Channel your inner teacher's pet at one of these trivia nights.
Just as embarrassing as karaoke (your secret expertise in men's figure skating is no longer so secret) and slightly less hard on the ears (occasional outbursts from overzealous players are part of the fun), trivia nights offer prizes, drum up business for bars, and bring friends and strangers together to bicker over who sang the "Party of Five" theme song.
Mondays
Brownstone Tavern & Grill Monday is Customer Appreciation day at Brownstone, giving you ample reason to stop in for some trivia and $7 nachos.
8 p.m.; free
Crew
Hosted by Sister Mary Monistat - a rather strapping Catholic nun (there really is something about Mary) - Crew's Pub Quiz Night is the most fun, fast-paced, and rewarding trivia night in the city.
8 p.m.; free
Duffy's Tavern
Should things not go well for your team, drown your sorrows in a $15 bucket of Corona or Pacifico. The bucket doubles as something to throw at the winning team!
9 p.m; free
Duke's Bar
Venture up to this Rogers Park honkytonk for dirt-cheap drinks and a jukebox stocked with Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and Patsy Cline. Normally designated for hippies, the back door also serves as an appropriate exit for the losing team.
8 p.m; $2
Fado Irish Pub
This River North spot takes a night off its usual sports programming for a little mental exercise.
7 p.m.; free
Kincade's
This Lincoln Park trivia night adds a twist to the ole Q & A routine by having teams bet points based on their confidence in their answers. First place gets a $50 gift certificate to Kincade's, but with $2 burgers and $3.50 Amstel Light, everyone's a winner!
8 p.m; free
Kirkwood Bar & Grill
Monday night at Kirkwood is like an overwhelming smorgasbord of TV, trivia, and food/drink specials. The night begins at 8 p.m. with the so-called "Jack Bauer Power Hour" viewing of "24," and then segues into six rounds of trivia sustained by $3 burgers and $14 buckets of all Bud bottles.
9 p.m.; free
Tuesdays
Brownstone Tavern & Grill Back to back trivia nights? Why not? Brownstone follows its Monday night traditional trivia with a picture version (because the illiterate enjoy trivia too!).
Picture trivia; 8 p.m
Butch McGuire's
8 p.m; free
Cans Bar & Canteen
8 p.m; free
Chief O'Neill's
8 p.m.; $5
The Coach House
8 p.m.; free
Durkin's
8:30 p.m.; free
Elephant & Castle (E. Huron)
Pubstumpers, the name of this Streeterville trivia night, rhymes perfectly with "Tubthumper," the one-hit wonder from anarchist UK pop group Chumbawumba. You may want to remember that for the music round.
7:30 p.m; free
Full Shilling
8 p.m.; free
Globe Pub
Voted best U.S. Soccer bar according to USSoccer.com, The Globe Pub is no stranger to competition. Gather your hooligan friends or join the Chicago Trivia Meetup group for a rowdy night with Quizmaster Dave. All proceeds are donated to the MS Society of Illinois.
8 p.m; $5
Hidden Shamrock
8 p.m; $5 per person
Mad River Bar & Grille
8:30 p.m; $5
O'Donovan's
8:30 p.m.; free
Paddy Long's
8 p.m; free
ROCKS Lincoln Park
8 p.m.; free
Schoolyard Tavern
8 p.m; $5
The Spot
The Battle of the Brains at this uptown bar rewards useless knowledge with free shots and cash. The winning team collects $100 and goes on to compete for glory in the amount of $1,000 at the quarterly Tournament of Champions. A portion of proceeds go to the Lymphoma/Leukemia Society of America.
7 p.m; $5 per person
State Restaurant & Cafe
8 p.m.; free ($800 cash prize)
Will's Northwoods Inn
7:30 p.m; free
Wednesdays
Bar Louie (Wrigleyville) 8 p.m; free
Celtic Crown
7:30 p.m.
Chicago Ale House
8:30 p.m.; free
Cinner's
As if music snobs need an excuse to show off: Cinner's hosts a music trivia night.
8 p.m; free
Crossroads Public House
8 p.m.; free
F. O'Mahony's
This newly minted Wrigleyville bar has its priorities in order: During Cubs games, trivia is played in lightning rounds. Prizes include $50 and $25 off the top two teams' bar tabs and a free round of beers for the best team name.
8 p.m; free
Harrigan's
8 p.m.; $5
Junior's Sports Lounge
Come for the $1 taco bar and $3.50 import and microbrew drafts, stay for the chance to win bar gift certificates and sports tickets.
8 p.m; free
Local Option
8 p.m.; free
Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro
7 p.m.; free (pre-registration required)
Rebel Bar & Grill
8 p.m.; free
Sedgwick's Bar & Grill
8:30 p.m; free
Waterhouse
8 p.m.; free
Witt's
Test your wits at Witts. Round winners earn free shots and the overall winners take 25 percent off their tab. If only they used alcohol as an incentive at work ...
7 p.m; free
Thursdays
Fizz Bar & Grill This Lakeview bar asks, "Are you smarter than a bartender?"
8:30 p.m; free
Ginger's Ale House
If the owners of Ginger's Ale House are bitter that Globe Pub stole the Best U.S. Soccer bar title, they sure do a good job hiding it. They're donating all of the proceeds from their weekly pub quiz to The Franciscan Outreach Association.
7:30 p.m; $5
Purple Otter
8 p.m; free
Finn McCool's
9 p.m.
Mickey's
Roundhead's Pizza Pub (Lombard)
8 p.m.
Vines on Clark
Probably one of the best-kept secrets in terms of free stuff to do in the city, this trivia game follows an hour-long wine tasting with samples from the Vines menu. See how well you perform after knocking back a few glasses of vino.
8 p.m; free
Sundays
Groucho's Bar & Grill This Ashburn bar and grill takes a night off its live music schedule for a little Q & A session. Is it fun? You bet your life.
7 p.m; free
Murphy's Bleachers
3 p.m.; free
For an even more comprehensive list, check out the trivia night blog.
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