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 W e learned a lot along the way! It was a pleasure having you at Cardinal Rule for Trivia Club. What will happen with Trivia Club on Wednesday is still to be seen in 2018, but the community that has been built over 245 events at Our Original Home will have somewhere to play on the west-end! Now how do you encapsulate some of the most formative nights of Trivia Club, and the place where it all took place? How are we supposed to recap the almost six years spent at Cardinal Rule? This is Russel Harder, your host, and I'll start by saying this:

Thank you.

Much more will be said about Trivia Club at Cardinal Rule, it doesn't all have to be recapped here and now. It's legacy, it's all-time, and all the words we like to use with Trivia Club. What I'll do is focus on The Last Rights & Wrongs at Cardinal Rule this past Wednesday. Sound good? Speaking of sounding good, let's tune up the nights Mash-Up Madness.


 Trivia Classic  began with its own record-setting precedence, with David Bowie's Corporate Whores coming closer then any other team before them in 244 events to gain a perfect score on the front page of Trivia Classic, with a perfect score save for one detail, half a point. That half a point? Missing out on David Bowie as an answer. Yes, with five points on the Box Office Bulls-Eye, and a perfect slate on the Mash-Up, it all came down to the inclusion of David Bowie, for those Corporate Whores! Still, with a record-setting Classic, they held a seven and a half point lead on the Electric Mayhem, nearing the end of their Retirement Tour! The Cunning Stunts, the reigning Golden VCR Grand Champions (and yes, you will still be able to still be able to compete for the Golden VCR this upcoming April, while keeping an eye out for the third annual Trivial Awards at the years end of 2018) were three points behind their fellow all-time team in third, on their one-hundred and second! Seven points behind in fourth were The M. The Night The Shaym-Aliens, making their eightieth appearance at Cardinal Rule on the night, while just two points behind them were the Unusual Suspects making a surprise but truly necessary appearance at the only location this father/son duo have played Trivia Club! Speaking of teams who have only ever known Our Original Home, Trivial Knowledge were six points behind in sixth on their seventieth appearance, while Last Place Team were making their NINETIETH appearance in two full years of Trivia Club... each and every one of those nights at Cardinal Rule! Rounding out the field were Lt. Dance! Though Lt. Dance is now more of a regular at Hitch, and was certainly on the Rushmore of Lou Dawgs (even winning the Last Question there), they have been staples at Trivia Club for a couple of years now and thus were a very welcome team to round out this memorable night! Though their was a level of melancholy in the air, in the questions... their was also a beauty in enjoying the community built, and the teams that have just simply been loyal to Trivia Club, but so fully content to come back and relax at Cardinal Rule. The following was the last Trivia Royale that was seen at Cardinal Rule, fittingly a collection of the final shots of films.


After Russel was gifted a special Cardinal from Katie, along with some very kind words,  Game Show Games  did not slow down this roller-coaster of a night, with Countdown Takedown seeing the Electric Mayhem grab the last TOP TEN at Cardinal Rule for the Takedown, while the Unusual Suspects nabbed eight points, Lt. Dance grabbed six points, the M. Night Shaym-Aliens took four, and Trivial Knowledge got two points! Then in our Survey Says, it was the M. Night Shaym-Aliens who got that final TOP TEN at Cardinal Rule, while the Cunning Stunts got eight points, the Electric Mayhem got six points, and Lt. Dance four points! I would be remised if I also didn't mention that their was a possibility that both Trivial Knowledge and Last Place Team threw their guesses, so that the Unusual Suspects would only get a shot at the number five answer... which they did, though were unable to nail it down. I can't confirm that anything was thrown, fish tanks and pogo sticks for example, but I can confirm that we had a lot of fun. Combo Breakdown then proved a real mix of possibilities, with David Bowie's CW being eliminated by a release, though still gaining a point, while ultimately the last Combo Breakdown at Cardinal Rule saw the Cunning Stunts and the Electric Mayhem go head-to-head ONE LAST TIME! With the Last Rights & Wrongs all around them, it was the Electric Mayhem who finished as last team standing... with FOURTEEN POINTS for their team! After two weeks of close but no Combo, this brought the Electric Mayhem further into the lead, past David Bowie's Corporate Whores. The CW still held a still lead on the Cunning Stunts however, even after a quiet round two, thanks their all-time round one. Also north of 50 points heading into Tri-Pardo were the M. Night Shaym-Aliens!

 Tri-Pardo  continued the atmosphere of celebration and all-time possibilities, the feeling that anything was possible on this night, when Trivial Knowledge got the first choice for our third round of questions and rolled nineteen points for "That's All Folks"! The Unusual Suspects then got the second choice, picked "Thank Q" and rolled for sixteen points! Then finally, it was the Cunning Stunts with the last Tri-Pardo choice... the final roll... and Matt and Dylan three down seven points, yes just seven, for Hats Off! Hats Off, inevitably celebrated the Whoopee Cap of Cardinal Rule's logo! That was to be revealed, because at first it was a question about comic book characters from 1941! All together a possible forty-two points were available to be won in Tri-Pardo!

