Quiz nights growing in popularity
“I have always had a passion for pretty much useless information. Obviously, if you’re good at something, you get competitive about it.”
What was the job title on infamous gangster Al Capone’s business card? If you can answer that, then maybe quiz nights are for you.
Quiz nights are increasingly popular events hosted at many bars and venues across Pretoria.
The events usually take place on weeknights and feature rounds of questions across different categories.
The events usually call for teams to band together and compete for a prize, with regulars competing against each other for the win.
Rekord spoke to local quiz master Hannes Brummer, who said he had seen rapid growth in the popularity of the events.
“They have become hugely popular recently,” said Brummer.
“I think people want to do things that are a bit more interactive but that are still intimate.”
Brummer has been the quiz master at many venues for about three years.
He said that there are several regulars, and he enjoys seeing the healthy competition that forms between rival regulars.
“Quiz nights remove that barrier for making mistakes.
“The quiz master isn’t like your biology teacher who is going to rap you on the knuckles if you make a mistake.
“But at the same time, the stakes are high because there are prizes to be won,” said Brummer.
Being a quiz master is about total performance, entertaining the attendees but also setting challenging questions and sometimes some light conflict resolution.
“We do try to ask questions that are so random and obscure that people have to suffer together to try and figure it out.
“I think they often learn something they might take to work the next day and use around the watercooler at work,” Brummer said.
“It’s not just a guy with a clipboard anymore. Quizzes have developed into a form of entertainment.”
Brummer hosts the quiz night at bars in Common Wealth Square in Centurion, as well as other venues in the city.
Dominic Horne is a very big fan of quiz nights and usually competes in at least one event every week.
Horne told Rekord that he tries to change up which events he attends but usually attends Brummer’s nights on a Monday.
“I have always had a passion for pretty much useless information,” said Horne.
“Obviously, if you’re good at something, you get competitive about it.”
Horne said that growing up in Port Elizabeth, he struggled to find many quiz night events.
“I was so excited when I saw how many there are in Pretoria,” he said.
Horne said that his biggest rival was Michelle Coetzee, who told Rekord that Horne was a formidable opponent.
“I’ve been doing it for the last 10 years. I love socialising and I love that you learn new things every time.
“They aren’t all the same, so it is about finding the place you like the most,” said Coetzee.
Coetzee gave a tip to anyone interested in quiz nights: “Go through your sports!
“It is also always good to brush up on your capital cities.”
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