Month: September 2010

Autumn Invitational: Week One

Ok, so standings will be posted on Monday after physical challenges are completed. I have added two new opportunities for bonus points, one of them in Manayunk for our Terrace Taproom crowd! You must have the photos posted by Monday at noon. So even if you didn’t play in Week 1, there is a chance to get right into the mix, as you can earn up to 10 points in physical challenges. I will have the venue for the Main Event posted next week. I have decided to cut the invites from 25 teams to 22 teams, just to make sure nobody gets complacent after an early win.

One thing that’s been a little lacking lately has been creative team names. Therefore, next week the best team name at each bar will earn 2 points, and the best team name over the course of the week will get 5 bonus points. Yes, if you have an established team name, you can play with a new name, just be sure to put your old one down somewhere on the paper.

I am participating in an incredible comedy show, the Ministry of Secret Jokes, tonight at the RUBA (414 Green) that will feature 3 past winners of Philly’s funniest contest and will be hosted by Doogie Horner of America’s Got Talent fame. Not only a great show, but a chance for you to earn some points. Hope to see you there!

French Fry Thursday

Mammals-MNLess than a week into the Autumn Invitational, and things are already heating up. A very tough quiz to start the week that saw nobody score over 88. Tonight’s quiz is going to be a bit easier. I expect a few 100s. I let last week’s last place teams pick the topics for the wild card round. Therefore, tonight’s wild card round is “Mammals and Minnesota” (No, not Mammals of Minnesota, though I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Golden Gopher question in there somewhere.). Should be pretty interesting. Action starts at Ugly American at 8 p.m., where there are $2 Lagers and $3 Kenzingers and where the French Fries that someone will win were picked by Philadelphia Weekly as the best in the city. (The nachos are pretty damn good too). We then move to the Bards. $2.50 Lagers and a chance to beat the biggest dorks in town, Steak Em Up. Action starts at 10:15 p.m.

ALSO SEE: In case you hadn’t noticed, Philly is currently the center of the sports world, with a baseball team on fire and a big QB controversy. I wrote an article on isportacus yesterday about how sports fans love the Phils and soap opera fans love the Eagles and it’s gotten pretty good reviews. Check it out.

FAQs About the Autumn Invitational

autumninviteI’ve been sort of scattershot in presenting the info about the Autumn Invitational. Here is everything you need to know, and the answers to a few questions I have been getting so far.

WHAT IS IT? The Autumn Invitational is part quizzo, part scavenger hunt, part Let’s Make a Deal. Teams earn points for finishing in the top 3 in my weekly quizzos, for completing physical challenges posted on facebook, and for answering bonus trivia questions or having items on their persons at quizzo. After 8 weeks, the 25 teams that have scored the most points earn an invite to the Main Event. As of right now, the Main Event will be taking place on November 14th. (Though it could potentially be moved to the 21st) The location is currently a secret, but will be revealed in the next week.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Anyone is eligible to play. You and your team of up to 8 people can play any one of my quizzes during the week (schedule below), or one of Mike Minions two quizzes, to earn points. We have just started week 1, so you haven’t missed anything.

WHAT KIND OF PRIZES WE TALKING HERE? Ok, winning team of the Main Event gets $300 in prizes. 2nd Place gets $150 in prizes. The Top 10 teams after 8 weeks will be entered into a drawing for another $100 in prizes, and the team that scores the most points via physical challenges scores $100 in prizes. $650 worth of total prizes. Not too shabby.

HOW CAN MY TEAM SCORE POINTS? First place team at quizzo gets 5 points, 2nd place gets 3, and 3rd Place gets 1. In addition, there will be 4 numbers questions during each quiz, and whatever team comes closest gets a bonus point. You can earn up to 10 points a week via physical challenges. (This week, the points come easy in the physical challenges. They won’t be this easy in coming weeks, so take advantage!) There will also be “Name That Tune” opportunities to score points and Let’s Make a Deal opportunities at the quizzes (i.e. “Whoever can show me a wheat penny/pack of Chiclets/Estee lauder product”, etc. earns a point). There will also be a few special quizzes in which you can score DOUBLE POINTS. The first one of these will be on Monday at the Cheating for Charity Quiz.

