Residents take part in evenings that are not so trivial

Residents are getting together at numerous bars in the area to play a fast-paced game that’s a combination of “Family Feud,” “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune” and “Name That Tune.”

The team-based game at Fox & Hound Bar and Grill, for example, is called Trivia With A Twist and draws 100 to 125 people each Tuesday night.

Free, live-hosted trivia games are one of the many methods used by restaurants and bars to attract and retain customers. This "gamification” comes in various forms; including an electronic interactive game option connected to the National Trivia Network-Buzztime. But such games are still isolating, unless you are pilot Rob Steck of Cornelius, whose remarkable scores were posted on the network.

Nate Mecha of Cornelius runs the Meetup group Adventures After 40, and leads their trivia team, Brain Trust, at Fox & Hound trivia night.

The three rooms of the restaurant/bar contained many teams, some with nutty names like My Couch Pulls Up But I Don’t. David Lloyd and Rich Kennedy have hosted the Trivia With a Twist show for four years.  Their preparation process entails many hours of researching and writing the questions, and putting together the audio script and visuals.

How it works

Trivia With A Twist starts at 8 p.m. The clues are shown on the large flat screens throughout the dining and bar areas. Answers for each team are submitted on the answer sheets supplied. Each of the three rounds are scored and results after each round are announced. All rounds are combined for the team’s total score. The final two questions are “Jeopardy” style with wagering up to 20 points on the first and 30 on the final question of the evening. Teams with the highest final combined score are declared the winner, Mecha explains.

Each round contains a variety of types of questions on different formats and under different topic categories, like sports, geography and entertainment.

If a team gets there by 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, they can participate in the pre-game “WHOAMI,” a 20-picture identification segment. Scores from that session will be added to the score of the main session, which runs until 9 p.m.

“Each team turning in a WHOAMI answer sheet receives a chip good for a free answer in the Trivia With A Twist game and the team with the most correct WHOAMI answers receives and second chip for their effort,” said Mecha.

For information about the Adventures after 40 Brain Trust Trivia group, contact Mecha by calling 704-200-7106. He can be engaged to organize and run team trivia games at your establishment as well.