March 29, 2024

Column: Trivia night at the Fore Seasons

During the cold of winter, it is sometimes difficult to find things to keep yourself busy or entertained. Most outdoor activities work best in warmer weather, so life becomes mundane with little to do but stay inside and watch TV. I have found another option, and who could have guessed it would come at a golf establishment. Team Trivia night at the Fore Seasons in Newton has quickly become one of my favorite ways to spend a Thursday night.

DJ Cubbie from Select Entertainment runs the show, and he never fails to have fun, interesting trivia questions that tease the mind.

Here’s how it works. You show up a little before 7 p.m. to grab a table, order some supper and/or refreshments and assemble your team members. Teams can be as small as two to three people. Cubbie will bring you the answer sheets and you pick a name for your trivia team. There are six rounds: 1) general knowledge, 2) photo round, 3) name that tune, 4) general knowledge (usually with some sort of theme), 5) audio clip and 6) another round of general knowledge. Best of all, the trivia contest costs you nothing but time.

The general knowledge rounds really mean what it implies. It’s questions about anything from geography to business to sports to celebrities, etc. I’ve learned many fun facts just from these questions alone, and feel pretty good when I know the answer.

The photo round is fun. You are given a sheet of paper with 10 photos on it. Cubbie will tell you what you need to write down on your answer card. Photos have ranged from celebrity jack-o-lanterns to recurring characters on television shows. It’s a fun round and challenging round for sure.

The name that tune round is one that can be the hardest, unless you have memorized a playlist from all eras and genres of music. Cubbie plays each song twice to give you a good listen. I feel great when I know the song, but there have been more than a few clips where I wasn’t even sure it was something that was actually played on the radio.

The audio clip round is slightly different than the name that tune round. Cubbie will read a question about the clip and will play it only once. The most common questions are name the person speaking, name what television show or movie this is from, when did this news event take place, etc.

Every team has what is called a joker, and when you use it, your score will be doubled for that round. My team tries to pick the round we feel the best about trying to double a score of 8, 9 or 10 to a 16, 18 or 20.

Fore Seasons provides a really nice set of prizes. Each round has a winner, and they get to draw a prize from the bucket. No team can win twice, so there are six guaranteed winners. Then at the end of all six rounds, Cubbie will announce the teams with the top three overall scores who each earn gifts cards good for use at the Fore Seasons.

So the next time you are looking for something to do, especially on a Thursday night, you might consider coming out to the Fore Season for trivia night. Maybe the place is aptly named as they provide entertainment throughout all four seasons in Iowa.

Contact Pam Rodgers
at prodgers@newtondailynews.com