I used to quiz fairly regularly both in school and college and also loved setting and hosting quizzes (the high point was co-hosting the inaugural IIT Madras Open Quiz in 2004). But then I lost touch with it for over two decades.
A chance meeting at a kid’s birthday party with a parent who I knew from my quizzing days and finding out that a colleague quizzed regularly in Singapore prompted me to join a local WhatsApp group of quiz enthusiasts, become part of a Singapore based team that competed in an online quiz league and enroll myself in a number of Mimir style (and other) online quizzes (which became popular during the Covid years over video calls and still continue to be hugely popular).
A year later – this has become my stickiest hobby. I made a list of how many leagues and seasons of quizzes I participated in last year:
| League/ Season | Notes |
| Mimir’s Well | 3.5 seasons A UK based league with very well written and edited questions; I find this to be the hardest league so far, I have only come first in 1 quiz out of the 21 games I have played till date) |
| FLAMES Season 4 FLQL Season 7 FLQL Smashdown (2 people team) | (Mimir style) Supremely fun league with a very wide variety of questions and an emphasis on workout-able answers |
| ZQL Season 5 and 6 | (Mimir style) Great depth of topics and questions |
| B612 | (modified Mimir style with 3 players and shorter quizzes) an enjoyable season |
| Entertainment Quiz League | (Mimir style) Pretty much every quizzer’s favorite topic – ended up being ultra competitive. In one game 31 out of the 32 questions were answered correctly |
| BBQL (ongoing) | (Mimir style) Never been much of a biz quiz player – but this has something for everyone in it |
| Venetian Season V and VI (ongoing) | American quiz bowl style league with interesting mechanics like doubling and mulligan // Very different (but thoroughly enjoyable) style compared to Mimir |
| AQL – Season 7, 8 | Team vs Team quiz – much harder questions and ultra competitive |
| LearnedLeague | Online only – 6 questions daily, no time limit so no time pressure |
| Qutopia | Online only – 3 times a week, 8 questions, no time limit so no time pressure |
I now play 2-3 quizzes every week. My non-fiction reading and online surfing has a clear purpose (though fiction reading has taken a hit). Quizzing requires a large memory made of diverse facts, the ability to think quickly and connect these facts and more importantly timely retrieval of information.
Since I didn’t quiz for over two decades, there were huge gaps in my base knowledge of the modern world and current affairs (which every good and regular quizzer builds over time). I just didn’t know anything from the 2016 Olympics or the last decade of fashion or the winners of Eurovision song contests (and why should I). Most of 2024 has gone into filling the gaps in this knowledge base (maybe 10% complete).
The other part is in rebuilding things which are more static and yet eternal – a knowledge of world history and geography, literature and mythology (which for the longest time was a personal strength). Pursuing this has been truly enjoyable – especially art history, ancient history, world mythology and science. I even started a quizzing newsletter which I haven’t been able to sustain: TheQuizQuad (I do hope to revive this in 2025).
My biggest problem is the speed of information retrieval. I have made my peace with not knowing a bunch of facts and topics. But it hurts when under time pressure I am not able to recall the name of a beloved comic book character or movie or mix two Greek heroes with each other. The focus for 2025 is on regaining depth in my favorite topics and improving memory recall. And not hesitating while answering “Sabrina Carpenter” to a question.
So have I progressed as a quizzer? Yes – but progress is slow. Results are no longer completely embarrassing. From 20-25% direct response rate I am slowly edging towards 40% accuracy (especially in Mimir style quizzes). But for me quizzing is less tennis and more golf – the only person I am playing against is myself. It’s about having fun and learning and improving my handicap index.
I have met so many old friends and acquaintances because of quizzing. I have played against people who used to be high school students of my mother 15 years ago or worked with my father in the 90s. I have also made a bunch of new friends all across the world – from Australia, to the UK, India to the US, the Philippines to Singapore. So I think I will continue quizzing as long as it stays fun and doesn’t become a chore.
PS – There was a Sabrina Carpenter question in every single quiz league I played this year. From a pop-culture perspective – she was the person of the year!