HAS THERE EVER BEEN AN EVENT LIKE THIS ANYWHERE, ANYTIME BEFORE? No. Well except for the Summer Invitational that we did a few months ago. This is an event that is uniquely Philadelphian, and unlike anything else I have ever heard of.

BUT YOUR TOP TEAMS NEVER LOSE, JGT. Not true. Last week, the top 4 regular teams in my quiz all lost, and two didn’t even finish in the Top 3.

Here’s the schedule. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to post below in comments. And please click “Like” below to help spread the word.

MONDAY

  • The Westbury (hosted by Mike Minion) 10:30 p.m.

TUESDAY

  • Terrace Taproom (hosted by Mike MInion) 7:30 p.m.
  • O’Neals 8 p.m.
  • The Bards 10:15 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

  • Locust Rendezvous 6:15 p.m.
  • Black Sheep 8 p.m.

THURSDAY

  • Ugly American 8 p.m.
  • Bards 10:15 p.m.

Questions Start Flying Tonight!

Autumn2The Autumn Invitational kicks off with a bang tonight at O’Neals at 8 p.m., where the Top 3 finishers will receive double points. First place gets 10, 2nd gets 6, and 3rd gets two. There will also be chances to earn other bonus points at the quiz with some numbers questions. There is more parity at O’Neals than anywhere else, so the simple fact of the matter is that 10 points are out there up for grabs for any team that gets their head right tonight.

Of course, you probably won’t want to rest on your laurels after one night. We are going to have a drawing at the Big Event to give away $150 in prizes to one of the Top 10 teams after the 8 weeks. In the Summer Invitational, Inglorious Barristers slipped in as a #10 seed but walked with the bonus money in the drawing. So a top 10 finish could be huge.

On to the Bards, where the scoring will be normal, except for one caveat…anyone who can knock of Steak Em Up earns 3 bonus points. They lost twice last week, so it is certainly possible to beat them. Action starts at the Bards at 10:15 p.m.

Keep in mind, too, that you can score big points with the physical challenge on facebook. I will also be coming up with a sweet prize for the team that scores the most points via physical challenges in the next 8 weeks. That applies not only to participants at my quizzo, but also at Mike Minion’s. Mike hosts tonight at the Terrace Taproom at 7:30 p.m., and teams there and at the Westbury are eligible to compete in the Invitational.

Mike Minion vs. Steve-O in Our First Ever Quizcast!


Picture 5

Click here to listen to the first ever Johnny Goodtimes quizcast, as Mike Minion took on Steve-O in an instant classic that came down to the final question.  Hear how much these two quizzo legends knew about music, sports, geography, and literature, and see if you could have beat them. It’s like old timey radio. Except with worse sound quality! (If you like it, click like below. And incidentally, Jim Morrisson did die in Paris.)

The Autumn Invitational Kicks Off Next Week!

autumninvThe Fall Invitational kicks off next week, and this hybrid quizzo/scavenger hunt is going to be pretty damn awesome. In addition to new physical challenges, there will be opportunities to score points by answering questions on facebook and by answering some even harder than usual questions at quizzo. The action begins Monday night at the Westbury, as Mike two quizzes will count toward your totals. On Tuesday, I will be kicking off Week 1 at O’Neals next week with a bang. Double points at O’Neals Tuesday night. That means that winner gets 10 points, 2nd gets 6 points, and 3rd place gets 2 points. Also, I am going to be giving bonus to any team that defeats Steak Em Up over the course of the event*. And keep in mind, thanks to the Shaker Rule, you can have as many players on your team as you want. Two teams were able to use that to their advantage this past week to knock off the Steak. And the good news is that Steak Em Up can’t play with any more players, because they don’t have any friends. Use that to your advantage!

*”But wait, isn’t that unfair to Steak Em Up?” Yes. Yes it is. That’s why I’m doing it.