Doones, Swede, Rico and Faith test their recall of the offbeat, absurd and eccentric three times a week, racing against time and other competitors.
Jay Johnson, of Bubba's Roadhouse in Cape Coral, plays hosts to the trivia contests, the foursome gathered around a reserved table and compiling their scores that often place them in the top 10 in the nation.
Jan "Swede" Strader, Duane "Doones" Tihan, Bonnie "Faith" Polzein, and Rich "Rico" Primm, all of Cape Coral, play religiously, 15 questions every 30 minutes, vying for a spot on the leaderboard.
"I don't want to say we're trivia-holics," Strader said, noting she and Polzein went on a trip together, "but when we went to Washington on vacation, I had to find trivia near the White House."
Tihan said "trivia people" are known to travel from bar to bar.
"It's kind of a national family," he said. He said northerners, including people from Canada, have looked the quartet up when they visit Cape Coral.
Strader has played NTN Buzztime trivia since 2003, Primm for the past decade and Tihan has played for about seven years. Polzein joined last year. They set their nicknames and avatars that appear on TV screens across the continent.
"They call each other by their screen names," Johnson said. "It's fun to watch."
And a question on the board can lead them on a tangent, talking about the Peanuts comic strip, '60s music or Big 10 basketball.
"I just don't like Charlie Brown," Strader said.
Bubba's Roadhouse, 2121 SW Pine Island Road. NTN Buzztime is a popular Trivia game where players complete against other around the country as individuals and as a team. During business hours daily. 239-282-5520.
Find other locations at http://www.forlocations.com/search?what=Buzztime&where=Cape+Coral%2C+FL
Here are a few of the other places with trivia we've found that have a dedicated following:
10 twentyfive, 1025 Santa Barbara Blvd., at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, First and second-place winners get gift cards or percentage off their bill. Dallas Robinson leads the games, occasionally offering themed nights such as Star Wars or Marvel comics. 239-829-0407
4721 SE 10th Place, Anthony Siciliano leads the fun at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Features $6 flatbreads and giveaways. Reservations accepted for teams of up to eight people. 239-471-2777.
1334 SE 10th Place, offers trivia at 9 p.m. Wednesdays, featuring Marc Davis. Some prizes available. 239-549-7542
901 Industrial Circle, 7 p.m. Thursdays by Zimco Entertainment. Win Scotty's gift cards for each round played. 239-888-5482
1319 Cape Coral Pkwy. E. Suite 1, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. Know Nonsense: Trivia Challenge hosted by Breshnyda. Collect points based on the difficulty of each question and push your luck with a wager in the Final Round Showdown. Round prizes and top leader board prize at end of night. 239-205-6394
FINS Seafood & Dive Bar, 3422 Del Prado Blvd., 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays. Trivia with Heather under the Tiki. The winners get drinks for each round and total team winner gets gift cards. They also offer beer bucket specials. 239-984-5449