Up For Discussion: Contested Terrain

Most of the time we're able to get along just fine and dandy in trivia games: the host asks the questions, the players give the answers, and even if a question is a little weak, we realize that at all but a few games, the prizes essentially add up to around ten cents in American money per question, so we might comment (kindly or snarkily) and move on. But inevitably, eventually, someone has a much bigger bone to pick over a question. I've also seen and experienced a minor grumble about the phrasing of a question get interpreted as a challenge to the host and escalate beyond where the complainer intended it to go (because after all, Puerto Rico is not a country, I promise).

So here are some questions. As a player, have you ever challenged a host on a question? Under what circumstances? What kinds of challenges do you believe are legitimate and what kinds aren't? Have you seen any challenges take place that especially rankled you or that you thought were appropriate? If you're a host, have you had any particularly uncomfortable run-ins? And most importantly, how do you handle it when one of your questions is challenged?

I want to thank Lotus Ceriano for providing this idea for a discussion topic.

Lacey Lukas and Cybershot Dover cut a hardwood floor at Shorty's Ice House

Lacey hosts trivia there Thursdays at noon: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Magnolia%20Falls/205/40/22