what we do
The best questions, bar none.
Anyone can ask about obscure facts to a dark, drunk room. Our goal is to create teamwork through tantalizing clues, eliciting that elusive “aha” moment and the rush of putting that final puzzle piece in place.
We are player-focused from the start – best team name prizes, best wrong answer prizes, and the one-of-a-kind Challenge Rule – creativity is rewarded at every level of our game.
We’re always looking for partners that share our patron-first ethos in the DC area: establishments ready to enhance their weekly entertainment, companies hosting private events that are truly team-building, and fellow independent trivia authors. Contact us and let’s work together to bring a great game to great people.
Where Should You Go?
Big Bear Cafe – Wednesdays
A quaint neighborhood bar in Bloomingdale with great drinks, better pizza, and indoor and outdoor seating.
7 PM, 1700 1st St NW, Washington, DC
miXt Food Hall – Thursdays
Just over the border (or on your side, depending on your POV) is a mélange of local food vendors, great drinks, visual art, and artisan trivia.
7 PM, 3809 Rhode Island Ave, Brentwood, MD
Who we are
The New Columbia Pub Quiz started with some free beer and a passion for trivia.
Sam and Rob were bar trivia teammates back in 2012 when they noticed a few things that just kept coming up night after night.
Questions often hinged on having consumed particular pieces of media, with bigger teams winning simply by sheer volume of experience.
This wasn’t particularly fun for anybody – small teams had no chance to win, prizes weren’t enough to cover everyone on the big teams, and players could only meaningfully contribute once, maybe twice a night.
Worse yet, hosts didn’t have the discretion to allow alternate correct answers. Ambiguity or even misinformation in questions was an unfortunate hazard that could spell the difference between winning and losing.
the ncpq difference
So, they decided to tailor-make their own team-focused trivia.
Armed with that experience and a wealth of sustainably-sourced facts, they took their talents to Dupont’s The Mighty Pint, livening up Monday nights with clever questions, audience engagement, and innovative concepts like the Shot Round, the Asskicker Round, and the still-sui generis Challenge Rule.
After TMP’s shuttering and a subsequent stint at Sign of the Whale, the two took a side-hustle sabbatical until their triumphant return to trivia at metrobar in 2021, earning instant acclaim and a rapid expansion to Big Bear Cafe.
With venue changes, format changes, and changing times, the constant throughout NCPQ’s existence has been the unyielding focus on the player experience. Questions are carefully crafted to spark conversation and collaboration among teammates, team sizes are limited, and multiple prizes reward more than just knowledge.
With that, we look forward to connecting even more with our audience in 2024 and beyond – feel free to come say hi afterwards, give suggestions, or propose a partnership!
Yeah, But Who Are We?
Sam D.
Chairman of the Board of Education
Rob S.
Chief Asskicking Officer
Simi L.
Unpaid Trivia Intern
Contact us
Hosting a private event? Know of or manage a bar in dire need of a world-class trivia night? Have some great ideas for themes or prizes? Let us know by filling out the form below!