Geeks go to Burt's to think and drink

by Marcella Ortega

Daily Lobo

Albuquerque geeks will soon have a place to spend their Monday nights.

Burt's Tiki Lounge, at 313 Gold Ave. S.W., will introduce Geeks Who Drink on Aug. 6. The event will be hosted by Eric Kohen, also known as Quizmaster Eric the Jewish Viking.

"Anyone who goes to an event hosted by someone called Eric the Jewish Viking knows it's going to be a good time," Kohen said.

Geeks Who Drink follows the Irish tradition of pub quizzes. The game has eight rounds with eight questions in each round, and teams can have up to six players. Contestants write their answers on a piece of paper and give them to the quizmaster during each round.

Winners receive prizes such as 75-cent beer, Geeks Who Drink pint glasses, T-shirts or goofy gifts such as a Cold War unicorn play set.

"One (unicorn) is painted like an American flag, and the other one like the Soviet Union's," he said.

Kohen said the application and interview process to become the host was unusual. One question on the application was, "Are you more geek or drink?"

"I put down, 'You can be the judge of that. I have a lab coat and a Jedi costume that both smell like vodka,'" Kohen said.

Kohen said he went to Denver, where Geeks Who Drink started, for his training. He attended six quizzes in three days, and there was a wide variety of geeks, he said.

"I went to bars that were all 20-something hipsters," he said. "Then I went to one with middle-aged people. Then one with blue-collar people."

He said the geeks in Denver have one thing in common.

"Everyone at all of those bars are hard-core, dedicated players," he said. "They love doing it. People would show up to play and then leave."

Kohen said the questions range from easy to difficult, and anyone can participate.

"I don't think anyone will walk out of the quiz and think they're a complete failure," he said. "Everyone will find a round they are into. There is everything from hip-hop to sitcoms."

Kohen said Geeks Who Drink have a staff of freelance journalists who write the questions. He said the questions are humorous and will often remind people of things from the past. For instance, the "As Seen on TV" round quizzes the audience on infomercials.

Kohen said the game has audio rounds, incorporating audio from shows such as "MTV Cribs."

"You would get a sound clip of someone talking about their house, and you have to guess who it was," he said.

Kohen said people who are serious about the game can go to the Web site, GeeksWhoDrink.com, and sign up to be on the e-mail list. He said Geeks Who Drink will send contestants a bonus question before each quiz so they have time to find the answer. He said contestants can post to the site's blog, as well.

"If people hate me and want to call me a douche bag, they can do it on the blog," he said.

Kohen said he hopes strangers will outnumber the people he knows and people will like what he has brought over.

"Even when you don't know the answer, it makes you perk up and laugh," he said. "They aren't too hard or too easy. They're

just fun."

Geeks Who Drink

Burt's Tiki Lounge

313 Gold Ave. S.W.

Mondays, starting August 6

9 p.m.