Losing nineteen points on the second question, were The M. The Night. The Shaym-Aliens. Gaining twelve points each were Lt. Dance, as well as Last Place Team and Trivial Knowledge! All three gaining points on the first question but being thrown on the third. The Unusual Suspects gained nineteen points on the first question, while the Cunning Stunts gained twenty-six points on that tricky first and third! Leave it to the Electric Mayhem and David Bowie's Corporate Whores to bring it down to the wire, as both teams hit for the final triple at Cardinal Rule! That forty-two points, the answer to meaning of life, the universe, and everything, gave Bowie's CW 104 points before the Finale, while the Electric Mayhem not only kept the lead on the night but were very much within distance of that All-Time High, thanks in part to finally breaking down that Combo!

The  Finale  was all we had now, the final question at Cardinal Rule. The M. Night Shaym-Aliens chose the more positive note of Back Again Soon, remembering that we at Trivia Club will see you as soon as January 2nd, and across Toronto… just never again in the house that Katie built, Cardinal Rule. With its great food, and even better friends. Trivia Club wasn't created for Cardinal Rule, but it was made there. Through research and development. Through listening to participants and challenging ourselves. Everywhere else that Trivia Club has gone, and will go, it's been adapted. Adapted from out of those Cardinal walls.

There were half-points unwagered, in some cases more but for the most part less. I don't need to tell you that most all teams went all-in. You leave it all behind. Even if sometimes you can't go back home.

It proved a tricky question that ultimately played the game of “pick a Beatle”, a one in four chance that ultimately boiled down to John or Paul. It was John Lennon. Every team that wagered ultimately “passed the audition”.

Though before touching on those eternal eight teams, thank you to everyone who has made an impact at Cardinal Rule in competition. Thank you to those who began here, or elsewhere, and enjoyed time participating in Trivia Club on the west-end. From The Bastards to Treasure Butt, Tiny Tim's... and the Good Folks from Laramie Cigarettes. To familiar faces like Alex Tre-Bests and Karen from Finance.

Thank you to SPARTACUS, our first Golden VHS Champs at Trivia Club, the team who won three of the first five nights at Cardinal Rule. Thank you to the Grafton Celebrity All-Stars, such kind wonderful people and regulars at Cardinal Rule, whose 240.5 point high score had been unmatched, making them a team that made the most of their two Golden VHS Championships. Thank you to Sam Rockwell, regulars in that first year, and Grand Champions of Trivia Club for the first time, their names forever the first on the Golden VCR. Thank you to The Redacted , whose humor and competitiveness were always a high point on the night. And thank you to Team Name for being the house team, for being the familiar kind faces, reliable competition for 145 events at Cardinal Rule... and a Team Name still chanted, up until the Last Rights & Wrongs were asked.

The M. Night Shaym-Aliens finished with 66.5 points on the night, finishing in eighth. The third team to participate in 100 events, who enjoyed their 100th event at Our Original Home! They finished with 80 events at Cardinal Rule, and 11 Golden VHS, as well as 4, 587.5 points, the fourth most total points at Our Original Home.

Last Place Team finished with 82 points on the night, in seventh place. The last house team at the Original Home of Trivia Club, taking the mantel from the Cunning Stunts and Team Name before them. In 2017 they would participate 49 times, and 47 of those being consecutive. They would Threepeat. In total they would make 90 appearances, the third most appearances all-time at Cardinal Rule, and win 13 Golden VHS, the sixth most all-time. On the final night, they would also become one of the seven teams to surpass 4,000 points at Cardinal Rule, finishing with 4,040.5 points. They are a Cardinal Rule team through and through, and the 9th last Golden VHS Champions at Cardinal Rule.

Lt. Dance would finish with 94 points on the night, finishing in sixth place. Though most familiar at our former legacy location of Lou Dawgs, Lt. Dance are a team that have competed in nearly 100 events, who are also a rare Triple Crown winning team, at least in the original sense. At Cardinal Rule, they finished with 2 Golden VHS wins over 18 appearances, with a total of 563.5 points.

Trivial Knowledge would finished with 94.5 points on the night, beginning the Last Rights & Wrongs top five. Another consummate Cardinal Rule team, they are most well known for sticking it out for thirty-seven prior appearances before their first Golden VHS, a heart-wearming tale! They would eventually make 70 appearances, and win 4 Golden VHS Championships, and in total score 2,363 points! They are also the tenth last Golden VHS Champions at Cardinal Rule.

The Unusual Suspects finished with 136.5 points on the night, finishing in fourth place. Any night a competitive Suspects team doesn't win, you know it's a special night as they were the original high percentage team. The trademark father and son duo are another purely Cardinal Rule team. With 20 Golden VHS Championships, tied for third all-time at Cardinal Rule with Team Name, across 52 appearances, the Unusual Suspects scored 4,280 total points.

