We meet for the quiz every Wednesday night at 8:00, though it is recommended to arrive slightly early to settle into a table. Teams of up to 5 people (no more) are assembled inside. People either come with a ready-made team or join a team when they get there. Once you have a team, you will be provided with pads of paper and pens to turn in your answers. But before that, you need to come up with a team name (usually referencing a current event or a pun on the host’s name), which you write down and give to us by depositing it in the fez, which has been used for past 20 years to accept answers. Your team name must be written on every answer you turn in, to identify it as yours.

There are two rounds of questions — a first round made up of fifteen 2-minute questions, and a second “lightning” round comprising fifteen 1-minute questions. When your team has decided on an answer, you write it down on a piece of paper and drop it in the fez. There are also handouts, generally one per round. Your team is given one round to complete each handout, at which time it must be turned in. The winner is determined by who has the highest score after the two rounds. The winning team wins a cash prize and has their photo taken, which is then uploaded to the website for the world to see.

We do have a few rules and regulations, too. First, as mentioned above, there is to be no more than five people per team. Cell phones are not allowed (there are no “lifelines”). The host has the final say over all disputes of answers and scoring.