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 O n the 215th edition of Trivia Club at our Original Home of Cardinal Rule, brought to you by Steam Whistle, it was a wonderful reminder that sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Sometimes too, rivalries take a while to brew, but when they do… that competitive edge is a sharp one!

After the first round of Trivia Classic, the Last Place Team had the lead on the field. VHS winners once again, two weeks ago, our newest Cardinal Rule house team (taking the mantle from Team Name, as Team Name had with the Cunning Stunts) were bringing momentum into the second round with a two point lead on Trivia Club's house team the M. Night Shaym-Aliens! The VHS Champs, returning from last week's win had an eight and a half point advantage on Trivial Knowledge, who themselves had a two and a half point lead on the returning Lt. Dance, on this night known as #Comey2012! Newcomers Soap & Pepper were three points behind Lt. Dance on the night, in a solid fifth place.

Game Show Games then brought an unpredictable first game in Countdown Takedown, with #Comey2012 grabbing the TOP TEN with only the second guess! Survey Says proved all the more tricky, with Soap & Pepper grabbing the TOP TEN, while the six points for Trivial Knowledge where the only other points on the board in our second game. Finally in Combo Breakdown, points DID come easier, and it came down to the M. Night Shaym-Aliens outlasting the field for FIFTEEN points, solidify the lead that they had rested away from Last Place Team before our third round!

As always, Tri-Pardo proved the testing ground. Soap & Pepper were out early, due to prior commitments, but our third round was indeed one for the record books for our final four teams, with 58 points up for grabs! Yes, for the first time ever not one but two crit rolls were witnessed, with the first question being worth 20 points, the second question being worth 18 points, and the third question being worth ANOTHER 20 points!

With all those points in play this led teams to be very careful with their answers, especially with a first question for 20 points that the final four teams all got correct... but with a second question that was less sure, and a second 20 points question that felt downright dangerous (and for Trivial Knowledge, just on the tip of their mind)! Trivial Knowledge, speaking of which in non-parantheticals this time, added 20 points to their total, while #Comey2012 zigged when they should have zagged in a couple of instances and were left short 18 points! Last Place Team and the M. Night Shaym-Aliens went neck and neck across the three questions, and both teams picked up 38 points before the Finale!

This led to a wagering in the Finale, that brought about a truly dramatic ending... as Last Place Team went in with 70 of their 72.5 points, while the M. Night Shaym-Aliens wagered 49 of their 82.5, meaning the 10 point lead that the Shaym-Aliens had... could very well turn into an eight point loss! Like always though, the Shaym-Aliens first had to get the Finale correct... AND THEY did, reverse-engineering their way to the victory over their fellow Trivia Club regulars in 2017, Last Place Team!