The Cunning Stunts finished with 171 points on the night, finishing in third. It was the 14th time they had passed the Sesquicentennial Mark at Cardinal Rule. Mark of the Stunts is one of three people that were their on our first night of April 13th, 2012, who were also at Cardinal Rule this past Wednesday. The other two people Russel and Katie. Thank you for the great company. The Stunts won 37 Golden VHS Champions, first all-time at Cardinal Rule, across 102 appearances, second all-time at Our Original Home. Their 240 point high score, set just a month and a half prior was half a point off of Grafton's Chip Era High Score, and had been besieged in these last three weeks at Cardinal Rule with haymaker after haymaker through all three rounds, each and every December night in the final three weeks at Our Original Home. It was an unprecedented month for points, and the Cunning Stunts finished with 7,496 total points, are reigning Golden VCR Champions, and won two of the last ten Golden VHS tapes at Cardinal Rule.

The runners-up on the night with 208 points were a team that have pushed this game show to its limits, and though they hadn't begun at Cardinal Rule they quickly made it their home base. David Bowie's Corporate Whores won the second last Golden VHS at Cardinal Rule at the second annual Trivial Awards. They were the fourth Grand Champion Golden VCR winners. In just 30 appearances they have won 16 Golden VHS tapes, good for fifth all-time at Cardinal Rule, they have passed the Sesquicentennial Mark 12 times, and they finished with 4,060.5 total points... on average that's more then 135 points every night. The toughest of competition, and like every legacy team at Cardinal Rule, the kindest of people.

The Electric Mayhem were the first team to score 100 points at Trivia Club, and the first team to pass 150 points, helping to create the Sesquicentennial Mark. With 7,505 total points, they have the most all-time at Cardinal Rule. Having scored more then 200 points the last three nights, losing only by a combined two and a half points in the first two weeks of December, they are the first team to score more then 200 points at three consecutive events. As the fifth last Golden VHS Champs and as part of the fourth last Golden VHS Champs, they truly helped close out Cardinal Rule's Trivia Club in typical fireworks. Pure Mayhem. Simply Electric.

With their THIRTY-SEVENTH GOLDEN VHS, tied for most all-time at Cardinal Rule, and doing so over 83 appearances at Our Original Home, The Electric Mayhem saved the best for last. On the 245th edition of Trivia Club, at the place where it all began and will forever stay somewhere in bright memory... the Electric Mayhem set the All-Time High Score.

Two-Hundred and Forty-Seven.

On the last night at Cardinal Rule, and with their jersey in the rafters (not actually a figure of speech, check out the Facebook pictures)... breaking the All-Time High Score set by the Cunning Stunts just forty-nine days prior, and finally surpassing the 240.5 points established by the Grafton Celebrity All-Stars during the Chip Era, to bring it all full circle. Full stop.

With 247 points, your Last Golden VHS Champions at Cardinal Rule, THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM!


Congratulations once again to The Electric Mayhem, and thank you. Thank you to everyone who came out Wednesday, December the 20th, to close out the Original Home of Trivia Club. Thank you to everyone who came out the 243 Wednesday nights before that, and the 2 Friday nights we held Trivia Club on to start. Yes, Friday. Starting at 10pm. We learned quickly, at that one. Trivia Club will continue, and in some amazing places around Toronto, even if we can't go home. Thank you to the Electric Mayhem, David Bowie's Corporate Whores, Unusual Suspects, Cunning Stunts, Trivial Knowledge, Lt. Dance, Last Place Team, and M. Night Shaym-Aliens. Enjoy your Golden Chips, your Golden Coins if you will, and remember their might be a Coin Check in the future so keep those babies close by!
 20/12/17 POINTS TABLE 

TEAM	CLASSIC	CT	SS	CB	PARDO	WAGER	FINALE
The Electric Mayhem	51.5	10	6	14	42	(123.5)	247
David Bowie’s Corporate Whores	59	2	0	1	42	(104)	208
Last Place Team	28	0	0	2	12	(40)	82
Lt. Dance	23	6	4	2	12	(47)	94
Cunning Stunts	48.5	0	8	3	26	(85.5)	171
Trivial Knowledge	33.5	2	0	0	12	(47)	94.5
M. Night Shaym-Aliens	41.5	4	10	0	-19	(30)	66.5
Unusual Suspects	39.5	8	0	2	19	(68)	136.5

Thank you Katie! For everything, and for learning with me along the way. Thank you to Marta, to Mike, to Nick, and to Jude. To everyone who worked even one Trivia Club at Cardinal Rule. Yes, even you.

We'll be Back Again Soon, just like the final Finale said. Back on Wednesday, back in the west-end. It's our home, after all, and Cardinal Rule will be imprinted into how we play the game. 2018 will bring new things, for the week, and for the game, and we look forward to seeing you again soon!

Remember...

CLICK for info on Cardinal Rule

Support Trivia Club on Patreon! Russel Harder hosts Trivia Club at Hitch (1216 Queen St East) every MONDAY, at The Rec Room (255 Bremner Blvd) every TUESDAY, Cardinal Rule (5 Roncesvalles Ave) every WEDNESDAY, and monthly THURSDAY next on December 14th, 2017 at Farside! Every FRIDAY, a new episode of the Pause & Play podcast (a portable version of our live events) is available on SoundCloud & iTunes!