The scoop on Trivia Nights Saskatchewan
Enjoy trivia shows and want to learn how to take part in one? Read on!
Trivia Nights Saskatchewan has been making a splash recently as it makes its rounds through a number of pubs and restaurants across the province. Making stops at O’Hanlon’s Irish Pub, Lazy Owl, and Bronco’s Pub and Grill along with plenty of others, Trivia Nights Saskatchewan is helping bring some new fun to nights out.
Ryan McNally, the creator and host of Trivia Nights Saskatchewan, started hosting trivia nights in 2019 with BINGPOT Trivia. They were originally based out of Toronto, but recently moved to Vancouver. In 2022, McNally wanted to take things over in Saskatchewan, so he created a logo and branding and started reaching out to hold events from there.
“Ever since then it has been great. We have had shows now at four different locations in Regina, one in Pilot Butte, and hopefully more later down the road.” McNally stated.
He puts a lot of thought and time into creating a trivia night. His process works like this: “The first thing: there must be an idea. Ever since we started doing themed trivia nights, the idea portion has gotten easier. But the content and creation ideas usually get way tougher. Every two-hour trivia show takes me about six hours to write.”
McNally’s shows feature a few different stages. “Your first round is a photo round, there are 20 photos related to the theme. The second round is a choice round or a pop quiz round, which is 12 questions for a total of 20 points. Round three is a fun trivia round that switches [from] week to week. Round four is a 50-50 round where you need correct answers for this or that. Round five is a music round of some type.”
McNally seems to have a knack for making things entertaining, despite the long creation process. He even has some dedicated fans who attend his shows every week. McNally ensures that every trivia night is fun by making sure that questions are hard enough that people have to think for a minute to answer them, but not so hard they’re stumped for two hours straight.
McNally has been doing this for a few years now. According to McNally, he has made some “really good questions” that he hopes people have enjoyed. Even with the competition aspect of trivia, everyone is a winner at the end of the day through the fun alone – if you’re doing trivia right, anyway.
“By all accounts, people have [enjoyed them],” said McNally. “Not every team can win every week and that is the big thing. At the end of the day, it is competition, but fun. That is what we are here to do, we are here to have fun, and sell some food and beer for the bar.”
Now, even though everyone is technically a winner from the fun to be had at Trivia Nights Saskatchewan, they do have prizes that teams can win too, giving some people more motivation to play competitively.
“At the Lazy Owl at the [University of Regina (U of R)], they usually do gift certificates for pizza, nachos, and a pitcher of beer for first place. A $25 gift certificate for second place, and third place is bar swag donated by the bar or liquor vendors that the bar has. Also, two prize rounds. One is for a pitcher of beer, and one is for a plate of nachos for the team to share. No shortage of prizes at the Lazy Owl for sure!”
McNally has also hosted a number of themed trivia nights, and is already working on a number of potential themes upcoming in the new year.
“Well, the people that have been in my DMs [sic] asking for a Friends trivia night, you will get one. I cannot say the exact date. Although I would like to do an NFL show for Super Bowl week, I would like to do a Grey’s Anatomy, or High School Musical. If people have any ideas for themes, my DMs [sic] are always open on Facebook or Instagram, we are happy to engage with people that come to our shows.”
Now, a special thing about Trivia Nights Saskatchewan is that themed nights and content typically do not repeat. McNally likes to wait around a year to reuse or revisit content.
“This goes for all my vendors. I won’t reuse something for O’Hanlon’s that I used [at] Bronco’s last week, and vice versa,” he said. “I try and keep a year-long cycle. Is it perfect? No. This way people get a chance to forget what I ask. Also ensures people that attend every week keep coming and think this is a fun challenging thing to do Wednesday night.”
Well now you know what a Trivia Night Saskatchewan night looks like, you know what kind of questions or rounds to expect, but maybe you want to host a trivia night at your local restaurant for your staff party or a fun night out. This can be done by directly messaging them at SKTriviaNights on Facebook. For those thinking of hosting one of McNally’s shows, he adds: “My rates are reasonable when it comes to booking for entertainment. If the quote is too high, I am willing to do a deal. This is a side gig for me.”
Trivia Nights Saskatchewan is a fun way to get out and get the brain working. McNally says, “The best way to experience a Trivia Night [Saskatchewan] show is to come to a show. Whether that is at Lazy Owl at U of R or at O’Hanlon’s Irish Pub in downtown Regina. Those shows are successful for a reason, and that is because the people that come every week enjoy what we do.” So, if you feel up to it, why not go hang out at one of his shows sometime?
