leave us alone then for long enough to finish the quiz.
So while we had a lot of fun, we really need to sort out regular venues, much like they have in Poona, where they use the Boat Club for informal gatherings and the PSPL auditorium for proper quizzes. Suggestions will be welcome.
